U.S. Vice President JD Vance waves as he attends the annual "March for Life" in Washington, D.C., U.S., January 23, 2026. REUTERS/Aaron Schwartz
Vice President JD Vance generated outrage on Sunday when he made a social media post that analysts said seemed to justify the killing of two Americans in Minneapolis by federal officers.
Vance posted a story on X about two Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents who were at a restaurant eating when the business was mobbed by protesters. Vance alleged that the officers were locked inside the restaurant until backup arrived. Vance said the officers told him about the affair when he visited Minneapolis last week.
"This is just a taste of what's happening in Minneapolis because state and local officials refuse to cooperate with immigration enforcement," Vance's post reads in part. "They have created the chaos so they can have moments like yesterday, where someone tragically dies, and politicians get to grandstand about the evils of enforcing the border."
Vance's statement comes at a time when tensions between the Minneapolis community and federal immigration officers are at an all-time high. On Saturday, immigration agents shot and killed Alex Pretti, 3, a local ICU nurse, who attended a protest against Trump's immigration regime. Pretti's killing happened about three weeks after Renee Good was killed by an ICE agent named Jonathan Ross in the city.
Analysts panned Vance for his statement on social media.
"Your 'solution' is to tell Americans to obey the invasion of our communities by masked government agents as they abduct people and execute Americans in the street or else we will also get executed," Democratic activist David Hogg posted on X. "That's not a solution. It’s a violation of our rights. You are a tyrant!"
"You are defending the open killing of everyday Americans for exercising their Constitutional rights," Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) posted on X. "First, the mother of a 6-year-old child. Now, an ICU nurse to veterans. Both shot at nearly point-blank range. All without reflection or remorse. People will not forget this."
"Do you hear yourself??" Jon Favreau, former Obama White House speechwriter, posted on X. "Your federal agents shot a man ten times and you’re complaining about their f------ lunch being interrupted?? What the f--- is wrong with you??"