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Pentagon speech crackdown on anti-Kirk posts echoes 2021 drive against right-wing extremism
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Those who dismiss celebrations of Charlie Kirk’s murder as harmless free speech may have forgotten that the Pentagon’s crackdown on extremism began in 2021 after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
That year, the then-Defense Department, which was renamed the Department of War under the Trump administration, rewrote its standards for «extremism» within the ranks, making clear that even liking or retweeting certain content could prompt discipline. At the time, the initiative largely targeted right-wing extremism.
Now, Pentagon leaders are once again scouring social media — this time suspending officers who appear to cheer on the political assassination that has shaken the country over the past six days.
«It is unacceptable for military personnel and Department of War civilians to celebrate or mock the assassination of a fellow American. The Department of War has zero tolerance for it,» Sean Parnell, chief Pentagon spokesman and senior advisor, declared in a post on X.
Pentagon leaders are once again scouring social media — this time suspending officers who appear to cheer on the political assassination that has shaken the country over the past several days. (istock)
«Hunting down and prosecuting service members for their individual political beliefs is dangerous and un-American,» Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., a former Army Ranger, warned on X in response to the directive.
In 2021, after several service members were implicated in the Capitol riot, then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered a department-wide «stand-down» and created a Countering Extremist Activity Working Group. Its recommendations led to changes in the War Department’s code (DoDI 1325.06), which formally defined «extremist activities,» such as advocating violence, terrorism or the overthrow of the U.S. government.
Pentagon is cracking down on service members who mock or celebrate Charlie Kirk death. (David Ryder/Reuters)
PENTAGON CALLS CHARLIE KIRK POSTS ‘DOMESTIC TERRORISM’; DEM WARNS DISCIPLINE IS ‘UN-AMERICAN’
For the first time, the Pentagon explicitly stated that social media activity — including likes or shares — could be treated as an endorsement of extremism and grounds for discipline. The code also standardized recruit screening questions on extremist ties and issued new warnings to departing service members about the risks of extremist recruitment.
By the end of 2021, fewer than 100 service members had been found in violation of the new standards.
In 2021, after several service members were implicated in the Capitol riot, then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered a department-wide «stand-down» and created a Countering Extremist Activity Working Group. (Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters)
A June 2025 update left most of those rules intact, reaffirming that liking or sharing extremist content could be punished if it implied endorsement. But it did make one notable change: removing «gender identity» from a list of protected categories in the section banning advocacy of widespread unlawful discrimination. The 2021 version had barred discrimination based on «sex (including pregnancy), gender identity, or sexual orientation.»
Other agencies are taking even more aggressive steps. The State Department has announced it will revoke visas of foreigners who celebrate Kirk’s death, while Attorney General Pam Bondi said the Justice Department will pursue cases against those engaged in hate speech.
JAY LENO CALLS CHARLIE KIRK ASSASSINATION THE ‘DEATH OF FREE SPEECH’
Critics warn that the wave of firings and suspensions — across the Pentagon, other federal agencies and even private industry — risks going beyond curbing calls for violence to punishing those who merely criticize Kirk or fail to publicly mourn him.
«Hunting down and prosecuting service members for their individual political beliefs is dangerous and un-American,» Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., a former Army Ranger, warned on X in response to the directive. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
«Government employees, including military personnel, don’t give up their First Amendment rights when they take the job,» Aaron Terr, FIRE’s director of public advocacy, told Fox News Digital. «The military does have leeway to impose discipline for speech that directly undermines discipline or the chain of command, but simply expressing an opinion that others consider ugly or wrongheaded doesn’t meet that standard.»
Another First Amendment lawyer noted that in some instances, service members may enjoy stronger speech protections than private-sector employees, who can be fired «at will.»
«Usually, the way a government employer gets around [free speech arguments] is to say the government has the right to protect itself from statements that cast the institution in a negative light or pose a security issue,» said Jeff Lewis, a California-based attorney.
«So, although public employees have stronger First Amendment protections than private-sector employees, the government as an employer usually wins when free speech rights come up against its ability to hire and fire.»
Already, Army Col. Scott Stephens was suspended following posts purportedly belonging to him that praised the killing.
«The death of Charlie Kirk in Utah was tragic. However, we can take comfort in the fact that Charlie was doing what he loved best — spreading hate, racism, homophobia, misogyny and transphobia on college campuses,» one post read.
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Another Army Reserve officer was suspended over the weekend.
«A monster died today,» read one post allegedly belonging to Maj. Bryan Bintliff, who went by «Bryan Harlow» on social media. «It’s sad Charlie’s kids are traumatized for life, but it’s not a sad thing that he’s dead.»
pentagon,first amendment,politics
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GOP lawmaker shocked after anti-ICE sheriff was stumped by ‘fifth-grade civics’ question
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North Carolina Republican state Rep. Allen Chesser said he was taken by surprise when a Democratic sheriff who has long opposed cooperating with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) could not answer a basic question about how the government works.
A North Carolina House Oversight Committee hearing spurred on by the recent killing of a young Ukrainian woman, Iryna Zarutska, in Charlotte, took an unexpected turn when Chesser asked Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden, «What branch of government do you operate under?»
McFadden, who is the top law enforcement officer in the county where Zarutska was killed, simply answered, «Mecklenburg County,» prompting Chesser to repeat, «What branch of government do you operate under, sheriff?»
The sheriff answered, «The Constitution of the United States,» to which Chesser responded, «That is what establishes the branches of government; I’m asking what branch you fall under.»
After McFadden answered, «Mecklenburg County» again, Chesser remarked, «This is not where I was anticipating getting stuck. Um, are you aware of how many branches of government there are?» The sheriff quickly shot back, «No.»
CHARLOTTE LIGHT-RAIL STABBING MURDER SPURS LANDMARK CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM FROM NORTH CAROLINA REPUBLICANS
Left: The skyline of the City of Charlotte, North Carolina, which sits in Mecklenburg County. Right: Sheriff Garry McFadden. (Andrea Evangelo-Giamou / EyeEm via Getty Images; The Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office/Facebook)
After a long pause, Chesser continued, «For the sake of debate, let’s say there are three branches of government: legislative, executive, judicial. Of those three, which do you fall under?»
The sheriff answered, «I believe I fall under the last one … judicial.»
«You are incorrect, sir. You fall under the executive,» said Chesser.
After that, Chesser continued to press McFadden about how he reconciles his responsibility as an officer under the executive branch to enforce the law with his opposition to cooperation with ICE. Chesser asked McFadden how he reconciled his responsibility with a previous statement in which the sheriff said, «We do not have a role in enforcement whatsoever, we do not have to follow the rules and the laws that are governed by our lawmakers in Raleigh.»
The sheriff said that Chesser was taking his quote out of context, saying it was strictly in reference to immigration enforcement.
Though declining to offer more context on the statement, McFadden affirmed his office is now abiding by state law requiring cooperation with ICE, saying, «We follow the law, when the law is produced, we follow the law.»
HOUSE DEM EXPLODES ON TOP TRUMP IMMIGRATION OFFICIAL, SAYS HE ‘BETTER HOPE’ FOR PARDON FROM PRESIDENT
Iryna Zarutska curls up in fear as a man looms over her during a disturbing attack on a Charlotte, N.C., light rail train. (NewsNation via Charlotte Area Transit System)
In an interview with Fox News Digital the day after the hearing, Chesser, who is an Army veteran and former police officer, said that, «Obviously, those weren’t the cache of questions that I was thinking we were going to get him on.»
«I had several statements that he had made to the media and to the local press and in different interviews that kind of conflicted with some of the testimony that he provided yesterday about following the law. We made it to [only] one of those statements because we got held up on what I thought was baseline, just kind of setting a baseline of how we were to establish that his role is to enforce the law,» he explained, adding, «I was not expecting to have to get into a fifth-grade civics lesson with a duly elected sheriff.»
He said that McFadden has «decided to make himself kind of a centerpiece in the refusal to enforce immigration law here in North Carolina,» adding, «It’s not so much the refusal to enforce immigration law, but it’s the refusal to enforce state law that says he must cooperate with ICE and ICE detainers when people are in custody in his facilities.»
WHO IS IRYNA ZARUTSKA, UKRAINIAN REFUGEE KILLED IN CHARLOTTE TRAIN ATTACK?
Ukrainian Iryna Zarutska came to the U.S. to escape war but was stabbed to death in Charlotte. (Evgeniya Rush/GoFundMe)
«Last summer, we had the unfortunate death of a young Ukrainian national that had sought refuge in our country and in our state,» Chesser went on. «I think that all North Carolinians, and all people who find themselves in North Carolina, should be able to count on one thing when it comes to public safety, and that is whether or not you are safe and whether or not the law will be enforced is not dependent on what county you find yourself in.»
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«North Carolina is a safe state for all the people who choose to come here, and that is the point of the Oversight Committee [hearing] that we were having was, making sure that the law is equally applied and fairly applied across all imaginary lines in our state,» he said.
The Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
democratic party,immigration,enforcement,north carolina,charlotte raleigh piedmont,police and law enforcement,migrant crime
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is reportedly planning to announce a presidential election and a referendum on a potential peace deal to end the war with Russia, with the declaration expected on Feb. 24, the fourth anniversary of Moscow’s full-scale invasion.
The Financial Times, citing Ukrainian and European officials involved in the planning, reported on Wednesday that both a presidential vote, in which Zelenskyy would seek re-election, and a nationwide referendum could be held by May 15.
The outlet said Kyiv could risk losing proposed U.S. security guarantees if it does not hold both votes by that date.
The Financial Times noted that although earlier U.S.-imposed deadlines have come and gone, American officials are this time applying heavier pressure on Ukraine as the November midterm elections loom.
ZELENSKYY READY TO PRESENT NEW PEACE PROPOSALS TO US AND RUSSIA AFTER WORKING WITH EUROPEAN TALKS
A note marks a ballot box for voters with high temperatures at a polling station during the 2020 Ukrainian local elections in Rubizhne, Luhansk Region, eastern Ukraine, on Oct. 25, 2020, amid the coronavirus pandemic. (Kovalyov Oleksiy/Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty Images)
It added that the timeline could also be complicated by the wide gap between Moscow and Kyiv on key territorial issues, including control of the Donbas region and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, as well as the need for parliament to amend legislation because martial law currently bars national elections during wartime.
Zelenskyy previously stressed that the timing and format of any elections are matters solely for Ukraine and its citizens, rejecting any suggestion that the Kremlin could dictate the process.
In several lengthy posts on X in December, he argued that two key factors would determine whether voting is possible: security and legislation.
ZELENSKYY SAYS US SECURITY GUARANTEES DOCUMENT IS ‘100% READY’ FOR SIGNING
A woman casts her ballot at a mobile polling station during early voting in Russia’s presidential election in Donetsk, Russian-occupied Ukraine, on March 14, 2024. (Stringer/AFP via Getty Images)
Zelenskyy said voting can only take place on Ukrainian-controlled territory and must ensure the participation of soldiers defending the country. Elections cannot be held in Russian-occupied areas, he explained, because of concerns over how they would be conducted.
He also suggested that a ceasefire, at least for the duration of an election or referendum, may be necessary to guarantee secure conditions, including protected airspace and the presence of international observers.
The reported deadline from the Trump administration comes after The Associated Press reported that Washington is aiming for the war to end by June.
Ukrainian servicemen vote at a polling station during Ukraine’s parliamentary elections in Velyki Mosty, Lviv Oblast, on July 21, 2019. (Mykola Tys/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
Trilateral talks between the United States, Russia and Ukraine were held in Abu Dhabi in early February, where the sides met twice but emerged with only a limited breakthrough — agreeing to a 314-person prisoner exchange, the first such swap in five months.
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U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff said Washington and Moscow agreed to reestablish a military-to-military dialogue, calling the channel «crucial to achieving and maintaining peace.»
He said trilateral discussions would continue in the coming weeks after the delegations report back to their respective capitals.
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