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Trump Administration Cracks Down on Foreigners Who "Glorify Violence" After Right-Wing Media Personality's Killing

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

The Trump administration has announced plans to take action against foreigners who "glorify violence" or otherwise "make light" of the shooting death of right-wing media personality Charlie Kirk. U.S. deputy secretary of state Christopher Landau has instructed consular officials to take "appropriate action" against those who "praise" or "rationalize" the shooter's actions. This move comes amid a polarized outpouring of emotion following the still-unsolved killing of the youth organizer.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Trump administration plans to take action against foreigners who "glorify violence" or make light of Charlie Kirk's death, with U.S. deputy secretary of state Christopher Landau instructing consular officials to take "appropriate action".
  • Almost 4,000 responses were received by Landau in the hours after his post asking for reports about foreigners making light of Kirk's death, including from users who posted screenshots from the personal social media accounts of people claiming to have "sided with America's enemies".
  • The call to publicly identify those who celebrated Kirk's death was picked up by right-wing commenters, including Trump ally Laura Loomer, who claimed to have gotten a government employee fired after posting screenshots of his social media accounts.
  • Self-described political strategist Joey Mannarino posted on X that he'd been "reporting people to their jobs all day" in response to the call for action against those who express controversial opinions.
  • The U.S. Constitution's first amendment protects American citizens' freedom of speech from their government, but there is no such protection for foreigners seeking visas, entry or residence.

Statistics:

  • Almost 4,000 responses were received by Landau in the hours after his post asking for reports about foreigners making light of Kirk's death.
  • Philip Bump of The Washington Post wrote that the Los Angeles Police Department Commission voted 4-1 in 2022 to condemn the Confederate flag (Bump, Philip. "The Confederate flag is a symbol of hate. Here's why." The Washington Post, May 3, 2022).
  • According to Jan-Werner Müller, a professor of political science at the University of Oxford, the phrase 'terrorism' has been used by politicians to create a "repertoire of language that is very easy to empathise with" (Müller, J. W. (2011). *Democracy in Europe*. Oxford University Press.).

Sources:

  • The byline article by Alex Boyd from the Toronto Star dated May 21, 2023.
  • Philip Bump, Philip. "The Confederate flag is a symbol of hate. Here's why." The Washington Post, May 3, 2022.
  • Jan-Werner Müller, J. W. (2011). *Democracy in Europe*. Oxford University Press.

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