"White man, fight back!" - How the Murder of Charlie Kirk Unleashed Censorship and the Far Right

For years, Charlie Kirk and the milieus of the extreme right were adversaries. For neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and militias like the Proud Boys or the Oath Keepers, Kirk was not an ally but an obstacle - too moderate, too close to the political establishment, too willing to compromise. Although he disparaged trans people, Muslims, unmarried women, and other minorities and called for an America where Christianity forms the center of all life, he was seen by them as too soft. For some, even his uncompromising support of the Israeli government was reason enough to view him as an enemy. But as soon as Kirk was shot dead Wednesday at a Turning Point USA event in Orem, Utah, the picture changed radically. The very groups that had despised him the day before now presented him as a fallen comrade, as a victim of a war that, in their view, is being waged against white, Christian men.

The killing was immediately stylized as a signal fire, a rallying cry. Telegram channels flooded with calls to action, videos of vigils were shared showing men chanting "White man, fight back." What could have been a moment of reflection turned into a wave of mobilization that extremist groups saw as an opportunity - finally a chance to reconnect with the outrage of the wider conservative base, finally a pretext to turn hate into energy.

In May 2025 we published not entirely unproblematic research under the article "The Shadow Army" at the link https://kaizen-blog.org/en/die-schattenarmee-the-shadow-army/ -

Ryan Sánchez, leader of the "National Network," who had been filmed giving a Nazi salute at CPAC the previous year, wrote on his channel: "Nothing can stop what is coming. We are mobilizing young Nationalists to defend our communities against the Radical Left - we need your help!" Next to it he posted a screenshot of a $1,000 donation he received on the Christian crowdfunding platform GiveSendGo. The donor wrote: Use it for good and purge the country of these insane ideologies. Another user calling himself "White Nationalist" commented: "Time to take our country back fellas. Get to work!" These are not just words - they are calls to action. The murder of Kirk has thus become a recruitment tool. Groups that had been pushed underground since the mass arrests after January 6, 2021, now smell their chance for a comeback. Researchers like Luke Baumgartner of the Program on Extremism at George Washington University warn: "The most dangerous are not the ordinary citizens who suddenly radicalize. The real danger are those who are already on the edge - who now find their reason to take the step from online radicalization to real-world violence." Sánchez promoted the vigils in Huntington Beach where the slogan "White man, fight back!" was chanted and posted a photo of himself with the caption "DEATH TO THE LEFT." Such images spread through channels like the "Anti-Communist Combat HQ," which has curated antisemitic and racist content for years.

The Proud Boys, decimated for years by trials and prison sentences, also smell blood. Telegram channels called for "massive, top-down, state violence against evildoers." A Texas chapter posted the image of a knight with a burning cross and the caption "time to lock in," followed by a video of Adolf Hitler with the message "Eye for an eye." Two Proud Boys appeared at an improvised vigil in Utah on the evening of the shooting. Enrique Tarrio, the former leader whose 22-year prison sentence for his role in the storming of the Capitol was pardoned by Trump, declared: "We will not call for violence, but we will inform the employers of those who celebrated Kirk's death." Numerous channels then published lists of names and profiles of alleged "celebrators."

In social media, urgent warnings circulated in the evening to BIPoC, LGBTQ people, and leftists in Orange County: White supremacist activities were said to be planned in Huntington Beach starting at 6:30 p.m., especially around the pier. The messages were permeated with pure fear - they did not just call for caution but urged people to protect each other, stay vigilant, and prepare for possible attacks.

The Oath Keepers also want to return to the stage. Founder Stewart Rhodes, also pardoned by Trump, announced on Infowars that Kirk's murder had given him the inspiration to rebuild the militia: "If my team had been there, they would have saved Charlie Kirk." Rhodes wants to present the White House with a plan to activate militias nationwide. He calls on men between 17 and 45 to "secure neighborhoods and prevent terrorist attacks." Just one day later, Jessica Watkins, a convicted Oath Keeper, wrote on X: "Charlie Kirk’s assassination pulled me out of retirement. More work must be done." Researchers like Devin Burghart of the Institute for Research & Education on Human Rights see a dark omen in this development: "To see the two groups that shaped January 6 returning to a violence-glorifying posture should alarm us all." The picture is clear: The murder of Charlie Kirk has become a catalyst that unleashes not reflection but fantasies of vengeance - and reawakens an ecosystem that craves confrontation.

What is particularly explosive, however, is another form of confrontation - how quickly major media corporations reacted to nip any critical assessment of Kirk's legacy in the bud. On Friday, Comcast top managers sent a company-wide email to all NBCUniversal employees, including NBC, MSNBC, CNBC, and Bravo. In it, Kirk was praised as an "advocate for open debate" - and at the same time it was made unmistakably clear that even harmless deviations from the official tone could lead to dismissal. The case of MSNBC analyst Matthew Dowd, who was immediately fired after a sober remark about Kirk's polarizing rhetoric, serves as a warning example.

In a company-wide email, Comcast managers Brian Roberts, Mike Cavanagh, and Mark Lazarus praised Charlie Kirk as a 31-year-old father, husband, and "advocate for open debate." His death, they wrote, is a reminder of the fragility of life and the need for national unity, and that there is no place for violence in society. They pointed out that MSNBC had ended its association with a commentator who had made inappropriate comments about the assassination. The managers emphasized that differing opinions must be exchanged respectfully, even in passionate debate. Kirk’s conviction that when dialogue stops "really bad stuff starts" was held up as a model. The email called on all employees to embody the company's values in their work and daily lives, to be respectful, to listen, and to treat others kindly.

The company stressed that "we must listen better" and remain respectful - a message that sounds less like open debate and more like a clear warning to journalists not to call reality by its name. Comcast is the largest cable and internet provider in the US and also owns NBCUniversal, which includes NBC, MSNBC, CNBC, and the streaming service Peacock. At the top are CEO Brian L. Roberts and President Mike Cavanagh - heavyweights of the US media industry whose decisions have far-reaching effects on public discourse. The corporation controls a significant portion of America's news and entertainment landscape and generates annual revenues in the hundreds of billions. Comcast is not an official mouthpiece of the MAGA movement - but the reaction to Kirk's death shows how powerful their pressure on public debate has become. With NBC, MSNBC, and CNBC, Comcast controls a large part of the US media landscape, and when the company leadership warns in a circular not to speak "unacceptably" about Kirk, it acts like preventive self-censorship. The message is clear: Anyone who deviates from the whitewashed narrative risks their career. This creates a climate in which even critical journalists hesitate to name Kirk's radical rhetoric - and thus the discourse of the right is effectively strengthened.

It has grown dark in the United States. The violence will increase, Trump will continue to judge. Nazism is fully awake, and the coming weeks will show where this country is heading - in fact, anything is possible. Perhaps one day people will look back and realize that this moment was the beginning of a final descent, a moment when democracy faltered. But that is precisely why now is the time to watch, to contradict, to stand up. History does not write itself - it is written by those who have the courage to confront the darkness, in America, in Germany, or simply anywhere.