Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is defending his vote to grant clemency to Tou Lue Vang, a Laotian national convicted of repeatedly sexually assaulting a child between 2002 and 2004, after the individual was deported earlier this month.

The Minnesota Board of Pardons, composed of Walz, state Attorney General Keith Ellison and state Supreme Court Chief Justice Natalie Hudson, voted unanimously on June 10 to issue clemency for Vang just before he was set to be removed from the United States. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced July 10 that Vang had been deported to Laos.

Rochelle Olson, a columnist with the Minnesota Star Tribune, defended Walz's decision in a section titled "Cheers to Gov. Tim Walz."

What the Right Is Saying

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., was among the most vocal critics on social media.

"The Minnesota Star Tribune is cheering on Tim Walz protecting an illegal alien monster who raped a 10 year old girl. No one should read this depraved rag," Emmer wrote on X.

Multiple conservative commentators criticized Olson's column for comparing Vang's crimes to those of January 6, 2021 Capitol riot participants who received pardons. Claremont Institute senior fellow Jeremy Carl called it "impossible to exaggerate" the degeneracy he said the piece represented.

Rubio addressed the case directly after the deportation was carried out.

"Just days before he was scheduled to be deported, the Minnesota Governor pardoned him, setting him free to endanger American families once again," Rubio told Fox News Digital. "That's why I terminated his legal status in the United States."

What the Left Is Saying

Walz has stood by his vote, telling reporters he believes people should not be judged solely by their worst moments.

"Did that make us any safer?" Walz said when asked about Vang's deportation. "Did that make the children that are left behind any more stable? Did it improve the idea that we can't all be judged by our worst day?"

The Star Tribune noted in its defense of the column that Olson agreed with a unanimous pardon decision made by the full Board of Pardons, which includes not only Walz but Ellison and Chief Justice Hudson. The paper's spokesperson said it "regularly publishes a wide range of opinions across the political spectrum."

Olson referenced a letter from Vang's victim addressed to the pardon board supporting clemency.

What the Numbers Show

Tou Lue Vang was convicted of felony sexual assault committed against a child between 2002 and 2004.

The Board of Pardons vote on June 10 was unanimous, with three members supporting clemency: Walz, Ellison and Chief Justice Hudson.

Vang was deported to Laos on July 10, according to Rubio's announcement that day.

Olson's column did not mention in its "Cheers" section that Vang's victim was a minor or that the assaults occurred over approximately two years.

The Bottom Line

The controversy comes as Walz remains a prominent Democratic figure following his 2024 vice presidential candidacy. The Star Tribune, Minnesota's largest newspaper by circulation, has faced sustained criticism for running Olson's defense of the clemency decision.

Vang is now in Laos following Rubio's termination of his legal status and subsequent removal from the country. The debate over Walz's pardon vote continues as both sides point to their respective arguments about justice, public safety and second chances.

A spokesperson for the Star Tribune said the paper stands by its practice of publishing diverse political opinions.