During a speech in Concord, North Carolina, Vice President J.D. Vance sharply criticized Democrats for what he described as increasingly dangerous rhetoric, declaring that those encouraging political violence against law enforcement “can go straight to Hell.” The remarks came as Vance addressed public safety and support for law enforcement during a visit to the Charlotte area, where state legislators are pushing to strengthen criminal laws.
The focus of Vance’s speech was an attack on an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Dallas, Texas, earlier Wednesday. A left-wing gunman, identified as Joshua Jahn, 29, opened fire on an unmarked ICE van transporting detainees, killing one individual and injuring two others before taking his own life. A “anti-ICE” message was found scrawled on a stripper clip of ammo near Jahn’s body.
Jahn, a registered Democrat with a history of criminal activity—including a 2015 marijuana conviction—had a Facebook profile featuring an armed communist icon with the text “GLORIOUS EXPOSITION, COMRADE.” His mother, a left-wing activist, had previously posted anti-gun rhetoric targeting Republican officials in Texas. Vance alleged there is unreleased evidence linking Jahn to “violent left-wing extremism,” emphasizing that the attack was politically motivated and targeted law enforcement “enforcing our border.”
Vance directly criticized California Governor Gavin Newsom, accusing him of fueling violence by labeling federal immigration efforts as “authoritarian” and describing ICE operations as “masked men jumping out of unmarked cars.” He reiterated that Democratic rhetoric undermining law enforcement risks inciting further violence, stating, “If your political rhetoric encourages violence against our law enforcement, you can go straight to Hell and you have no place in the political conversation in the United States of America!”
The vice president also condemned Democrats for their response to the recent assassination of TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk, urging them to “condemn the violence instead of something that Charlie said that they didn’t agree with.” He argued that left-wing organizations promoting or justifying violence inevitably lead to more political unrest, while the Trump administration continues efforts to dismantle domestic terror networks.
Vance’s comments followed California’s legislation banning face coverings for ICE and local law enforcement, a move the Trump administration has called unconstitutional. The vice president urged Democrats to “look in the mirror” and renounce all political violence, insisting that “it is not a both sides problem” and that violent rhetoric primarily originates from the left.
