The Minnesota man being sought in connection with the Saturday morning assassination of a state lawmaker and the shooting of another runs a security company and has ties to the Middle East and Africa, online biographies showed.
Vance Luther Boelter lists himself on LinkedIn as the CEO of the Red Lion Group, which is based in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
He also worked with Minnesota Africans United, a statewide organization working with African immigrants in the state, according to a now deleted biography on the group’s web site.
In 2022, Boelter participated as a keynote speaker in his capacity as CEO of Red Lion Group for a seminar held jointly by the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Minnesota Africans United and Global Minnesota, video showed.
Boetler conducted the call from Moanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo and spoke of the Red Lion Group’s ventures in the African nation.
“This all started back in 2019, when my partner, McNay Nkashama, brought in the ambassador from the DRC to Minnesota, and we had meetings, the bulk of them in Minneapolis but the bulk of them that I was at was in Worthington, Minnesota where we made those connections,” Boetler said.
The suspected assassin spoke about plans for several agricultural pilot projects in the DRC that he believed would “create a lot of jobs fast” and “serve as a model” for future investors into the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
He claimed to have business ventures in fishing, farming, media, security, and motorcycle-taxis all within the Democratic Republic of Congo.
“We’re partnering with 400 farmers who are ready to go on a farming project… we’re doing a fishing project that works with like 500 fishermans…that’s off the coast of Rwanda,” Boelter claimed in a quintessential Minnesota accent.
“Another one that we’re looking at doing is a totally women led motorcycle-taxi business, where all the operators are women, and the leadership is women, so we’re excited to get that off the ground,” Boelter stated, according to the video.
“I would like to get 1,000 female motorcycle-taxis running in the near future but we need some sponsors to invest in that,” the suspected assassin said.
Boelter, 57, who is believed to have posed as a police officer during the shootings, and his wife, Jenny, appear to head Praetorian Guard Security Services, a Minnesota-based company “here to set up security options and provide security services right to your doorstep and property to keep what you own safe and secure,” according to its website.
Boelter has “been involved in security situations” in Eastern Europe, Africa, North America and the Middle East, “including the West Bank, Southern Lebanon and the Gaza Strip,” according to the Praetorian web site.
Last month, Boelter said he was open to work.
Boelter listed food service more than security in his work history.
His LinkedIn profile includes jobs at 7-Eleven, where he was a general manager from 2016 to 2021. He also worked at various times as a manager at Del Monte, Johnsonville Sausage and at a company called Greencore, which manufactures convenience foods in the United Kingdom.
He was twice appointed to Minnesota government by different Democratic governors. In 2016 then-Gov Mark Dayton named Boelter to the Workforce Development Council, and in 2019 Walz to serve a four-year stint on the Workforce Development Board, documents show.
Boetler last registered to vote in 2022 as a Republican.
In a Nov. 5, 2018 post on his profile, Boetler encouraged others to vote in the upcoming presidential election — and expressed his fears for the outcome.
“I am very big on just telling people to be a part of the process and vote your values and be part of this adventure we are all a part of living in the United States of America,” he wrote.
“I think the election is going to have more of an impact on the direction of our country than probably any election we have been apart of, or will be apart of for years to come.”
Boetler earned his undergraduate degree in international relations at St. Cloud State University, according to his LinkedIn, and later obtained a Masters of Science and Management and Doctorate in Leadership degrees, both from Cardinal Stritch University.
Messages for Jenny Boelter, Praetorian and Minnesota Africans United were not immediately returned.
Authorities are searching for Boetler, who remains on the loose after cops say he shot Sen. John Hoffman and his wife in their Champlin home early Saturday, leaving them seriously injured before moving on to former Democratic House Speaker Melissa Hortmon’s house, where he is believed to have slaughtered her and her husband, police sources previously told The Post.
The suspect allegedly exchanged gunfire with the cops who responded to Hortman’s home and briefly cornered him inside — but he got away, and left behind a “manifesto” listing the names of 70 politicians, including Walz, and a stack of papers stating “No Kings” in reference to the nationwide anti-Trump protests Saturday, according to cops.
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