Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
So, yeah, I was just saying, chilling details emerge in
the Minnesota shootings. Vance Bolter facing federal charges the stuff
of nightmares. It quotes here and Sasha Peznik joining us
ABC News reporter and Sasha, welcome in, and these chilling details.
I would like to hear this. This is incredibly bizarre
(00:22):
the way this is playing out.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Huh hey, Mark, Yeah, exactly. The man suspected of shooting
and killing a Minnesota lawmaker and her husband, as well
as shooting and wounding a second lawmaker and his wife,
stalked his victims like prey and shot him in cold
blood aftering. US Attorney for the District of Minnesota, Joe
Thompson said today, as you said, he said that his
crimes are the stuff of nightmares. Dan Spelter the fifty
(00:46):
seven year old in the Minnesota area. He's accused of
allegedly killing Minnesota State Representative Melissa Hartman and her husband,
and wounding State Senator John Hoffman and his wife in
what Thompson called political assassinations. This all started a very
or very early Saturday morning when authority Belter posed as
a police officer. He showed up on the lawmaker's doorsteps,
(01:08):
dressed as an officer, even carrying a badge and a taser,
wearing a latex mask, even allegedly a fake police car
that he left behind he ran off on foot and polisse.
They recovered several firearms and writings from his car, including
a lengthy list of potential targets other lawmakers not just
in Minnesota, but other parts of the country as well,
(01:29):
and abortion rights advocates that a two day man hunt
ensued them. He was arrested overnight into Monday mornings. He
was taken into custody near his farm, about an hour
south from the crime scene. Twenty SWAT units surrounding the
arms suspect and of fields after drones and helicopters spotted
him from above. Authority said he crawled to law enforcement
(01:49):
teams there on the ground for the takedown, and he
was taken into custod as. He now faces federal charges,
including stocking and firearms charges and murder charges as well.
He appeared at a hearing afternoon in a two piece
orange jail suit and orange stocks, black slides, not wearing
handcuffs and purre stoic, and even tempered that he couldn't
(02:09):
afford to pay his own legal fees, and now authorities
are going to endeavor to find out what exactly happened here,
why he allegedly was motivated to do this, and we'll
go from there.
Speaker 1 (02:21):
Mark, Yeah, this is when you see and and that
you did, Chuck, did you see some of this footage
as well with regard to the mask that he had
on or the like. It was so bizarre looking And Sasha,
I don't know if you saw that either. I'm sure
you probably have, but it looked almost like to me
(02:41):
when I saw the still of it, it looked like
a Halloween kind of Halloween ish or something along those lives.
It is so bizarre that it's played out this way.
And but the fact that he was there and what
you even described as a police car, I mean, to
make this charade so believable. I just think to myself,
(03:05):
those poor people when they're opening the door, I mean,
they had no other They see that and they go, Okay,
this is totally legit, and then obviously too late at.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
That point, Yeah, that's exactually right, this hyper realistic silicone mask.
When he showed up at one of the lawmaker's doorsteps
that he was a he was a police officer, and
they said, you're not a police officer, and I struggle ensued.
He first when he showed up at Senator Hoffman's door.
(03:34):
You see that chilling security footage that a They showed
the suspect in a black taxical vest and body armor,
this hyper realistic silicon mask. He was armed with a
flashlight and a handgun. Knocked on the front door. Authorady
say and say this is the police opened the door.
When Senator Hoffman and his wife came to the door,
the suspect authority stay, shine the flashlight in their faces,
(03:55):
said there was a shooting reported in the house and
asked if the couple had weapons already, say and they
they called him on it. They said, you're not a
top And from there the suspect said this is a
robbery and tried to force his way into the home.
It's actually thanks to the Hoffman's daughter who called nine
(04:15):
to one one at that point and alerted authorities to
what was going on, and from there this two day
man hunt ensued. We now know from some of the
writings that he left behind. And I will say it's
not just a Minnesota issue here. This is not a
right or left or right or blue issue. We know
that the political violence, the threats against public figures have
(04:37):
been on the rise on both sides of the aisle.
Our own president has faced two assassination attempts on his life.
It's unclear what the motive is to to speculate at
this at this point, what his motive may have allegedly been.
It's something investigators will now be endeavoring to dig into.
But we do know today that an Ohio Democratic Representative
(04:58):
Greg Lansman said that he told by Capitol police that
his name was on the suspects west. He says that
Cincinnati police quickly increased security for him and his family
this weekend. And of course we know this weekend was
also Father's Day weekend, and a lot of folks are
going to want to be with their families and out
and about and celebrated.
Speaker 3 (05:16):
I understand legislatures around the country actually as soon as
this happened started motalizing additional security, which is it's wise
because crazy knows no political That crazy is crazy, right.
And this guy, even from the still on the Hoffmann
security camera, I'm sorry I wouldn't have opened the door
to that. He looks like an alien. That mask looks
like an alien in a in a police yes to me, Yeah, gosh,
(05:37):
And I wouldn't have even opened the door to somebody like.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
That, Yeah, you, And I wish that they hadn't opened
the door either, not that he wouldn't have shot through
the door or any of those there. We don't know
about any of that, And it's all the way around unfortunate.
You'd like to think that you would react the way
that you know you're you're portraying there and so on. Yeah,
just an absolute shame the way this has played out,
but of course we'll follow it. Have they said what
(06:00):
they're charging him with yet, Sasha or or And I'm
sorry if I caught you off guard with regard to that,
what they're gonna what they're charging him whether have they
not determined all of that yet?
Speaker 2 (06:10):
Official say he now faces federal charges including stalking and
firearms as well as state charges, but it is possible
that he could base the death penalty. Uh, We're going
to see all of this play out in the coming
days and months. He has not yet entered the plea.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
Yeah, very good. Sasha Pasnik, who's ABC News out of
New York. Sasha, thank you. Very much for the latest sun.
I appreciate you. You bet all right, We'll see you.
Speaker 3 (06:36):
I'm saying, federal death penalty has got to be on
the table here. I think I would hope and expect
Donald Trump to speak up on this immediately, because he
has been very clear about you mess with our police officers,
you're done well. The same needs to apply whether I
agree with you or not, like you or not, The
same needs to apply to the people that have stepped
(06:57):
up and been elected to serve. They should not live
their lives in terror of some freak showing up at
the door in a Halloween mask and opening fire on
not only them but their spouse, their kid. They had
a fifteen year old daughter. The Haffins had a fifteen
year old daughter. At least a couple of reports said
mom put herself over the daughter to shelter her. God
(07:19):
bless her for doing that, because that's what any parents
should do. But I would hope that the President would
speak out on this and say, yeah, federal death penalty
charges anywhere we can apply them, should be applied here.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
I would also like to say on behalf of ABC
News and Sasha Pasnik, who is reporting there to not
turn this political. I feel the need to point that
out because in this day and age, there's a lot
of that happening, and for them to not slant this
one way or another, and to even point out that
(07:51):
two attempts on the current president's life have even been
at play here. And this is not a red or
blue issue, not a right left issue, but obviously crazy issue.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
And so.
Speaker 1 (08:03):
Thank you. I mean, I have to say.
Speaker 3 (08:05):
That rest by her. That's my first time ever even
interacting with Sasha, and I was kind of impressed by
the fact that she was so down accurate reporting.
Speaker 2 (08:14):
I love that.
Speaker 1 (08:14):
Yeah, absolutely, That's why I felt the need to point
it out right now, because there are a lot of
people who automatically, you know, who are listening and look rightly,
so you get you get jaded by what's unfortunately out there.
But it's a lot of the you know, really big
huge names in the in the news business and so on,
(08:35):
with legacy media and all that. But but thank you
very much Sasha for giving us the facts and the
details of that, and she is one thousand percent correct.
It is incredibly chilling. The crimes or stuff of nightmares,
and like you said, you look to and see that
you would hope that you would really go, I'm not
opening the door for this guy. Not that he couldn't
just shoot through it, but the fact that you know
(08:55):
it caught you off guard, especially when there's a police
vehicle sitting behind him and he's got what looks like
a credible badge, and man, old man, he got the
drop on him, and unfortunately, it proved to be fatal.
So, yeah, I was just saying, chilling details emerge in
the Minnesota shootings. Vance Bolter facing federal charges the stuff
of nightmares. It quotes here and Sasha Peznik joining us
ABC News reporter and Sasha, welcome in, and these chilling details.
I would like to hear this. This is incredibly bizarre
(00:22):
the way this is playing out.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Huh hey, Mark, Yeah, exactly. The man suspected of shooting
and killing a Minnesota lawmaker and her husband, as well
as shooting and wounding a second lawmaker and his wife,
stalked his victims like prey and shot him in cold
blood aftering. US Attorney for the District of Minnesota, Joe
Thompson said today, as you said, he said that his
crimes are the stuff of nightmares. Dan Spelter the fifty
(00:46):
seven year old in the Minnesota area. He's accused of
allegedly killing Minnesota State Representative Melissa Hartman and her husband,
and wounding State Senator John Hoffman and his wife in
what Thompson called political assassinations. This all started a very
or very early Saturday morning when authority Belter posed as
a police officer. He showed up on the lawmaker's doorsteps,
(01:08):
dressed as an officer, even carrying a badge and a taser,
wearing a latex mask, even allegedly a fake police car
that he left behind he ran off on foot and polisse.
They recovered several firearms and writings from his car, including
a lengthy list of potential targets other lawmakers not just
in Minnesota, but other parts of the country as well,
(01:29):
and abortion rights advocates that a two day man hunt
ensued them. He was arrested overnight into Monday mornings. He
was taken into custody near his farm, about an hour
south from the crime scene. Twenty SWAT units surrounding the
arms suspect and of fields after drones and helicopters spotted
him from above. Authority said he crawled to law enforcement
(01:49):
teams there on the ground for the takedown, and he
was taken into custod as. He now faces federal charges,
including stocking and firearms charges and murder charges as well.
He appeared at a hearing afternoon in a two piece
orange jail suit and orange stocks, black slides, not wearing
handcuffs and purre stoic, and even tempered that he couldn't
(02:09):
afford to pay his own legal fees, and now authorities
are going to endeavor to find out what exactly happened here,
why he allegedly was motivated to do this, and we'll
go from there.
Speaker 1 (02:21):
Mark, Yeah, this is when you see and and that
you did, Chuck, did you see some of this footage
as well with regard to the mask that he had
on or the like. It was so bizarre looking And Sasha,
I don't know if you saw that either. I'm sure
you probably have, but it looked almost like to me
(02:41):
when I saw the still of it, it looked like
a Halloween kind of Halloween ish or something along those lives.
It is so bizarre that it's played out this way.
And but the fact that he was there and what
you even described as a police car, I mean, to
make this charade so believable. I just think to myself,
(03:05):
those poor people when they're opening the door, I mean,
they had no other They see that and they go, Okay,
this is totally legit, and then obviously too late at.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
That point, Yeah, that's exactually right, this hyper realistic silicone mask.
When he showed up at one of the lawmaker's doorsteps
that he was a he was a police officer, and
they said, you're not a police officer, and I struggle ensued.
He first when he showed up at Senator Hoffman's door.
(03:34):
You see that chilling security footage that a They showed
the suspect in a black taxical vest and body armor,
this hyper realistic silicon mask. He was armed with a
flashlight and a handgun. Knocked on the front door. Authorady
say and say this is the police opened the door.
When Senator Hoffman and his wife came to the door,
the suspect authority stay, shine the flashlight in their faces,
(03:55):
said there was a shooting reported in the house and
asked if the couple had weapons already, say and they
they called him on it. They said, you're not a
top And from there the suspect said this is a
robbery and tried to force his way into the home.
It's actually thanks to the Hoffman's daughter who called nine
(04:15):
to one one at that point and alerted authorities to
what was going on, and from there this two day
man hunt ensued. We now know from some of the
writings that he left behind. And I will say it's
not just a Minnesota issue here. This is not a
right or left or right or blue issue. We know
that the political violence, the threats against public figures have
(04:37):
been on the rise on both sides of the aisle.
Our own president has faced two assassination attempts on his life.
It's unclear what the motive is to to speculate at
this at this point, what his motive may have allegedly been.
It's something investigators will now be endeavoring to dig into.
But we do know today that an Ohio Democratic Representative
(04:58):
Greg Lansman said that he told by Capitol police that
his name was on the suspects west. He says that
Cincinnati police quickly increased security for him and his family
this weekend. And of course we know this weekend was
also Father's Day weekend, and a lot of folks are
going to want to be with their families and out
and about and celebrated.
Speaker 3 (05:16):
I understand legislatures around the country actually as soon as
this happened started motalizing additional security, which is it's wise
because crazy knows no political That crazy is crazy, right.
And this guy, even from the still on the Hoffmann
security camera, I'm sorry I wouldn't have opened the door
to that. He looks like an alien. That mask looks
like an alien in a in a police yes to me, Yeah, gosh,
(05:37):
And I wouldn't have even opened the door to somebody like.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
That, Yeah, you, And I wish that they hadn't opened
the door either, not that he wouldn't have shot through
the door or any of those there. We don't know
about any of that, And it's all the way around unfortunate.
You'd like to think that you would react the way
that you know you're you're portraying there and so on. Yeah,
just an absolute shame the way this has played out,
but of course we'll follow it. Have they said what
(06:00):
they're charging him with yet, Sasha or or And I'm
sorry if I caught you off guard with regard to that,
what they're gonna what they're charging him whether have they
not determined all of that yet?
Speaker 2 (06:10):
Official say he now faces federal charges including stalking and
firearms as well as state charges, but it is possible
that he could base the death penalty. Uh, We're going
to see all of this play out in the coming
days and months. He has not yet entered the plea.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
Yeah, very good. Sasha Pasnik, who's ABC News out of
New York. Sasha, thank you. Very much for the latest sun.
I appreciate you. You bet all right, We'll see you.
Speaker 3 (06:36):
I'm saying, federal death penalty has got to be on
the table here. I think I would hope and expect
Donald Trump to speak up on this immediately, because he
has been very clear about you mess with our police officers,
you're done well. The same needs to apply whether I
agree with you or not, like you or not, The
same needs to apply to the people that have stepped
(06:57):
up and been elected to serve. They should not live
their lives in terror of some freak showing up at
the door in a Halloween mask and opening fire on
not only them but their spouse, their kid. They had
a fifteen year old daughter. The Haffins had a fifteen
year old daughter. At least a couple of reports said
mom put herself over the daughter to shelter her. God
(07:19):
bless her for doing that, because that's what any parents
should do. But I would hope that the President would
speak out on this and say, yeah, federal death penalty
charges anywhere we can apply them, should be applied here.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
I would also like to say on behalf of ABC
News and Sasha Pasnik, who is reporting there to not
turn this political. I feel the need to point that
out because in this day and age, there's a lot
of that happening, and for them to not slant this
one way or another, and to even point out that
(07:51):
two attempts on the current president's life have even been
at play here. And this is not a red or
blue issue, not a right left issue, but obviously crazy issue.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
And so.
Speaker 1 (08:03):
Thank you. I mean, I have to say.
Speaker 3 (08:05):
That rest by her. That's my first time ever even
interacting with Sasha, and I was kind of impressed by
the fact that she was so down accurate reporting.
Speaker 2 (08:14):
I love that.
Speaker 1 (08:14):
Yeah, absolutely, That's why I felt the need to point
it out right now, because there are a lot of
people who automatically, you know, who are listening and look rightly,
so you get you get jaded by what's unfortunately out there.
But it's a lot of the you know, really big
huge names in the in the news business and so on,
(08:35):
with legacy media and all that. But but thank you
very much Sasha for giving us the facts and the
details of that, and she is one thousand percent correct.
It is incredibly chilling. The crimes or stuff of nightmares,
and like you said, you look to and see that
you would hope that you would really go, I'm not
opening the door for this guy. Not that he couldn't
just shoot through it, but the fact that you know
(08:55):
it caught you off guard, especially when there's a police
vehicle sitting behind him and he's got what looks like
a credible badge, and man, old man, he got the
drop on him, and unfortunately, it proved to be fatal.
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