American Deputy Secretary Christopher Landau warned on Thursday that Washington could intervene against foreigners who “roses, rationalize or make light” of the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, adding that he had instructed consular officials to take appropriate steps.
“In light of yesterday’s terrible assault on a leading political figure, I would like to emphasize that foreigners who glorify violence and hatred are not welcome visitors to our country,” Landau said in a post on social media platform X.
“I have been upset to see some on social media praising, rationalizing or making light on the event and have instructed our consular officials to take appropriate actions.”
Landau did not elaborate on what such action would mean.
Some users responded to Landaus posts with screens of accounts and posts, though it was unclear if the accounts they marked were US visa holders.
The number two of the state then responded to some of these comments and said he would refer consular officials to monitor the comments on the post, which from Thursday afternoon had over 2,000 answers.
A spokesman for the Ministry of State asked about Landaus’s speech said: “This administration does not believe that the United States should give visas to persons whose presence in our country does not match US national security interests.”
But the spokesman did not address questions about whether anyone had been identified to have their visa revoked or how consular officials would evaluate those marked in response to Landaus’s submissions.
Kirk, a 31-year-old writer, podcast host and close ally of US President Donald Trump, helped build the Republican Party’s support among younger voters. He was killed Wednesday by a single shot when he gave a lecture at a university in Utah in what President Donald Trump called a “cruel murder.”
The Trump administration has been pursuing a sweeping crash on immigration, including rising vetting on social media and the recall of thousands of students’ visas and the aim of tightening the duration of others.
