Vice President JD Vance said the White House will not accept violence directed at federal law enforcement and pledged to confront what the administration views as organized efforts to provoke attacks on immigration officers.
Speaking at a press conference, Vance said President Donald Trump and he fully support Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents carrying out their duties. “The president stands with ICE. I stand with ICE. We stand with all of our law enforcement officers,” Vance said.
Vance warned that the administration will respond forcefully to any attempts to intimidate or attack federal officers. “These people should not feel emboldened because they have, for the first time, maybe in American history, an administration that is not going to tolerate political violence of any kind from anywhere,” he said.
Vance also cautioned state and local officials against attempting to pursue charges against the ICE officer involved in the Minneapolis incident. “You have a federal law enforcement official engaging in federal law enforcement action. That is a federal issue,” he said. “That guy is protected by absolute immunity. He was doing his job.”
The vice president criticized Minnesota’s political leadership, singling out Democratic Gov. Tim Walz and city officials in Minneapolis, accusing them of fueling hostility toward federal agents. “What I would like Minnesota to focus on is the real issue, that they are encouraging people,” Vance said, while calling on the governor to resign. “Minneapolis officials are encouraging people to commit violence against ICE officials,” he added.
Vance said easing political tensions requires halting attacks on officers and enforcing the law, pointing to claims that violent crime has fallen by 20% over the past year. “Have your debates about policy. Attack me. Attack the President of the United States. Do not attack our law enforcement officers,” he said. “They are not policy actors. They are enforcing the law.”
He urged opponents of the administration’s immigration policies to pursue change through elections rather than confrontations with agents. “Why don’t you take this to the ballot box? Why don’t you vote? Why don’t you organize?” Vance said, adding that some activists are “encouraging people to get violent with our law enforcement officials.”
Turning to the Minneapolis shooting itself, Vance said federal investigators are reviewing the incident involving Renee Nicole Good, who was shot during an immigration enforcement operation. He repeatedly described the officer’s actions as self-defense and rejected claims that the shooting was unjustified.
“She was trying to ram this guy with her car. He shot back. He defended himself,” Vance said.
Vance said the officer had “every reason to think that he was under very serious threat for injury, or in fact, his life,” adding that the woman “accelerated in a way where she ran into the guy.”
Addressing questions about intent, Vance said the circumstances warranted scrutiny but dismissed allegations of wrongdoing by the officer. “Was she panicking when she drove into this officer, or was she actually trying to ram him? That is a reasonable conversation,” he said. “What is not reasonable is for so many of you to plaster all over the media that this was an innocent woman and that the ICE agent committed murder.”
He said he was careful in how he characterized the encounter. “And I say attack very, very intentionally because this was an attack on federal law enforcement. This was an attack on law and order. This was an attack on the American people,” Vance said.
Vance also sharply rebuked media coverage of the shooting, saying it misrepresented the facts and endangered officers. “The way that the media, by and large, has reported this story has been an absolute disgrace,” he said. “And it puts our law enforcement officers at risk every single day.”
He accused some reporters of promoting what he described as false narratives about the woman who was killed. “Everybody who has been repeating the lie that this is some innocent woman who was out for a drive in Minneapolis when a law enforcement officer shot at her, you should be ashamed of yourselves. Every single one of you,” Vance said.
Pressed on whether he was prejudging the investigation, Vance said he could not know what motivated the woman but said the officer’s response was justified. “Look, I do not know what is in a person’s heart or in a person’s head,” he said. “What I am certain of is that she violated the law.”
Vance said the administration believes the Minneapolis incident is part of a broader pattern aimed at disrupting immigration enforcement nationwide. “There is an entire network, and frankly, some of the media are participating in it, that is trying to incite violence against our law enforcement officers,” he said.
He said federal authorities are working to trace those efforts. “Part of our investigatory work is getting to the bottom of it. Who is funding it, who is supporting it, who is cheerleading it … who told protesters to show up and engage in violent activity against our law enforcement officers?” Vance said. “There’s an entire network.”
WATCH:
