FBI Director Kash Patel is cutting ties with the Anti-Defamation League after Elon Musk called it a ‘hate group’ for putting Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA on an extremist list. 

The organization is celebrated for fighting against antisemitism but Patel called them ‘a group that ran disgraceful ops spying on Americans’ and ‘an extreme group functioning like a terrorist organization.’ 

‘This FBI won’t partner with political fronts masquerading as watchdogs,’ he said in a statement.  

ADL – which calls itself a ‘global leader’ in fighting antisemitism – said it took note of Patel’s announcement and ‘has deep respect’ for the FBI.

‘ADL has deep respect for the Federal Bureau of Investigation and law enforcement officers at all levels across the country who work tirelessly every single day to protect all Americans regardless of their ancestry, religion, ethnicity, faith, political affiliation or any other point of difference,’ they said in a statement.

Patel’s announcement followed criticism of the ADL by right-wing voices, including billionaire Elon Musk, over its inclusion of Kirk’s Turning Point USA in a ‘Glossary of Extremism and Hate.’ Kirk was assassinated in September.

After that criticism, ADL removed the entire glossary from its website.

‘The FBI was taking their “hate group” definitions from ADL, which is why FBI was investigating Charlie Kirk & Turning Point, instead of his murderers,’ Musk said in a post to X. 

ADL turned on Elon Musk in January, just days after defending the Tesla billionaire over his controversial inauguration salute. 

The ADL – which works to combat antisemitism – initially gave Musk the benefit of the doubt over an ‘awkward’ hand gesture he performed twice after Donald Trump’s inauguration, which some have compared to a Nazi salute.

But after the ADL deemed the action was ‘not a Nazi salute’ and asked the public to show Musk ‘some grace’ over his odd display in a ‘moment of enthusiasm’, the DOGE leader sparked new fury with a series of Nazi puns.

ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt then condemned the off-color remarks.

‘We’ve said it hundreds of times before and we will say it again: the Holocaust was a singularly evil event, and it is inappropriate and offensive to make light of it,’ he wrote.

The ADL glossary had said Turning Point USA had a history of ‘bigoted statements,’ a charge the group rejects.

ADL’s website says it ‘works closely with federal, state and local law enforcement’ in fighting extremism and hate. It also notes, opens new tab the FBI had turned to it for data and research as far back as the 1940s.

U.S. officials have taken part in ADL events over the years.

James Comey, who has been criminally charged by President Donald Trump’s handpicked prosecutor, noted at a 2014 ADL summit that the FBI worked with the group to host civil rights and hate crime training for state and local counterparts. 

The U.S. has witnessed many instances of right-wing backlash against critics and commentators whose views on Kirk after his assassination have upset conservatives.

Last month, ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ was briefly taken off the air, political analyst Matthew Dowd was fired from MSNBC and columnist Karen Attiah was fired by the Washington Post.

Civil rights advocates criticized Kirk for rhetoric they called racist, anti-immigrant, transphobic and misogynistic, citing his remarks on Black, LGBTQ+, Muslim and immigrant communities.

Kirk’s supporters called him a defender of conservative values and champion of public debate who galvanized young voters for Trump.

ADL documents antisemitism and hate. Its critics say it equates antisemitism with criticism of Israeli policies, including Israel’s assault on Gaza and its occupation of Palestinian territories.

The organization’s website, opens new tab calls that conflation a misconception but adds that ‘certain forms of anti-Israel rhetoric and activism delegitimize Israel and its existence, and are antisemitic when they vilify and negate Zionism.’