Pete Hegseth, the Pentagon’s Secretary of War, is spearheading a witch hunt into Charlie Kirk’s critics.
According to documents obtained by the Washington Post, the Pentagon has reviewed the online comments of almost 300 Defense Department employees spanning service members, civilian staff, and contractors –– made in the aftermath of last month’s assassination of the conservative luminary. After Kirk was killed on September 10, the Defense Department actively searched for employees who had made critical comments about him or his movement.
By the end of September, 128 service members had been investigated in connection with Kirk’s death, with most cases still ongoing, according to documents seen by the Post. Out of those, 26 have been officially reprimanded, which could affect their career advancement and future assignments.
It comes at the same time the Pentagon is tightening it’s belt on journalists and the way they cover the department. In recent weeks, the Defense Department has faced criticism from journalists in Washington for implementing a new policy requiring reporters to agree not to collect information without the department’s explicit permission. Journalists who refuse to sign this agreement risk losing their credentials to report on Pentagon activities.
Last week, Daily Mail reported that Hegseth was accused of ‘condescending and insulting’ America’s top generals and admirals at a highly anticipated summit in Quantico. In a highly awaited speech, Hegseth laid out a vision for troops and their commanders free from what he called ‘woke politics,’ diversity initiatives, and policies he referred to as involving ‘dudes in dresses,’ using strong language throughout his speech. A day later, several firings were made within the department.
A former national security official told the Daily Mail he found it absurd to see the military’s highest–ranking service men and women being forced to listen to Hegseth, who was only ever a junior–ranking soldier before becoming a Fox TV host. The ex–defense staffer said: ‘I thought it was a highly inappropriate politicization of the US military, which both Trump and Hegseth love to do.’
Since Kirk’s death, Hegseth and his team have argued that any speech praising or mocking the death of the Turning Point USA founder is ‘improper partisan behavior’ and can lead to disciplinary measures, including possible firing. ‘It’s a violation of the oath, it’s conduct unbecoming, it’s a betrayal of the Americans they’ve sworn to protect & dangerously incompatible with military service,’ spokesman Sean Parnell wrote last month on social media.
Former defense officials and congressional Democrats say that Defense Secretary Hegseth’s order to go after people who criticized Charlie Kirk shows growing concern about Kirk’s influence over the military. Opponents accuse the administration of hypocrisy for ignoring political violence when it targets their side, pointing to the president’s silence after a Democratic lawmaker was assassinated.
