US Targets Foreigners Celebrating Charlie’s Assassination

The United States has warned that foreigners who celebrate or make light of the assassination of conservative activists, Charlie Kirk, may face visa revocation, as officials identified social media account holders in Germany, Brazil, the United Kingdom, South Africa, and parts of Latin America for scrutiny.

The warnings followed the killing of Kirk, a 31-year-old author, podcaster, and co-founder of Turning Point USA, who was shot dead on Wednesday while speaking at Utah Valley University.

In a statement on his X on Thursday, US Deputy Secretary of State, Christopher Landau, said he had directed consular officials to monitor online commentaries and take appropriate measures against individuals “praising, rationalising, or making light” of the assassination.

He wrote, “In light of yesterday’s horrific assassination of a leading political figure, I want to underscore that foreigners who glorify violence and hatred are not welcome visitors to our country.

“I have been disgusted to see some on social media praising, rationalising, or making light of the event, and have directed our consular officials to undertake appropriate action. Please feel free to bring such comments by foreigners to my attention so that the @StateDept can protect the American people.”

While Landau did not elaborate on the visa revocation process, he responded to some online posts by pledging to review cases flagged by members of the public.

He also posted an image parodying the Batman signal, replacing the bat with the eagle from the Great Seal of the United States, captioned “El Quitavisas,” which Grok, an artificial intelligence app, explained is a Spanish phrase to mean “The Visa Remover.”