Federal officials are examining reports surrounding a UC Berkeley gathering that celebrated the first anniversary of Charlie Kirk’s killing, though available reporting has not established that participants identified online are foreign students or that deportation proceedings have begun.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom.
The State Department has taken interest in a University of California, Berkeley, gathering where students celebrated the anniversary of conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s assassination, bringing new federal scrutiny to campus conduct and questions over whether any participants are foreign nationals studying in the United States on visas.
The Sept. 10 gathering occurred one year after Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot while speaking at Utah Valley University. A separate memorial organized by the conservative group’s Berkeley chapter took place earlier that day before another crowd assembled to cheer, sing and mock Kirk’s memory, according to The College Fix.
State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott told the publication that the Trump administration considers visa holders guests of the United States and would take action when warranted by violations of federal law.
“People in the United States on visas are guests in this country, and we will not tolerate people here on visas who break our laws, support terrorism, or unlawfully incite violence, which ultimately led to the horrific assassination of an American,” Pigott said.
“That is not only common sense, it’s an essential component of our national security. If that wasn’t the policy under the previous administration, it should’ve been, and it is now under the Trump administration,” he added.
The statement does not establish that any person who attended the Berkeley event violated those standards, and publicly available reporting has not confirmed that the students circulated on social media are in the United States on student visas. The College Fix reported that The New York Times had previously found it was unclear whether any of the event participants who opposed Kirk were foreign students.
No publicly confirmed deportation order against a participant was identified in the reporting, making the distinction between federal scrutiny and an active removal proceeding significant.
Attention intensified after a social media account calling itself Department of Deportations circulated photographs of several people it said attended the gathering and asserted that some were international students.
“And for our last trick of the day, we’re going to get a couple of people deported,” the account wrote.
“Meet this group of Berkeley students who are here on student visas and will soon be heading back!
“The guy in the center is Nicholas Vail. The rest can be found easily.”
The same Sept. 13 post attracted substantial attention online. Screenshots shared by the account included social media profiles and highlighted foreign flags displayed in some users’ biographies, but those details alone do not demonstrate a person’s citizenship or immigration status.
The College Fix said it attempted to contact four people pictured in the material but reported that Vail’s account had already been removed.
Federal attention followed. The College Fix reported that Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau responded to an online request for deportation action involving the Berkeley participants by writing, “Thanks. On it!”
That response indicated the department was examining the matter but did not itself constitute a finding that the individuals were visa holders, had violated immigration law or were subject to removal.
The controversy began with two starkly different events on the Berkeley campus.
Members of Turning Point USA first gathered on Sproul Plaza to commemorate Kirk, displaying a large portrait of the slain activist alongside material centered on freedom and American patriotism.
John Paul Leon, president of the UC Berkeley Turning Point USA chapter, addressed students during the memorial.
“You don’t have to agree with everything he said, but when you support the literal political violence and action against this man, that is an act of moral depravity,” Leon said.
Several hours later, another group assembled for an event organizers called the “Kirkversary.” The Daily Californian described a large crowd gathering around 6 p.m. to sing, cheer and boo Kirk’s memory.
The opposing gatherings reflected the intensely polarized reaction that has surrounded Kirk since his killing. Kirk built Turning Point USA into a prominent conservative youth organization and became known for appearing on college campuses, where he routinely debated students and critics in public forums.
His assassination prompted widespread condemnation of political violence across the political spectrum, while also producing contentious online reactions from some of his ideological opponents.
The Berkeley episode has now become part of a broader national argument over how far the federal government can go when foreign nationals engage in political expression while studying in the United States.
Holding a student visa does not eliminate First Amendment considerations, and offensive or inflammatory speech is not automatically unlawful incitement. Under longstanding Supreme Court precedent, the constitutional threshold for criminal incitement is considerably higher than expressing approval of violence or making offensive political statements.
Immigration law presents separate questions, however, because the federal government has broad authority over the issuance and revocation of visas and can pursue removal when a foreign national becomes legally ineligible to remain in the country.
The Trump administration has taken an expansive approach to reviewing the status of some noncitizens involved in politically charged campus activities, particularly when officials allege support for terrorism, unlawful conduct or threats to U.S. national security.
Pigott’s comments framed the Berkeley inquiry around those issues rather than around political disagreement alone.
Whether any of the students at the Sept. 10 celebration fall into those categories remains unresolved. Available reports have not established their immigration status, nor have federal officials publicly announced that specific Berkeley participants have lost visas or entered deportation proceedings.
That leaves the episode at a preliminary stage: Students who celebrated Kirk’s death have drawn the attention of State Department officials, but claims circulating online that identified Berkeley students are definitively “facing deportation” go beyond what has so far been publicly confirmed.
What is clear is that a campus gathering intended to mock the anniversary of a political assassination has moved beyond Berkeley, placing its participants under national scrutiny and drawing the attention of officials responsible for deciding who may obtain and retain permission to enter the United States.
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