We look at how the assassination of Charlie Kirk has emerged as a tool for the Trump administration to crack down on dissent and free speech, as tens of thousands gathered Sunday in Arizona for a memorial for the conservative activist, including his wife Erika Kirk. While she called for forgiveness, President Trump and other top speakers, including Vice President JD Vance and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, reiterated calls for revenge on political opponents. “It is not just rhetoric,” says Jameel Jaffer, director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University. “The president really is using every lever at his disposal to silence, suppress and even imprison his political enemies.” Trump has also suggested that it should be illegal for journalists to cover his presidency in a negative light.
This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.
Democracy Now! | Radio Free (2025-09-22T12:17:54+00:00) Trump Expands “Authoritarian” Free Speech Crackdown, Calls Negative Media “Illegal”: Jameel Jaffer. Retrieved from https://www.radiofree.org/2025/09/22/trump-expands-authoritarian-free-speech-crackdown-calls-negative-media-illegal-jameel-jaffer-2/
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