Tim Walz’s defense of a convicted child molester deported by the Trump administration drew a blistering response from reality television personality and former Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt. The Minnesota governor questioned whether removing Tou Lue Vang, a Laotian national convicted of repeatedly sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl, had made anyone safer. Pratt answered by suggesting anyone using Walz’s language to defend a child molester ought to have his computer’s hard drive examined.
Walz made the remarks while speaking to reporters on Tuesday about the federal government’s decision to remove Vang from the United States. Vang had received a pardon in June from the Minnesota Board of Pardons, whose members are Walz, Democratic Attorney General Keith Ellison, and Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Natalie Hudson. Secretary of State Marco Rubio later revoked Vang’s legal status, clearing the way for federal immigration authorities to deport him. Walz responded by questioning both the public-safety benefit and the effects on Vang’s children.
“Did that make us any safer? Did that make the children that are left behind any more stable?” Walz asked. “Did it improve the idea that we can’t all be judged by our worst day?” He then added, “And I want to be very clear: these are horrific crimes. They often are.” The remark drew particular attention because Walz used “we” while discussing a man convicted of repeatedly abusing a young child.
Pratt responded directly in a Friday X post and focused on that wording. “If you find yourself defending a child molester, saying: ‘WE can’t be judged by OUR worst day’, you probably need to have your hard drives checked,” he wrote. Pratt’s post included the clip of Walz making the remarks, putting the governor’s full statement alongside the response. His criticism came days after federal officials confirmed that Vang had been removed from the country despite the state pardon.
Vang entered the United States from Laos in 1994 and was granted legal status, but that status was later revoked following his criminal conviction. He pleaded guilty in 2005 and was convicted in 2006 of first-degree criminal sexual conduct after repeatedly assaulting a girl from 2002 through 2004, beginning when she was 10 years old. Authorities said Vang offered the child $10 to remain silent and later described the abuse as “a cultural thing.” A federal immigration judge issued a final order of removal in October 2006.
ICE arrested Vang on December 10, 2025, during an immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota, but a federal judge ordered his release from ICE custody in February 2026. The Minnesota Board of Pardons voted unanimously on June 10th to pardon him after reviewing his clemency application and a letter from the victim supporting the request. The pardon cleared the state conviction that had formed the basis of the original removal order, although federal officials retained other authority over Vang’s immigration status. Walz later emphasized the victim’s position as one of the factors that influenced his vote.
The Trump administration stepped in before the pardon could block Vang’s removal. The White House said Rubio terminated Vang’s legal status and the Department of Homeland Security then deported him. Rubio said the administration’s action meant “this foreign criminal will never pose a threat to any American ever again.” The administration described the case as a direct conflict between Minnesota officials who granted clemency and federal authorities determined to remove a convicted child sex offender.
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Watch Walz’s remarks and Pratt’s response here:
The Department of Homeland Security sharply condemned the pardon after announcing Vang’s deportation. “ICE deported Tou Vang, an illegal alien convicted child rapist. This monster repeatedly sexually assaulted a 10-year-old girl,” DHS Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said. “Tim Walz pardoned this sex criminal in an attempt to allow him to remain in our country.” Bis concluded, “These are the criminal illegal aliens he and sanctuary politicians are protecting. We will always put the safety of the American people first.”
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video.