The Trump administration continues exploiting the loss of life of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk to wage battle towards freedom of expression.
The State Division introduced Tuesday that it has revoked visas from six individuals for making feedback on social media about Kirk and the hate he spewed.
A photograph of Charlie Kirk is seen on a big display throughout a memorial on Sept. 21.
“The United States has no obligation to host foreigners who wish death on Americans,” the division wrote on X. “The State Department continues to identify visa holders who celebrated the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk.”
The motion fulfilled threats from President Donald Trump and members of his administration to make use of the ability of the federal government to silence dissent within the days following Kirk’s killing.
In a single X submit, the State Division reshared one of many messages that it discovered to be offensive.
The particular person wrote, “I do not give a fuck about the death of a person who devoted his entire life spreading racist, xenophobic, misogynistic rhetoric.”
And in one other submit, an individual described the occasion the place Kirk was lionized by the fitting as a “racist rally,” including that Kirk was “white nationalist trailer trash.”
Kirk was the truth is a racist and misogynist who spent his time as a political commentator and activist selling bigoted causes and leaders. He additionally promoted right-wing conspiracy theories and often denigrated individuals based mostly on their gender, sexual orientation, and race.
Conservatives have tried to sanitize Kirk’s picture since his loss of life, however his feedback are effectively documented and straightforward to search out. Being a bigot was central to his fame and affect.
Erika Kirk wipes her eyes as President Donald Trump posthumously awards the Presidential Medal of Freedom to her late husband Charlie Kirk on Oct. 14.
The State Division’s announcement got here on the identical day that Trump posthumously awarded Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America’s highest civilian honor.
Through the ceremony, Trump falsely claimed that Kirk was “boldly speaking the truth” on the time of his loss of life.
The choice to bestow the dignity on a bigot echoes Trump’s choice in 2020 to present the medal to conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh, who spent a long time spewing hate on the radio. Limbaugh died a couple of months later in February 2021.
Revoking visas over dissenting speech is in step with Trump’s makes an attempt to squelch voices that he doesn’t agree with. Most notably, the Federal Communications Fee tried to squeeze late-night host Jimmy Kimmel off the airwaves after he made feedback about the fitting’s response to Kirk’s loss of life.
