Trump’s DOJ Could Charge Alleged Kirk Killer With Surprising Crime |
President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice is reportedly trying to come up with a way to bring federal charges against Charlie Kirk’s alleged shooter. One solution? Declare Kirk’s murder an anti-Christian hate crime.
Tyler Robinson, the suspect, is already facing state charges for aggravated murder, and may even face the death penalty. But that’s not enough for the Trump administration, which seems to be trying to get the case taken to the federal level, according to a new report from NBC News.
Some prosecutors are pushing back. They say the crime doesn’t really fall under any federal statutes: Murder, generally, is under state jurisdiction, unless the suspect crossed state lines, or killed an elected official.
As a result, apparently, the DOJ is exploring the option to charge Robinson with an anti-Christian hate crime, three people who are familiar with the investigation told NBC.
It would be an unusual “hate crime” to prosecute, to say the least: The federal case would have to equate anti-trans views with Christianity, in order for the legal logic to work, according to NBC’s sources.
“They are trying to shove a square peg into a round hole,” one said.
In case anyone is unclear what constitutes a federal hate crime: the Hitler-loving white supremacist who killed Heather Heyer at the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville was charged with a hate crime, as was the white man who gunned down 10 Black people in a supermarket in Buffalo, NY.
Hate crime charges are generally used when someone attacks or discriminates against someone else based on their race, gender, sexuality, or religion.
Robinson, in texts to his trans partner that were released by the FBI, allegedly said that he wanted to kill Kirk because he had “enough of his hatred.” In order to charge Robinson with a hate crime, prosecutors would have to argue that being Christian and being hateful—at least towards trans people—are one and the same.
It’s not the first time, and it won’t be the last—President Donald Trump was a little too eager to claim he had ended an international conflict.
On Friday, the U.S. president said that the countries of Thailand and Cambodia, which have been involved in clashes that have left at least 20 people dead and displaced hundreds of thousands over the past week, had agreed to a truce.
The president wrote on Truth Social that he had a “very good conversation” with the prime ministers of both countries, and they had achieved a breakthrough. “Both Countries are ready for PEACE and continued Trade with the United States of America. It is my Honor to work with Anutin and Hun in resolving what could have evolved into a major War between two otherwise wonderful and prosperous Countries!” Trump wrote.
The ceasefire was supposed to begin yesterday, per Trump’s announcement, and the White House shared the president’s post on Facebook as well.
But on Saturday, Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul definitively refuted Trump’s claim, The New York Times reported.
“Thailand will continue to perform military actions until we feel no more harm and threats to our land and people,” he wrote on Facebook. “I want to make it clear.”
Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow also said that Trump’s comments didn’t “reflect an accurate understanding of the situation,” per CBS News.
Cambodia’s prime minister has not directly refuted the claim, but made no mention of a new ceasefire agreement.
On Saturday, the violence continued, as Thailand carried out airstrikes along the border between the two countries. The fighting is the latest iteration of a border conflict that’s been simmering for some time.
Meanwhile, Trump continues to repeat the claim that he’s ended a dizzying number of conflicts as part of his endless quest for the Nobel Peace Prize. This time, though, facts intervened.
Chuob Chhouk, a vegetable seller in Cambodia who had been displaced from her home, told the Times, “I want a real ceasefire, not just words.”
Kristi Noem is scrambling to shift blame to her subordinates for not meeting deportation quotas as the Department of Homeland Security descends into an atmosphere of chaos and finger-pointing, according to a new report.
Noem and her right-hand man (and alleged boyfriend) Corey Lewandowski have been playing the blame game, two DHS officials with direct knowledge of the matter told NBC News, setting up acting ICE Director Todd Lyons and Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott to take the fall.
Scott had been excluded from strategic conversations as well as social gatherings, and that department leaders told him he may soon be out of a job, the sources said. Scott was reportedly even worried that Lewandowski was reading his emails.
He’s not the only one with reason to be afraid: The White House is reportedly growing tired with Noem’s brash leadership, especially her relationship with Lewandowski. DHS officials told The Bulwark in early December that she could be out “really soon.”
As the agency leading President Donald Trump’s hallmark........