Trump administration joins Republicans' campaign to police speech in reaction to Charlie Kirk's murder

Vice President JD Vance on Monday jumped onto the conservative movement demanding consequences for those who have cheered Charlie Kirks killing calling on the public to turn in anyone who says distasteful things about the assassination of his friend and political ally When you see someone celebrating Charlies murder call them out Vance urged listeners on the slain activists podcast Monday And hell call their employerVances call also included a vow to target some of the biggest funders of liberal causes as conservatives stepped up their targeting of private individuals for their comments about the killing It marked an escalation in a campaign that some warned invoked some of the darkest chapters of American historyThe government involvement in this does inch this closer to looking like McCarthyism said Adam Goldstein of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression referring to the 1950s campaign to root out communists that led to false allegations and ruined careers It was not a shining moment for free expressionCampaign broadens to those who quote Kirk criticallyRepublicancontrolled states such as Florida Oklahoma and Texas have launched investigations of teachers accused of inappropriate statements after last weeks assassination on a college campus in Utah The US military has invited members of the public to report those who celebrate or mock the killing and said some troops have already been removed for their commentsAt the same time the Trump administration has vowed to target what it contends is a vast liberal network that inspired the shooter even as authorities maintain it appears he acted alone and the investigation is ongoing The campaign has broadened to include even those whose statements were critical of Kirk without celebrating his assassinationThe Washington Post fired Karen Attiah an opinion columnist for posts on the day of the shooting that lamented how white America was not ready to solve gun violence and that quoted Kirk denigrating the intelligence of prominent Black women such as Michelle Obama Goldstein worried there were many cases like Attiahs of people targeted for simply quoting Kirk or failing to mourn his passing adequately Thats one of the key symptoms of cancel culture he said Trying to paint everyone with the same brushConservatives coined the term cancel culture for what they claimed was persecution of those on the right for their views especially related to the COVID19 pandemic and Jan 6 2021 attack on the US Capitol leading to campaigns to get regular people fired It was a significant cause for President Donald Trump who pledged to end it during his campaign last year But after the Kirk killing he and his administration have instead leaned into it from the rightA hero to conservatives a provocateur to many DemocratsA father of two and Christian conservative Kirk was a hero to many Trump Republicans for his fiery warnings about the dangers of Democrats and ability to organise young voters for the GOP But Kirk also was a provocateur and supporter of Trumps attempt to overturn his 2020 election loss who left a long record of partisan quips that enraged many on the leftAccording to Kirk empathy is a madeup newage term so keep the jokes coming Its what he would have wanted read one post on X that Melvin Villaver Jr a Clemson University music professor reposted the day of the killing according to a screenshot circulated by college Republicans demanding his firing Clemson eventually fired one staffer and suspended Earl and another professor after intense pressure from elected South Carolina Republican officialsOther targeted posters such as Army Lt Col Christopher Ladnier simply quoted Kirk on the day of his assassination These included Kirk calling the Civil Rights Act a beast that has now turned into an antiwhite weapon his criticism of Martin Luther King Jr and his statement that some gun deaths are the cost of a robust Second Amendment that protects other rightsLadnier who has been targeted by conservative activists online said in a Facebook message to The Associated Press that he would respond whenif his chain of command takes action Texas Gov Greg Abbott approvingly posted a video of a student at Texas Tech University on Friday who was arrested after a confrontation at a campus vigil for Kirk writing This is what happened to the person who was mocking Charlie Kirks assassination at Texas TechTop Republicans vow to go after domestic terrorist networkAuthorities say Kirk was shot by 22yearold Tyler Robinson who grew up in a conservative household in southern Utah but was enmeshed in leftist ideology according to the states Republican governor Spencer Cox Robinson is expected to appear in court for the first time Tuesday at which point Cox said investigators may reveal more about what motivated the attack The governor said the suspect who allegedly carved memes onto his bullet casings appeared radicalised by the dark corners of the internetOn Monday Vance was joined on Kirks podcast by Stephen Miller Trumps deputy chief of staff who vowed to crack down on what he called the vast domestic terrorist network he blamed for Kirks death Alluding to free speech concerns Vance said You have the crazies on the far left that say Oh Stephen Miller and JD Vance theyre going to go after constitutionally protected speechBut he added No no no Were going to go after the NGO network that foments facilitates and engages in violence a reference to nongovernmental organisations The White House did not immediately return a request seeking clarity on the remarks including which groups might be targetedThe idea of a retribution campaign against individuals or groups for expressing a particular viewpoint has alarmed many Just having that ideology just believing differently than some other American is not illegal Republican Sen James Lankford of Oklahoma said on CNN on SundayThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no 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