Senior White House officials have said they will dismantle an alleged “vast domestic terror movement” that they claim led to the killing of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk last week.
The comments were delivered on Monday on Kirk’s podcast, which was hosted by United States Vice President JD Vance and featured a parade of government officials.
“We are going to channel all of the anger that we have over the organised campaign that led to this assassination, to uproot and dismantle these terrorist networks,” said Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff.
Miller added that “It will happen, and we will do it in Charlie’s name.”
Though investigators have yet to provide a motive for Kirk’s killing, many on the right have been quick to blame leftist ideology for the assassination.
Miller and Vance both alleged the existence of a left-wing extremist movement, which they said the administration would now target.
Vance used similar rhetoric in his own remarks, saying, “We’re going to go after the NGO network that foments, facilitates and engages in violence.” Police have said they believe the killer was acting alone.
The remarks, which come before all details surrounding Kirk’s killing are fully known, have sparked alarm among some critics of US President Donald Trump that such a campaign could be used to quash dissent.
A 22-year-old Utah resident named Tyler Robinson was arrested on Friday following a two-day manhunt. He is expected to be arraigned and charged on Tuesday. Utah Governor Spencer Cox told the media on Sunday that the suspect – who is from a Republican family – espoused leftist views, but declined to give any details.
While Kirk was a vocal conservative, the US has seen violence targeting members of both the Republican and Democratic parties in recent years, amid a sharp rise in polarisation and easy access to firearms.
Trump escaped two assassination attempts on the campaign trail last year, while a Minnesota Democratic lawmaker and her husband were shot dead by a masked gunman in June.
Two months earlier, a man attacked the home of Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, a prominent Democrat.
Kirk, a close ally of Trump, was shot on Wednesday during a speaking event on a Utah university campus. He was the founder of the influential conservative youth political group Turning Point USA.
On the podcast Monday, Vance was full of praise for a man he called “the smartest political operative I ever met”.
“He was a critical part of getting Donald Trump elected as president, getting me elected as vice president, and so much of our success over the last seven months is due to his efforts,” Vance said.
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