The Pentagon is not backing down from its quest for consequences for those who celebrate Charlie Kirk’s killing, even as Democrats warn the move is ‘un-American’ and violates free speech protections.
The controversy underscores a clash between military discipline and First Amendment rights, with top Pentagon officials arguing that celebrating the killing of an American political figure is unacceptable conduct for service members — while Democrats counter that the crackdown risks punishing constitutionally protected speech.
‘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, wrote on X.
‘We must condemn political violence AND allow peaceful speech that doesn’t impact the chain of command.’
War Secretary Pete Hegseth and his team see it differently.
‘We will not tolerate military or civilian personnel who celebrate or mock the assassination of a fellow American,’ Sean Parnell, chief Pentagon spokesperson, told Fox News Digital in a statement.
‘Every service member and civilian at the Department takes an oath to defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. Those in our ranks who rejoice at an act of domestic terrorism are unfit to serve the American people at the Department of War.’
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.
Another Army Reserves officer was suspended over the weekend.
‘A monster died today,’ one post allegedly belonging to Maj. Bryan Bintliff, who went by ‘Bryan Harlow’ on social media, read. ‘It’s sad Charlie’s kids are traumatized for life, but it’s not a sad thing that he’s dead.’
Kirk was shot and killed on Wednesday in Orem, Utah, while speaking to college students at Utah Valley University.
The Pentagon isn’t the only one rooting out those with distasteful commentary on the killing: the State Department has announced it would be scanning social posts to revoke visas of foreign nationals who do the same.
‘We shouldn’t be bringing people into this country. We should not be giving visas to people who are going to come to the United States and do things like celebrate the murder, the execution, the assassination of a political figure, we should not and if they’re already here, we should be revoking their visa,’ a senior State Department official told Fox News in an exclusive interview.
‘Why would we want to bring people into our country? They’re going to engage in negative and destructive behavior? It makes no sense.’