Archive October 15, 2025

The US Department of State says it has revoked the visas of six foreigners over remarks they made on social media about Charlie Kirk, the conservative political activist who was shot dead at a rally in September.

“The United States has no obligation to host foreigners who wish death on Americans. The State Department continues to identify visa holders who celebrated the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk,” the department said in a post on X on Tuesday evening in the US.

The post was followed by a list of screenshots and critical remarks from six social media accounts, which the State Department said belonged to individuals from South Africa, Mexico, Brazil, Paraguay and Mexico.

“An Argentine national said that Kirk ‘devoted his entire life spreading racist, xenophobic, misogynistic rhetoric’ and deserves to burn in hell. Visa revoked,” the State Department tweeted along with a screenshot that had the username blacked out.

The screenshot post said Kirk was now somewhere “hot” – an allusion to religious descriptions of hell.

The United States has no obligation to host foreigners who wish death on Americans.

The State Department continues to identify visa holders who celebrated the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk. Here are just a few examples of aliens who are no longer welcome in the U.S.:

The news from the State Department came as Kirk was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Tuesday by President Donald Trump.

Kirk, who was 31 at the time of his death, was a cofounder of the conservative Turning Point student organisation. He was credited with driving young voters to vote for Trump during last year’s US presidential election.

His death led to a wave of social media commentary on the US left and right about his politics, as Trump elevated him to the status of a “martyr for truth” during a memorial service.

More than 145 people were fired, suspended, or resigned over social media posts or comments about Kirk, according to a New York Times investigation.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio previously said the Trump administration could revoke the visas of foreign nationals over comments on Kirk, while Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau urged internet users to report social media comments of people applying for US visas.

“I have been disgusted to see some on social media praising, rationalising, or making light of the event, and have directed our consular officials to undertake appropriate action,” Landau tweeted in September. “Please feel free to bring such comments by foreigners to my attention so that the [State Department] can protect the American people.”

In light of yesterday’s horrific assassination of a leading political figure, I want to underscore that foreigners who glorify violence and hatred are not welcome visitors to our country. I have been disgusted to see some on social media praising, rationalizing, or making light…

While the State Department has required visa applicants to share their social media handles on their applications since 2019, in June, it added the provision that student applicants must make all their social media accounts public for government vetting.

The move follows a crackdown on international students who supported pro-Palestine protests on university and college campuses across the US under the Trump administration.

In August, a State Department official told Fox News it had revoked more than 6,000 student visas this year.

Authorities in Indonesia have raised the volcano emergency alert to its highest level after Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki erupted, spewing volcanic ash an estimated 10km (6.2 miles) into the sky.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage on Wednesday, but authorities have warned residents and tourists on the eastern Indonesian island of Flores to keep away from the mountain and prepare for possible evacuation.

“The public should remain calm and follow the local government’s directions and not believe issues from unclear sources,” the country’s Centre for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation said in an alert notice.

The volcano erupted at 1:35am on Wednesday (Tuesday 18:35 GMT) for about nine minutes, Indonesia’s Geological Agency said in a statement, after also erupting two hours earlier.

Muhammad Wafid, head of the Geological Agency, said people should stay at least 6 to 7km (3.7 to 4.3 miles) from the site of the eruption, which saw volcanic materials shoot 10km (6.2 miles) into the sky above the mountain’s 1,584-metre-high (5,080ft) peak.

“People living near the volcano should be aware of the potential volcanic mudflow if heavy rain occurs,” Wafid said, adding that the column of ash from the eruption could “disrupt airport operations and flight paths if it spreads” further.

Authorities have suspended operations at the local Fransiskus Xaverius Seda Airport in the town of Maumere some 60km (37 miles) west of Lewotobi, the airport said on Instagram. The airport will remain closed until Thursday.

In July, the same volcano erupted, sending an 18km-high (11-mile) cloud of ash into the sky and forcing the cancellation of flights at the international airport on the resort island of Bali.

Ten people living in local villages were killed and thousands of houses damaged when the volcano erupted in November 2024, according to reports.

President Donald Trump has renewed his threat to cut “Democrat programmes” as the United States government shutdown heads into its fifteenth day without resolution.

“The Democrats are getting killed on the shutdown because we’re closing up programmes that are Democrat programmes that we were opposed to… and they’re never going to come back in many cases,” Trump told reporters on Tuesday, according to ABC News.

Trump said a list of programmes may be released as soon as Friday, although he did not provide further details in his remarks. He said that “Republican programmes” would be safe.

Trump has already used the government shutdown to pause or cut $28bn in federal funding for infrastructure and energy projects in Democrat-leaning states like California, Illinois and New York.

The White House has also started making cuts to the federal workforce. About 4,200 employees from eight government departments and agencies received “reduction-in-force notices” on Friday, according to CNBC.

Major cuts were made at the Treasury Department, the Health and Human Services Department, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Some programmes on the chopping block included those historically supported by Republicans as well as Democrats. They included the entire staff of the Treasury Department’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, which works with low-income communities, according to CNBC.

There are about 2.25 million civilian federal employees, according to the Congressional Budget Office, of whom some 60 percent work in the Departments of Defense, Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security.

Approximately 750,000 federal employees have been on furlough since the shutdown began two weeks ago, while “essential” workers have continued working without pay until they can be reimbursed when the shutdown ends.

The White House says it will take the unusual move of reallocating $8bn in existing funds to keep paying military and coastguard personnel throughout the shutdown, although historically, they also work without pay.

The Senate remains deadlocked over a government spending bill needed to end the shutdown.

A Republican-backed spending bill, which would have extended government funding to November 21, on Monday failed in a vote of 49 to 45, broadly down party lines.