A former Los Angeles mayoral candidate and reality television figure criticized Minnesota Governor Tim Walz over the governor’s defense of a pardon granted to a convicted child rapist.
The comment was posted on social media Friday in response to a clip of Walz questioning the deportation of a pardoned individual, arguing that removing the person did not improve safety or stability for affected children.
Walz stated that society should not judge people by their worst day, a remark that drew sharp backlash from several conservative lawmakers and commentators.
A Republican House leader described the governor as having no morals and called him a disgrace, while another congressional representative noted that Walz had been a vice presidential candidate.
A Florida Republican congressional candidate said the episode reflected a absence of common sense throughout government.
The Minnesota Board of Pardons, made up of the governor, the state attorney general, and the state chief justice, granted clemency in June to a 42-year-old Laotian national convicted of repeatedly raping a 10-year-old girl between 2002 and 2004.
The pardoned individual had claimed to authorities that sexual contact with minors was a cultural practice, and was scheduled for deportation prior to the clemency decision.
The U.S. Secretary of State intervened to terminate the individual’s legal status and ensure federal immigration authorities could proceed with removal from the country.
The critic of Walz finished third in the Los Angeles mayoral primary and has grown active in political commentary online, recently meeting with the president at the White House and fueling speculation about a future campaign.
