Elon Musk slams SPLC for labelling Charlie Kirk's Turning Point USA a ‘hate group'
Elon Musk has called the non-profit Southern Poverty Law Center a 'scam organization' after it included MAGA activist Charlie Kirk 's Turning Point USA on its signature 'Hate Map' and branded it 'an anti-government extremist group.'
Kirk's Arizona-based collective was founded in 2012 and considers itself 'the largest and fastest-growing' conservative grassroots organization in the United States. It boasts a presence on 'over 3,500 campuses' nationwide.
It has long been associated with President Donald Trump, who has regularly delivered speeches to its gatherings.
But the SPLC's inclusion of TPUSA on the map places it in the same company as regional chapters of the Ku Klux Klan and other far-right, neo-Nazi and Islamophobic organizations.
Kirk, 31, who is currently on a speaking tour of the United Kingdom and last week addressed the Oxford Union, responded angrily in a lengthy post on X by calling the SPLC's move 'a cheap smear from a washed-up org that's been fleecing scared grandmas for decades.'
He continued: 'They somehow still rake in over $100 million a year peddling their 'hate map' nonsense, sitting pretty in their Montgomery 'Poverty Palace' while crying about 'hate' to line their pockets. Even former staffers called their racket a 'con.'
'Their game plan? Scare financial institutions into debanking us, pressure schools to cancel us, and demonize us so some unhinged lunatic feels justified targeting us. Remember the Family Research Council? An SPLC-inspired gunman went after them. They'd love nothing more than to see TPUSA in the crosshairs.'
Kirk concluded his rant by claiming that 'nobody with a functioning brain buys their garbage anymore' and branding the SPLC 'a laughingstock, a hollowed-out husk of an organization that's been exposed as a grift time and time again' and fuming: 'They're not just irrelevant – they're a cautionary tale of how to torch your own credibility.'
The world's richest man reacted to Kirk's post by declaring, 'SPLC is a scam organization. " Kirk replied enthusiastically with two 100 percent emojis, signaling his agreement.
The Independent has contacted the SPLC for its response to Kirk's attack.
In an essay accompanying the latest instalment of its annual 'Year in Hate and Extremism' report, published alongside the map, the legal advocacy group describes the TPUSA as 'a well-funded, hard-right organization with links to Southern Poverty Law Center-identified hard-right extremists' with 'a tremendous amount of influence in conservative politics.'
It continues: 'Turning Point USA's primary strategy is sowing and exploiting fear that white Christian supremacy is under attack by nefarious actors, including immigrants, the LGBTQ+ community and civil rights activists.
'TPUSA and its spokespeople often warn their audience that their children, wives, religion, way of life and they themselves are under attack by various constructed enemies [and] exploits complicated feelings of insecurity and anxiety to manufacture rage and mobilize support to revive and maintain a white-dominated, male supremacist, Christian social order.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
39 minutes ago
- Reuters
Riot police, anti-ICE protesters square off in Los Angeles after raids
LOS ANGELES, June 6 (Reuters) - Helmeted police in riot gear turned out on Friday evening in a tense confrontation with protesters in downtown Los Angeles, after a day of federal immigration raids in which dozens of people across the city were reported to be taken into custody. Live Reuters video showed Los Angeles Police Department officers lined up on a downtown street wielding batons and what appeared to be tear gas rifles, facing off with demonstrators after authorities had ordered crowds of protesters to disperse around nightfall. Early in the standoff, some protesters hurled chunks of broken concrete toward officers, and police responded by firing volleys of tear gas and pepper spray. Police also fired "flash-bang" concussion rounds. It was not clear whether there were any immediate arrests. An LAPD spokesperson, Drake Madison, told Reuters that police on the scene had declared an unlawful assembly, meaning that those who failed to leave the area were subject to arrest. Television news footage earlier in the day showed caravans of unmarked military-style vehicles and vans loaded with uniformed federal agents streaming through Los Angeles streets as part of the immigration enforcement operation. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents targeted several locations, including a Home Depot in the city's Wetlake District, an apparel store in the Fashion District and a clothing warehouse in South Los Angeles, according to the Los Angeles City News Service (CNS). CNS and other local media reported dozens of people were taken into custody during the raids, the latest in a series of such sweeps conducted in a number of cities as part of President Donald Trump's extensive crackdown on illegal immigration. The Republican president has vowed to arrest and deport undocumented migrants in record numbers. The LAPD did not take part in the immigration enforcement action. It was deployed to quell civil unrest after crowds protesting the deportation raids spray-painted anti-ICE slogans on the walls of a federal court building and massed outside a nearby jail where some of the detainees were believed to be held. Impromptu demonstrations had also erupted at some of the raid locations earlier in the day. One organized labor executive, David Huerta, president of the Service Employees International Union of California, was injured and detained by ICE at one site, according to an SEIU statement. The union said Huerta was arrested "while exercising his First Amendment right to observe and document law enforcement activity." No details about the nature or severity of Huerta's injury were given. It was not clear whether he was charged with a crime. ICE did not immediately respond to a request from Reuters for information about its enforcement actions or Huerta's detention. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass issued a statement condemning the immigration raids, saying, "these tactics sow terror in our communities and disrupt basic principles of safety in our city."
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Leaders of the Jan. 6 riot take revenge against US after securing pardon from Trump
Five former members of the Proud Boys are looking for a little revenge after getting a pardon from Donald Trump, filing a $100million lawsuit against the Department of Justice. One of the first moves of Donald Trump's second term was to pardon all January 6 defendants which included members of the far right Proud Boys. Former Proud Boys chairman Enrique Tarrio, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl, Ethan Nordean and Dominic Pezzola have filed the suit in Orlando federal court. While Tarrio received a pardon, the other four plaintiffs had their sentences commuted. The lawsuit said all four applied for pardons on May 13. They claim their constitutional rights were violated when they were prosecuted for their participation in the attack on the U.S. Capitol. The suit seeks unspecified compensatory damages plus 6% interest and $100 million plus interest in punitive damages. 'There was hostages in this country,' Tarrio said during a news conference Friday afternoon. 'It's not about any other country today, and that's why this lawsuit is so important to bring back law and order into our system.' The lawsuit claims the men were arrested with insufficient probable cause and that government agents later 'found' fake incriminating evidence. They also claim they were held for years in pretrial detention, often in solitary confinement. 'The Plaintiffs themselves did not obstruct the proceedings at the Capitol, destroy government property, resist arrest, conspire to impede the police, or participate in civil disorder, nor did they plan for or order anyone else to do so,' the lawsuit said. Tarrio, Biggs, Rehl and Nordean were all convicted of seditious conspiracy and other crimes for their participation in the Capitol riot that sought to stop Congress from certifying former U.S. President Joe Biden ´s win over President Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election. Pezzola was acquitted on the conspiracy charge but convicted of stealing a police officer's riot shield and using it to smash a window. After returning to office earlier this year, Trump granted pardons to almost all of the more than 1,500 people who stormed the Capitol. The U.S. Justice Department didn't immediately respond to a message seeking comment. Speaking to a media gaggle packed into his White House office the night of the inauguration, Trump said he was pardoning about 1,500 defendants and issuing six commutations. Ex-Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio was a guest of honor at the Reagan Tribute at Mar-a-Lago – just two weeks after his prison sentence was commuted by President Donald Trump's executive order Zachary Rehl (pictured left) and Ethan Nordean (pictured right) are two of the plaintiffs in the suit He also directed the attorney general to seek dismissal of about 450 pending criminal cases against Jan. 6 defendants. The pardons fulfill Trump's promise to release supporters who tried to help him overturn his election defeat four years ago. 'These are the hostages,' he said while signing the paperwork in the Oval Office. Trump declared at his indoor parade earlier that day that he will sign pardons for 'a lot of people' who were convicted for the attack on the U.S. Capitol as the crowd cheered enthusiastically. 'We won, we won, but now the work begins,' Trump said to start his remarks at the end of the parade in the packed Capitol One Arena in Washington, DC. Tarrio, one of the biggest names to get a pardon, has since said he plans to run for public office. He was sentenced in September 2023 to serve 22 years in prison after he was convicted of seditious conspiracy for his role in the January 6 attack – even though he was not present at the Capitol that day. And just two weeks later, Tarrio was among the guests of honor during a Reagan Tribute event at Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida. Tarrio, who was chairman of the Proud Boys at the time of the Capitol attack, said he would neither 'support' nor 'condemn' the riot. The far-right activist did insist, however, that he did not 'sympathize' with lawmakers who were terrified in their offices that day. At least 37 members of the Proud Boys were arrested, charged or indicted for alleged roles in the Capitol riot by January 2022. By then, Tarrio was no longer a leader of the group. He served as chairman from 2018 to 2021. The House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack subpoenaed Tarrio to testify in November 2021 and in February 2022, he gave a deposition to the committee investigators and two members.
The Independent
3 hours ago
- The Independent
President of California's largest union arrested while observing ICE raids in LA
Labor leader David Huerta was detained while observing Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids taking place in Los Angeles. The Service Employees International Union California (SEIU) says that its president was injured during the ICE raids and is calling for his release, NBC4 Los Angeles reports. 'SEIU California members call for the immediate release of our President, David Huerta, who was injured and detained at the site of one of today's ICE raids in Los Angeles. He is now receiving medical attention while in custody,' Tia Orr, Executive Director of SEIU California, said. Mayor Karen Bass told NBC4 that Huerta had been pepper-sprayed during the incident. "He is doing ok physically, but I know what really impacted him the most was the emotional trauma of watching parents and kids being separated," Bass said. "He's going into ICE custody and we hope to get him out very soon." The mayor said she does not know why Huerta is being detained. The SEIU issued a statement supporting Huerta, insisting that he was "exercising his First Amendment right to observe and document law enforcement activity." 'We are proud of President Huerta's righteous participation as a community observer, in keeping with his long history of advocating for immigrant workers and with the highest values of our movement: standing up to injustice, regardless of personal risk or the power of those perpetrating it," the union said. Orr also condemned the ICE raids. 'We call for an end to the cruel, destructive, and indiscriminate ICE raids that are tearing apart our communities, disrupting our economy, and hurting all working people. Immigrant workers are essential to our society: feeding our nation, caring for our elders, cleaning our workplaces, and building our homes,' she said. Bass said she is going to meet with immigrant support groups to discuss plans for responding to situations like the mass ICE raids in the future. "My message to them is that we are going to fight for all Angelenos regardless of when they got here, whether they have papers or not," she said. "We are a city of immigrants, and this impacts hundreds of thousands of Angelenos." ICE arrested approximately 44 people in Friday's raid, according to Homeland Security Investigations. 'Today, ICE officers and agents alongside partner law enforcement agencies, executed four federal search warrants at three location in central Los Angeles. Approximately 44 people were administratively arrested and one arrest for obstruction. The investigation remains ongoing, updates will follow as appropriate," HSI spokesperson Yasmeen Pitts O'Keefe said in a statement.
