For those who've missed the story: issued a pardon for Tou Lou Vang, a H'mong permanent resident who'd been convicted of repeatedly raping a ten-year-old girl.
The pardon followed a recommendation from the Minnesota Clemency Review Commission, a nine-member panel, to the state's Pardons Board - whose three members comprise controversial governor Tim Walz, even more controversial attorney general Keith Ellison, and the state supreme court's not-all-that-controversial chief justice Natalie Hudson.
Gov. Tim Walz and Minnesota's Board of Pardons pardoned an immigrant Tou Lue Vang, convicted of s*xually abusing a 10-year-old girl, helping him fight deportation. pic.twitter.com/eQWEDqDeVV
— Resist the Mainstream (@ResisttheMS) July 2, 2026
While that should be all you really need to know, the details get even worse. I'll let you google the details on your own time, if you feel like going all Charles Bronson, if only in your mind.
The victim in the case - now in her thirties - supported the release...:
In June, the Minnesota Board of Pardons granted a reprieve to Vang, after he submitted a letter expressing regret for what he did. Other family members, and the victim in this case, wrote letters on his behalf.
The Board of Pardons consists of Gov. Tim Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison and Supreme Court Justice Natalie Hudson. They say they took the victim's statement into account before granting Vang's pardon.
Among the reasons the clemency board gave was that Vang's children need their father, which may well be true - but that seems to be a pretty malleable justification:
Did you notice how the argument "the kid would not have a father" is only used if the Democrats like the guy (in this case an immigrant from Laos who committed sexual assault of a child).
— The Real GOP 🇺🇸 (@TheRealGOP) July 13, 2026
But for the Jan. 6 detainees it was, screw them, lock them up and throw away the key. No… https://t.co/2Q7Dev2dRr
Now, you might say "Hey - forgiven or not, child rapists just don't reform".
And you might have a point.
But the pardon may have been less about the victims' sense of forgiveness, and about Vang's children, than the Minnesota DFL trying to show the Trump Administration who's boss:
New details are emerging about why Gov. Tim Walz's board of pardons gave clemency to a 42-year-old illegal immigrant convicted of repeatedly raping a child.
— Fox News (@FoxNews) July 13, 2026
Documents reviewed by Fox News Digital show that while the two board members who voted against granting a pardon noted the… pic.twitter.com/gqyQgQm36W
I'll add the emphasis below:
One commissioner, Zach Linstrom, who voted in favor of granting the pardon, wrote in his recommendation, "Very tough case but the kids not having a father is not in the best interest of society," referring to Vang’s six children. Artika Roller, another commissioner who voted in favor of the pardon, wrote, "The applicant stated the need for clemency related to immigration issues."
Following the recommendation, Walz's Board of Pardons granted Vang a full pardon. Secretary of State Marco Rubio then revoked Vang's legal status, allowing him to be deported despite the pardon.
When you read the details - yeah, it was the immigration stuff (emphasis added by me):
Tou Lue Vang, an illegal alien from Laos, had been convicted in 2006 of first-degree criminal sexual conduct after he repeatedly assaulted a girl between 2002 and 2004, starting when she was just 10 years old. He once offered his victim $10 to keep quiet about the sexual assaults. When interviewed by police, he tried to justify his actions as “a cultural thing,” and even said that his victim was just as guilty as him and should also be arrested.
Following his conviction, a Department of Justice (DOJ) Immigration Judge issued Vang a final order of removal on October 31, 2006.
ICE first arrested and detained Vang on December 10, 2025. On February 19, 2026, a judge in the District of Minnesota ordered his release from ICE custody. On June 10, 2026, the Minnesota Clemency Review Commission voted to grant a pardon to Vang.
Secretary of State Rubio revoked Vang's resident status and ordered him deported:
Laotian national Tou Lue Vang was convicted of sexually abusing a 10-year-old girl in Minnesota.
— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) July 10, 2026
He was set to be deported until @GovTimWalz issued him a pardon.
Then, I revoked his legal status. @ICEgov has removed him from the U.S. and he will never endanger another… pic.twitter.com/WCJkeeheJO
Except "soft on child rapists" to pop up in more than a few ads for Keith Ellison's re-election opponent.
