US revokes six foreigners’ visas over social media comments criticizing Charlie Kirk | Trump administration

Donald Trump’s US state department said on Tuesday that the visas of six foreigners had been revoked due to comments made on social media about the assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk.

“The United States has no obligation to host foreigners who wish Americans dead,” the State Department said in a statement. Published on X. “The State Department continues to identify visa holders who celebrated the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk.”

The State Department later listed “six examples of aliens no longer welcome in the United States” in a thread on the social media platform owned by Trump donor Elon Musk, who called himself a “free speech absolutist” before purchasing the site formerly known as Twitter.

The message thread included screenshots and quotes from individuals identified as foreign nationals from Argentina, Brazil, Germany, Mexico, Paraguay and South Africa.

None of these people were named, but screenshots made it possible to trace the identities of two people, including one who was harassed by conservatives on X.

“Charlie Kirk will not be remembered as a hero,” said one of the comments posted on X. “He was used to creating the astroturf of a movement made up of white nationalist trailer trash!”

The issue comes from a statement from the state department that Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio will “defend our borders, our culture, and our citizens by enforcing our immigration laws. Aliens who take advantage of America’s hospitality while celebrating the assassination of our citizens will be eliminated.”

Last month, deputy foreign minister Christopher Landau called on social media users to send him posts criticizing Kirk, saying he was “disgusted to see some on social media praising, rationalizing or making light of the incident and has instructed our consular officials to take appropriate action.”

The administration has previously stepped up efforts to identify and potentially deport thousands of foreign students it accuses of participating in unrest in the form of protests against Israel’s mass killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza. The administration has also required foreign visitors to make their social media accounts public so that they can be checked before being allowed to enter the country free of charge.

In recent months, the administration has expelled South Africa’s ambassador to the United States for comments critical of Trump, revoked Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s visa to attend the United Nations General Assembly in New York, and revoked the visas of British punk-rap duo Bob Vylan.

The government also said it was reviewing the status of more than 55 million people who received visas to enter the United States for possible violations of standards.

These actions were criticized by civil rights groups as blatant violations of constitutional protections for free speech that apply to everyone in the United States, not just citizens.