US Vice-President JD Vance has endorsed a mass 'doxing' campaign to track down, intimidate and harass individuals perceived to have celebrated the killing of rightwing activist Charlie Kirk. Speaking on Kirk's podcast on Monday, Vance urged people to 'call out' those celebrating the murder, adding: 'Hell, call their employer.'
In recent days, numerous workers across various fields, including colleges and an airline pilot, have been fired for their comments on Kirk's death. An anonymous website, originally named 'Expose Charlie's Murderers' and rebranded as the 'Charlie Kirk Data Foundation', has collected over 63,000 submissions reporting anti-Kirk 'political extremism'. The site was down on Tuesday after being targeted by hackers.
Trump allies have linked Kirk's killing, without evidence, to a coordinated leftwing 'terror' movement funded by progressive charities. Vance vowed to 'dismantle the institutions that promote violence and terrorism', while Stephen Miller, Trump's deputy chief of staff, promised to use the Department of Justice and homeland security to 'identify, disrupt, dismantle and destroy these networks'.
The dragnet has caught individuals who merely quoted Kirk's own controversial statements, such as Army Lt Col Christopher Ladnier. Republican-led states like Florida, Oklahoma and Texas have launched investigations into teachers' comments, and the US military has invited public reports of those 'celebrating or mocking' the killing.
Critics have compared the crackdown to McCarthyism. Adam Goldstein of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression said: 'The government involvement in this does inch this closer to looking like McCarthyism... It was not a shining moment for free expression.'
