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On Monday evening, a major campaign to publicly identify, intimidate, and target individuals viewed as not sufficiently mourning the killing of rightwing commentator Charlie Kirk received backing by JD Vance.

While guest-hosting on the late commentator’s show, Vance stated that those who “see someone celebrating Charlie’s assassination” should “call them out”. Vance went on to say: “In fact, call their employer. We do not believe in violent tactics, but we do believe in respect, and there is no civility in the applause of political assassination.”

In the past week, numerous workers across diverse fields—including university faculty to an airline pilot—were terminated due to their remarks about the commentator’s killing.

A nameless online platform that began gathering reports of critical rhetoric claimed it had received over 63,000 reports. Originally named “Expose Charlie’s Murderers”, the site rebranded on Monday to the “Kirk Memorial Initiative”.

Supporters of Donald Trump have attempted to connect the assassination—absent proof—to what they label as a organized progressive “terror” network that supports political violence. These claims have raised concerns of a severe crackdown on free speech.

On the show, the Vice-President stated that the government would “work to dismantle the institutions that promote aggression and extremism in our nation”.

Joining the Vice-President on the podcast was Trump’s deputy chief of staff, who also vowed to crack down on what he referred to as a “widespread homegrown extremist network” he held responsible for Kirk’s death.

“With God as my witness,” Miller said, “we are going to use every resource at the Department of Justice, homeland security, and across this administration to identify, disrupt, dismantle, and eliminate these groups.”

Ideological affiliations of the assailant are not yet known, and the United States has witnessed a wave of attacks in the past few years that has targeted both Democrats and conservatives.

However, the dragnet has also affected those who voiced disapproval of the deceased activist, a Christian nationalist with a record of sexist and racist remarks. Some have simply quoted the commentator’s statements or been targeted for failing to grieve his death.

An example of a target was military officer a service member, who shared the commentator on the day of his assassination. Among the quotes were Kirk referring to the Civil Rights Act as a “monster” that “has now turned into an discriminatory weapon”, and his claim that certain firearm fatalities are the price of the Second Amendment.

Republican-controlled governments such as the Sunshine State, the Sooner State, and Texas have initiated inquiries into teachers alleged of making offensive comments following last week’s killing. Additionally, the Armed Forces has invited citizens to identify those who “celebrate or mock” the killing, and confirmed that some troops have faced dismissal for their remarks.

Calls for a crackdown by Vance and additional Trump allies have evoked memories of some of the darkest periods in US history.

“Official participation in this does inch it closer to looking like McCarthyism,” said a free speech advocate of the free speech organization, evoking the historical effort to root out leftists that led to false allegations and destroyed livelihoods. “That was hardly a shining moment for open discourse.”

Liberal figures have themselves been targets of political violence in recent times, such as the summer killing of a Minnesota state lawmaker and her spouse, and the 2022 beating of ex-congresswoman Nancy Pelosi’s husband in their California home.