News Henry Nowak JD Vance the UK

JD Vance blamed “migration” for Henry Nowak’s murder and called for “righteous anger” in response, and Brits were quick to tell him to maybe sit this one out

Michael White. Updated June 6th, 2026

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The tragic Henry Nowak case has rocked Britain to its core this week.

The release of body cam footage of the 18-year-old’s death – while handcuffed and under arrest for a crime he didn’t commit while dying from stab wounds – has prompted a huge debate about policing, race and knife crime.

Such is the intensity of the response that Nowak’s family asked that his murder by Vickrum Digwa not be used “to create further hatred, division or tension”. But some, like Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, have ignored that appeal.

And now US vice president JD Vance has waded into the case, tweeting on Friday night:

Vance said:

“Henry Nowak died the same way a civilization dies: abandoned, handcuffed by authorities who neither trusted nor cared for him, and accused of hate crimes he did not commit. His murder is as tragic as it is enraging. He should still be alive today, and he would be if the last few generations of European elites had stood their ground against the politics of self-hatred and the mass invasion of migrants, many of whom despise the West and the people who love it.

“Henry was far from the first to so needlessly lose his life, and I fear he won’t be the last. Each time a life like his is lost, the proper response—the only response—is righteous anger. One of the most important things the Trump administration has proven to the world is that stopping the flow of mass migration and defending national sovereignty is a matter of political will and leadership. Anything else is an excuse.

“It is because we love the West that we want to preserve it. We love our civilization. We love our country. We love our children. And nobody—nobody—should ever die the way that Henry Nowak died. May God comfort those who loved him, and may God rest his soul.”

People online, especially in the UK, have been quick to tell Vance to get wind his neck in, and to get his own house in order before commenting on UK issues. It even led to a reaction from Keir Starmer.

Here’s a selection of the responses.

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