America is being sold a bill of goods with Gov. Tim Walz, and a dangerous one at that. 

The Democrat machine has been working overtime to introduce Walz as a folksy Midwestern dad with natural good sense, but nothing could be further from the truth. 

I would know — I was an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Minnesota for four years under Gov. Walz. 

When I first started as a federal prosecutor, I never thought so much of my time would go towards cleaning up after the governor’s messes, but it quickly became a recurring theme in my job. When Walz sat on his hands and let protesters destroy the Twin Cities, my colleagues and I went after rioters and held them accountable. When Walz was asleep at the wheel while crooks stole hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars, I prosecuted some of the fraudsters and recouped some of the money. 

The problem is that this isn’t just gross incompetence — it is downright dangerous decision-making. And there won’t always be prosecutors like myself, local law enforcement, or other stopgaps to help lessen the damage.

Walz’s weaknesses become even more concerning when they are paired with those of Kamala Harris. The Harris-Walz approach to public safety is so radical that it defies common sense and puts the public at serious risk. In fact, to the types of criminals I worked to put away, the pairing of Harris and Walz probably seems like a match made in heaven.

There is possibly no better example to illustrate this than the case of Myon Burrell. 

Burrell, a Bloods gang member, was convicted for shooting and killing 11-year-old Tyesha Edwards as she sat doing homework at her kitchen table. Burrell had tried to shoot a rival gang member but killed Edwards in the crossfire. He was a hardened criminal who had no remorse and deserved the life sentence he was given.

But Walz thought otherwise and in 2020, to the backdrop of the “Defund the Police” movement, he commuted Burrell’s sentence. A murderer was released back onto our streets.

While Walz was busy commuting Burrell’s sentence, Kamala Harris was out soliciting money for the Minnesota Freedom Fund, an organization that posts bail for criminals, including murderers, rapists, and drug traffickers. This turned out to be quite helpful to Burrell because, as most anybody could have predicted, his criminal behavior didn’t end when he was released from prison.

In August 2023, after being off probation for 3 months, Burrell was caught by police with an illegal gun and drugs. Despite being a convicted murderer, the Kamala Harris-backed Minnesota Freedom Fund bailed Burrell out. Burrell was set free again.

Not even a year later, Burrell was arrested a second time while out on bail, this time after selling fentanyl. He got caught with more drugs and $60,000 in drug proceeds. And wouldn’t you know it, he was bailed out again.

The dangerous reality is that this isn’t just a one-off situation. This is indicative of Walz and Harris’s whole approach to crime — they believe in coddling criminals and demonizing law enforcement at the expense of public safety. If this criminals-over-victims mentality becomes the standard, it will wreak havoc on our communities. 

Let what Walz has done to Minnesota be a warning. Don’t allow this failure of leadership to be perpetuated nationwide.

Joe Teirab, U.S. Marine and former federal prosecutor, is the Republican nominee for Congress in Minnesota’s 2nd District.