Officials in Minnesota have revealed new details about their case against Vance Boelter, the man accused of shooting two state politicians in their homes.

Here's the latest:

• Boelter has been charged with six federal counts. Two of them are for the murder of state lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark
• He made his first appearance in a federal court in St Paul, Minnesota on Monday but did not enter a plea. His next court appearance is scheduled for 27 June
• US Attorney Joseph H Thompson said "this was a political assassination" and called the deadly event "a chilling attack on our democracy"
• He said Boelter visited the homes of two more politicians on the night of the alleged killings

• Police said the attack was carefully planned and that Boelter researched the victims and their families, conducted surveillance of their homes and took notes about the locations
• The names of several other lawmakers were on what was thought to be a hit list but police officers "foiled" the larger attack plans, officials said

• Officials released photos of evidence uncovered in the case, which include multiple assault style rifles, ammo, handwritten notes and a mask

We'll shortly be closing our live coverage. You can stay up to date on developments in our story here.

Evidence from the deadly attack on Minnesota state lawmakers has been released by the FBI and the Minnesota attorney general's office.

The photos show multiple assault style rifles, ammo, handwritten notes which police say were found in the suspect's car.

Officials have said the search for suspect Vance Boelter was the largest manhunt in state history.

Image source, FBI/US Attorney General of Minnesota

Image source, FBI/US Attorney General of Minnesota

Image source, FBI/US Attorney General of Minnesota

Image source, FBI/US Attorney General of Minnesota

We've just received an update on Vance Boelter's appearance in a federal court from our US partner, CBS News.

He entered a packed federal courtroom in St Paul, Minnesota, wearing an orange jumpsuit, flanked by police.

It was his first appearance since his capture on Sunday evening.

He was appointed a lawyer after he told the judge he cannot afford one, saying he has about $20,000 to $30,000 (£14,712 to £22,068) in savings and earns about $540 per week.

Boelter did not enter a plea.

His next court appearance was scheduled for 27 June.

While we await an update on Vance Boelter's court appearance, we can bring you some testimony from a witness who says she him lurking in a grassy field shortly before he was arrested.

Wendy Thomas was in Green Isle, the Minnesota town where he was eventually captured.

Thomas first spotted the man as she backed her truck down the driveway of a friend's home, she told NBC News, external. She was on the phone with her father at the time, and, upon seeing the man, initially thought: "'Oh, they're clearing properties.' That's what I figured it was."

"And the more my brain registered, I'm like, 'Dad, there's only one person. There's no vehicle.' And then I started freaking out," Thomas said.

"I was shaking, freaking out," she recalled.

Thomas said she then flagged down officers and started pointing, saying: "There he is, there he is."

Suspect Vance Boelter, accused of fatally shooting a state lawmaker and her husband, is currently being held at the Hennepin County Jail in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota.

At 13:30 CST (19:30 GMT), he is expected to make an initial appearance in federal court in St Paul.

Mike Wendling
Reporting from Minnesota

The mood is eerie and sombre here at the state capitol in St Paul, right next to Minneapolis.

Mourners have arrived including family of Melissa Hortman. A trickle of people have come to lay flowers outside the building and inside - remarkable there’s little visible security.

“Minnesota has felt like a little bit of a safe haven,” says Jessie Ebertz, one of the people who laid flowers.

“We’ve been able to keep our atmosphere of respecting other people here. This has blown that out of the water.”

Image source, BBC News/Mike Wendling

Police officers who arrived at the home of Melissa Hortman "foiled" a larger attack plan, Mark Bruley, Brooklyn Park's police chief says.

The officers "essentially took (Boelter's) vehicle away from him, which involved all his maps, all his names, all his weaponry", Bruley says.

"I would be very scared what it would look like over the next few hours ahead had we not done that."

US Attorney Joseph H Thompson says Boelter faces an "array of federal charges", a total of six counts, some of which include the death penalty.

The first two counts are stalking, the third and fourth counts are for murder, and the fifth and six counts are for firearms charges.

The two counts of murder with a firearm can bring life in prison or the death penalty, Thompson says.

Thompson continues by saying: "This was a political assassination, which is not a word we use very often in the United States, let alone here in Minnesota.

"It's a chilling attack on our democracy, on our way of life.

"It's only the most recent example of violent political extremism in this country, and that's a trend that's been increasing over in recent years, and that's unfortunate.

"I hope it is a wake up call to everyone that people can disagree with you without being evil or needing to be killed or hurt."

Image source, Reuters

After Boelter fled the last home he visited, officials searched his car and found five more firearms including assault style riles and large quantities of ammunition, Thompson says.

Boelter also had notebooks containing a list of more than 45 Minnesota state and federal elected officials, including Melissa Hortman.

Boelter "planned his attack carefully", Thompson says.

"He researched his family, his victims, and their families, he used the internet and other tools to find their addresses and names, the names of the family members," Thompson says.

"He conducted surveillance of their homes and took notes about the location of their homes," Thompson says of Boelter.

After the alleged shooting at the Hoffman home, Boelter drove to another state representative's home and rang the doorbell there.

That state representative was not home, Thompson says.

"She and her family were on vacation," he says, without revealing her name.

He then drove to another lawmaker's home and attempted to target someone else.

A police officer who arrived at the scene appeared to motivate Boelter to go to another location, Thompson says.

Image source, Reuters

Thompson says that Boelter arrived at the home of John Hoffman, a Minnesota state senator and his wife Yvette Hoffman, disguised as a police officer in a black large car with emergency lights on the vehicle.

Boelter was wearing a "hyper realistic silicone mask" when he rang the doorbell and shouted "this is the police, open the door".

Thompson says authorities have a clear picture of what happened because the Hoffman's have a security camera.

When the Hoffman's opened the door, Boelter allegedly shined a flash light in the couple's face.

Boelter told the couple there was a shooting reported in the house and lowered his flash light out of their faces, Thompson says.

When Boelter did that, the couple realised he wasn't a police officer, he says.

After they attempted to push him out, he shot the couple multiple times, Thompson says, Boelter fled the scene and the couple's daughter Hope called 911.

We're hearing from acting US Attorney Joseph H Thompson who is providing further details about what they say happened in the early hours of Saturday morning, local time, when Vance Luther Boelter allegedly shot multiple people.

Thompson describes videos of the incidents as "truly chilling".

He said Boelter "stalked his victims like prey".

We're restarting our live coverage of the investigation into the shootings of two Minnesota state lawmakers and their spouses.

Vance Luther Boelter, 57, is charged with killing Melissa Hortman, a Minnesota Democrat, and her husband Mark.

We're getting live updates from officials, stay with us as we bring you the latest.

A 57-year-old suspect has been arrested in the US state of Minnesota over the killing of a Democratic state lawmaker and her husband while posing as a police officer.

The arrest on Sunday night was the culmination of a huge two-day manhunt after the shooting deaths of Melissa Hortman, the top Democrat in the Minnesota House, and her husband, Mark, the previous day.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz described it as a "politically motivated assassination".

Authorities said the arrested suspect, Vance Luther Boelter, also allegedly shot and wounded another Democratic lawmaker, state Senator John Hoffman, and his wife, Yvette, at their home a few miles away.

Officers descended on a rural area to the west of Minneapolis late on Sunday following a tip off that the suspect had been spotted there.

Police say he was armed at the time of his arrest, but gave himself up peacefully when challenged.

We are now pausing our coverage.

Mike Wendling
Reporting from Minnesota

It's nearly midnight here in Minnesota and many people here will be relieved that the hunt for the suspect will not stretch into a third day.

But there are still difficult times ahead in a place that prides itself on its collegial, open culture, one that has its own nickname: "Minnesota nice".

It's a style that extends itself to politics, which can seem a world away from the vicious battles that grip the national government in Washington.

Melissa Hortman was a prime example. This evening one local radio station replayed a friendly joint interview she did last week with Republican colleagues. In one of her last votes, she crossed party lines to pass the state's budget.

The fact that she was targeted by someone who appears to have been motivated by politics has shaken many people here. All throughout today I heard from Minnesotans who said they were shocked - and scared.

Minnesota's governor Tim Walz alluded to the rising level of violence in American politics just now when he said: "This cannot be the norm."

But many will see the last two days as a reminder of how political violence is becoming more and more common here.

Shortly after news of the arrest emerged, Minnesota Mayor Jacob Frey praised the “skill and bravery” of multiple law enforcement agencies for apprehending the suspect.

“I’m grateful that our law enforcement partners in Minnesota acted with urgency to arrest the shooter and bring him to justice,” he wrote in a Facebook post.

“Political violence is abhorrent, it cuts against the most basic moral fabric of our democracy. It’s critical that those who commit these acts be held accountable under the law. I’m glad that will happen here.”

One of the final questions of the press conference concerned the reported list of targets the suspect is alleged to have had in his car.

Evans says he wouldn't go into the details - but he notes that Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Nebraska and Iowa are among the states that Minnesota has been working with in order to "notify individuals that were on that list".

Superintendent Drew Evans says Boelter was armed when he was taken into custody but could not say what weapons were present.

Evans also said Boelter was hiding in a rural area with streams, fields and crops in the woods.

The area where he was arrested is mostly farmland, a few rolling hills and clusters of trees and small woods

Superintendent Drew Evans of the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension says the suspect was arrested in the area of Green Isle earlier this evening.

Law enforcement received information that he was seen there and a number of SWAT teams then converged on the area.

He says lawmakers and legislators targeted in these attacks can now "breathe a sigh of relief".