US. authorities have revoked the visas of six foreigners who celebrated the assassination of Conservative activist Charlie Kirk on social media.
The State Department announced this move on Tuesday, warning that the U.S. is not obligated to host those who wish its citizens death.
“The United States has no obligation to host foreigners who wish death on Americans. The State Department continues to identify visa holders who celebrated the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk,” it said. “Here are just a few examples of aliens who are no longer welcome in the U.S.”
The department posted a screenshot of their posts on social media celebrating Mr Kirk’s assassination, saying “visa revoked”.
The six foreigners whose visas were revoked are from South Africa, Brazil, Argentina, Germany, Paraguay, and Mexico.
In a post on X, the department said the Argentinian said in an online post that Mr Kirk “devoted his entire life spreading racist, xenophobic, misogynistic rhetoric” and deserved to burn in hell.
Additionally, the department claimed the South African had “mocked Americans grieving the loss of Kirk”, saying “they’re hurt that the racist rally ended in attempted martyrdom” and alleging “he was used to astroturf a movement of white nationalist trailer trash”.
The Brazilian was accused of saying that “Charlie Kirk was the reason for a Nazi rally where they marched in homage to him” and that Kirk “DIED TOO LATE”.
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The department alleged that the Mexican said Mr Kirk “died being a racist, he died being a misogynist” and stated that “there are people who deserve to die. There are people who would make the world better off dead”.
While visas of foreigners who celebrated Mr Kirk’s assassination are being revoked, about 145 Americans were fired from work for celebrating the death of Mr Kirk.
The crackdown has ensnared foreign nationals for posts with minimal reach, raising questions about the extent of government surveillance of social media activity. Among those whose visas were revoked was a South African national whose commentary attracted just 2,344 views.
The individual “mocked Americans grieving the loss of Kirk, saying ‘they’re hurt that the racist rally ended in attempted martyrdom’ and alleging ‘he was used to astroturf a movement of white nationalist trailer trash’”, according to the state department.
A German national also had their visa cancelled for a post written in German that translated to: “when fascists die, democrats don’t complain.” The state department characterized this as celebrating Kirk’s death and attempting to justify his murder.
The Brazilian stripped of his US visa is Tiago Santineli, a far-left standup comedian and online influencer who published a series of inflammatory tweets about Charlie Kirk after his assassination.
In one 16 September post, cited by the state department on Monday, the 33-year-old comedian, who has more than 430,000 X followers, wrote: “Charlie Kirk was the reason for a Nazi demonstration where they marched in tribute to him. Good riddance!”
In a second part of the tweet, not cited by the state department, Santineli refers to the fatal shot to Kirk’s neck, writing: “If only someone had given Hitler this kind of tracheostomy before he had reached power. It’s too bad that Little Charlie Deep Throat was killed by another by another right-wing conservative, it takes a bit of the fun out of it, but it’s still worth it.”
The controversial Brasília-born comedian, who has nearly a million YouTube subscribers, published several other incendiary messages about Kirk’s 10 September assassination. In one 18 September post, Santineli wrote beneath a photo of two well-known rightwing Brazilian politicians: “When are these [two] going to get the charlie kirk treatment?”
Santineli did not reply to a request for comment but writing on X on 1 October he said he had received an email from the US embassy revoking his visa. The Brazilian boasted that that made him “the world’s first comedian to be banned from entering the US because of a joke”.
“I can’t go to the US,” Santineli wrote. “But the worst thing is that Charlie Kirk will never be able to leave hahahahahahahahaha.”
Another person singled out by the visa restrictions was Enrique “Kike” Gamarra, a veteran talkshow host who is often critical of Paraguay’s conservative government. In a recent programme, Gamarra said that Kirk’s killing “doesn’t absolve the way he lived his life. Charlie Kirk was a son of a bitch and died according to his own rules.”
Pro-government media in Paraguay celebrated the travel ban imposed on the broadcaster, which comes amid deepening ties between Trump’s White House and Paraguay’s president, Santiago Peña.
The state department’s actions draw on a vast surveillance apparatus established in 2019, when the department began requiring nearly all visa applicants worldwide to provide social media handles from platforms including Twitter/X, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn and Reddit used within the past five years.