The Far Right

Polls suggest anti-Islam lawmaker Geert Wilders and his Freedom Party on course to win largest number of seats.

People in the Netherlands are voting in a high-stakes snap election dominated by immigration and housing issues that will test the strength of the far right, which is on the rise across Europe.

Voting began at 7:30am (06:30 GMT) on Wednesday, and polls suggested anti-Islam lawmaker Geert Wilders and his far-right Freedom Party (PVV) are on course to win the largest number of seats in the 150-member House of Representatives. However, three more moderate parties are closing the gap, and half the electorate is undecided.

After the results are known, parties have to negotiate the makeup of the next coalition government in a system of proportional representation that means no party can reach the 76 seats needed to govern alone.

The key question is whether other parties will work with Wilders – known as the “Dutch Trump”, a reference to the United States president – who sparked the elections by pulling the PVV out of a fractious four-way coalition and collapsing the previous government in a row over immigration.

All mainstream parties have ruled out a partnership with him again, finding his views too unpalatable and viewing him as an untrustworthy coalition partner. It seems likely that the leader of the party that polls second will most likely become prime minister.

Reporting from The Hague, Al Jazeera’s Step Vaessen said the election campaign had been “dominated by calls to limit immigration” with “some violent protests against refugee centres”.

In a pre-election interview with the news agency AFP, Wilders said people were “fed up with mass immigration and the change of culture and the influx of people who really do not culturally belong here”.

“The future of our nation is at stake,” he said.

Rob Jetten – leader of the centre-left D66 party, which wants to rein in migration but also accommodate asylum seekers – told Wilders that voters can “choose again tomorrow to listen to your grumpy hatred for another 20 years or choose with positive energy to simply get to work and tackle this problem and solve it”.

Frans Timmermans, a former European Commission vice president who now leads the centre-left bloc of the Labour Party and Green Left, said in the final debate before the elections that he was “looking forward to the day – and that day is tomorrow – that we can put an end to the Wilders era”.

Beyond immigration, the housing crisis that especially affects young people in the densely populated country has been a key campaign issue.

The electoral commission has registered 27 parties and 1,166 candidates running for the House of Representatives.

That means a big ballot paper because it bears the names of all the parties and the candidates on each party’s list.

Polls close at 9pm (20:00 GMT).

British political commentator and journalist Sami Hamdi has been detained by federal authorities in the United States in what a US Muslim civil rights group has called an “abduction”.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) condemned Hamdi’s detention at San Francisco airport on Sunday as “a blatant affront to free speech”, attributing his arrest to his criticism of Israel’s war on Gaza.

Hamdi, a frequent critic of US and Israeli policy, had addressed a CAIR gala in Sacramento on Saturday evening and was due to speak at another CAIR event in Florida the next day before his detention by the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency.

CAIR said he was stopped at the airport following a coordinated “far-right, Israel First campaign”.

“Our nation must stop abducting critics of the Israeli government at the behest of unhinged Israel First bigots,” it said in a statement. “This is an Israel First policy, not an America First policy, and it must end.”

In a statement seen by Al Jazeera, friends of Hamdi called his arrest “a deeply troubling precedent for freedom of expression and the safety of British citizens abroad”.

The statement called for the United Kingdom Foreign Office to “demand urgent clarification from the US authorities regarding the grounds for Mr Hamdi’s detention”.

Al Jazeera was told that he remains in US custody and has not been deported.

“The detention of a British citizen for expressing political opinions sets a dangerous precedent that no democracy should tolerate,” the statement added.

Hamdi’s father, Mohamed El-Hachmi Hamdi, said in a post on X that his son “has no affiliation” with any political or religious group.

“His stance on Palestine is not aligned with any faction there, but rather with the people’s right to security, peace, freedom and dignity. He is, quite simply, one of the young dreamers of this generation, yearning for a world with more compassion, justice, and solidarity,” he added.

Earlier this morning, ICE agents abducted British Muslim journalist and political commentator Sami Hamdi at San Francisco Airport, apparently in response to his vocal criticism of the Israeli government during his ongoing speaking tour.

We can confirm that Mr. Hamdi has not been… https://t.co/dfcVGvz6UX

— CAIR National (@CAIRNational) October 26, 2025

‘Proud Islamophobe’

DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin confirmed Hamdi’s detention on Sunday, claiming without evidence that he posed a national security threat. “This individual’s visa was revoked, and he is in ICE custody pending removal,” she wrote on X.

Hamdi has been outspoken in accusing US politicians of actively enabling Israel’s genocide in Gaza, and has been widely quoted, challenging Western governments directly over arms transfers and diplomatic cover for Israeli war crimes.

His detention comes amid a wider pattern of US authorities blocking entry to Palestinian and pro-Palestine voices.

In June, two Palestinian men, Awdah Hathaleen and his cousin, Eid Hathaleen, were denied entry at the same airport and deported to Qatar. Weeks later, Awdah was reportedly killed by an Israeli settler in the occupied West Bank.

Far-right activist and ally of US President Donald Trump, Laura Loomer, who has publicly described herself as a “proud Islamophobe” and “white advocate”, immediately celebrated online for playing a part in Hamdi’s detention.

“You’re lucky his only fate is being arrested and deported,” she wrote, falsely branding him “a supporter of HAMAS and the Muslim Brotherhood”.

Loomer has previously pushed conspiracy theories, including the claim that the September 11 attacks in the US were an inside job.

Loomer and others credited the escalation against Hamdi to the RAIR Foundation, a pro-Israel pressure network whose stated mission is to oppose “Islamic supremacy”. RAIR recently accused Hamdi of trying to “expand a foreign political network hostile to American interests” and urged authorities to expel him from the country.

On Sunday, Shaun Maguire, a partner at the tech investment firm Sequoia and a vocal defender of Israel, alleged without evidence that Hamdi had tried to get him fired through an AI-generated email campaign, claiming: “There are jihadists in America whose full time job is to silence us.”

Hamdi’s supporters and civil rights advocates say the opposite is true, and that this detention is yet another case of political retaliation against critics of Israel, enforced at the border level before a single public word is uttered.

CAIR says it intends to fight the deportation order, warning that the US is sending a chilling message to Muslim and Palestinian speakers across the country.

As the Netherlands gears up for a snap parliamentary election on October 29, less than halfway through parliament’s usual four-year term following the collapse of the ruling coalition, the likelihood of another win for the country’s far-right Party for Freedom (PVV) is mounting.

An outright win is next to impossible. The Netherlands has always had a coalition government formed by a minimum of two parties due to its proportional representation electoral system, under which seats in parliament are awarded to parties in proportion to the number of votes they win.

The PVV, headed by Geert Wilders, also won the most votes in the last election in November 2023. It then partnered with three other far-right parties – the Farmer-Citizen Movement (BBB), New Social Contract (NSC), and the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) – to form a coalition government.

But in June, PVV made a dramatic exit from the coalition government over a disagreement on immigration policy. PVV had wanted to introduce a stricter asylum policy that included closing borders to new asylum seekers and deporting dual nationals convicted of crimes, but the other parties demanded further discussions.

In a dramatic move, Wilders took to X to announce that the failure by other parties to agree to PVV’s plans meant it would leave the coalition.

Coalition partners slammed this decision and accused Wilders of being driven by self-interest. VVD leader Dilan Yesilgoz said at the time that Wilders “chooses his own ego and his own interests. I am astonished. He throws away the chance for a right-wing policy”.

Following the pull-out, Prime Minister Dick Schoof – an independent – announced that he would resign and a snap election would be held this month.

Then, in August, the NSC’s Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp also resigned after he failed to secure support for new sanctions against Israel over its war in Gaza and the humanitarian situation in Gaza City. In solidarity with Veldkamp, other NSC party members left the coalition, leaving only two parties remaining.

Now, with an election imminent, opinion polls suggest the PVV will secure the most seats in the 150-seat parliament. While a winner needs 76 seats to form a government, no single party ever makes it to that figure, which has led to a history of coalitions.

According to a poll by the Dutch news outlet, EenVandaag, on October 14, the PVV is projected to secure 31 seats. The centre-left Green-Labour alliance (GroenLinks-PvdA) is polling at 25 seats, and the centre-right Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) is polling at 23.

PVV’s former coalition partner, the centre-right VVD, could take 14 seats and the BBB, four. So far, the NSC is not projected to secure any seats at all.

Immigration fears

At the end of September, EenVandaag polled 27,191 people and found that the main sticking point between voters – and, hence, between the leaders, PVV and GroenLinks-PvdA – is immigration. Half of all voters said it was the key issue on which they would be voting this year. Housing was the second-most important issue at 46 percent, and “Dutch identity” came third at 37 percent.

While the PVV is firmly anti-immigration and wants to impose a much stricter border policy and asylum laws, GroenLinks-PvdA would prefer to allow a net migration figure of 40,000 and 60,000 migrants per year.

Tempers are running high over this issue. Last month at The Hague, a right-wing activist known as “Els Rechts” organised an anti-migration protest that attracted 1,500 attendees. According to reports, protesters threw stones and bottles at the police, set a police car alight and smashed windows of the left-wing Democrats 66 (D66) party offices.

While left-wingers argue that the immigration issue has been wildly hyped up by the far right, they are losing control of the narrative.

Esme Smithson Swain, a member of MiGreat, a Dutch non-governmental campaign group that calls for freedom of movement and equal treatment for migrants in the Netherlands, told Al Jazeera that the far right in the Netherlands and in the United Kingdom, more widely, had “constructed a narrative that there is a migration crisis”.

“They’ve managed to construct this idea of a crisis, and that distracts our attention away from populism, away from arms trades, away from social services and the welfare state being sold off.”

Whatever its merits, the right-wing message that immigration is at the root of many social ills seems to be taking hold. The far-left, pro-immigration BIJ1 party, which rejects this message, is not projected to win any seats at all in this election.

Immigration “is a key term especially for right-wing political parties to win the election”, Noura Oul Fakir, a candidate for the BIJ1 party, told Al Jazeera. “We don’t focus on it because we look at everything that’s been going on from a systemic point of view, that every form of oppression is interlinked … This fight for equality and justice, it’s about more than just immigration, but it’s also interlinked with other issues that we see nowadays.”

People ‘more emboldened to express racist views’

By January 1, 2024, the Netherlands was hosting 2.9 million migrants (16.2 percent of the population), compared to the average across European Union member states of 9.9 percent (44.7 million people in total).

Similarly, Germany hosts 16.9 million migrants (20.2 percent of the population); France, 9.3 million (13.6 percent of the population); Spain, 8.8 million (18.2 percent of the population); and Italy, 6.7 million (11.3 percent of the population), according to figures from the EU.

Mark van Ostaijen, an associate professor in public administration and sociology at Erasmus University Rotterdam, explained that immigration has become a mainstream talking point in “housing, care, educational and cultural policy domains”.

For instance, the Netherlands is currently short of 434,000 homes, including for 353,000 asylum seekers and 81,000 Dutch first-time buyers, according to figures commissioned by the Ministry of Housing and Spatial Planning (VRO).

Immigration has, therefore, been blamed for what is seen as a housing crisis.

According to Statistics Netherlands (CBS), 316,000 migrants arrived in the country in 2024, 19,000 fewer than in 2023. But CBS also found that population growth is still mainly down to net migration, with the largest number of migrants coming from Ukraine and Syria.

“I think this is indeed something that will continue the electoral legitimacy of far-right parties, or right-wing parties, even more, given the fact that the Netherlands was already quite leaning towards the conservative angle,” van Ostaijen told Al Jazeera.

“This will be a topic that will haunt our politics and our democratic decision-making and discourse for quite a while,” he said.

Anecdotal evidence bears this out. Fakir has noticed a change in the experiences of immigrant residents she and her colleagues have spoken to in the country following the growth of the PVV.

“In their personal life [they have seen] a noticeable shift where people feel more free or emboldened to express racist views, both online and in real life. Others are telling them those classic things of ‘go back to your own country, or you’re not Dutch’,” she said.

For Nassreddin Taibi, a recent graduate who works as a political analyst and plans to vote for GroenLinks-PvdA, the anti-immigration protests at the Hague “further cemented polarisation among Dutch voters” and have caused centrist parties to fall into line with the right-wing narrative.

“These protests have influenced the discourse in the sense that centrist parties now say that cutting immigration is necessary to win back trust of voters in politics,” he said.

Nearly half of voters still undecided

While the far-right PVV is projected to win the most seats in this election, it will still face an uphill journey to form a government, as other parties such as the centre-right People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) have ruled out joining a coalition government.

Furthermore, the PVV’s leader, Wilders, has not escaped controversy with his Islamophobic comments and anti-migration stance despite the rise in anti-immigration sentiment across the country as a whole.

Notable incidents over the years include Wilders’ likening of Islam to Nazism in 2007 and his reference to the Muslim holy book, the Quran, as “fascist” in a letter to a Dutch news outlet. His letter and comments led to Wilders being prosecuted for inciting hatred and discrimination, which he denied. In 2011, he was acquitted by a judge who ruled that his comments had fallen within the scope of free speech.

More recently, in August this year, Wilders posted an image on X that depicted a smiling, blonde and blue-eyed woman, representing the PVV; and a wrinkled, angry-looking elderly woman wearing a headscarf, representing the PvdA. It was accompanied by the words: “The choice is yours on 29/10.”

Aan U de keuze op 29/10 pic.twitter.com/royhcInDlm

— Geert Wilders (@geertwilderspvv) August 4, 2025

Fake news and misinformation have also driven the rise in far-right narratives, analysts say.

The Facebook page ‘Wij doen GEEN aangifte tegen Geert Wilders’ (We are NOT filing charges against Geert Wilders), which claims to be a PVV supporters’ page boasting 129,000 followers, said it does not intend to be “discriminatory, hateful, or incite violence”, but has nevertheless posted AI-generated images of this nature.

In one such image, which received 1,700 likes, a white family is seemingly being harassed by men of colour.

In another, a white woman is seen in a supermarket paying for groceries while surrounded by Muslim women wearing hijabs and niqabs, with the caption: “No mass immigration, no Islamisation, no backwardness of the Dutch.” The post received 885 likes.

While the outgoing home affairs minister, Judith Uitermark, has said the government is examining new ways to combat fake news, she added that the Netherlands is somewhat protected from the rise of extremism by its proportional representation system, under which no one party ever wins a majority.

Still, the Dutch Data Protection Authority has warned voters not to use AI chatbots to help them decide who to vote for.

And a large number are still deciding. EenVandaag found that some 48 percent of voters are still undecided about which candidate they will choose. If the GroenLinks-PvdA can disengage from right-wing talking points and, instead, focus on its own policies more, it may perform better than expected, analysts say.

This will be no easy task, however.

“We find ourselves doing this also as a civil society organisation, as campaigners, trying to fight off the narrative and fight off the kind of populist ideals of the far right faster than we can push for our own agenda as well. And I think a lot of the time that leaves left-wing parties in the Netherlands seeming a bit hollow,” Swain said.

Still, she says that she is holding out hope for this election, despite what feels like a “vast and growing far-right bulk of the population”.

“I think it’s very easy to kind of feel that division between ‘us and them’. Us campaigning on the left and this growing mass of the far right,” Swain said.

“We need to tackle fighting the influence of lobbying and of fake news in our political structures. And I think that becoming more united as a population would naturally fall from that.”

Appointment clinched via a last-minute coalition deal, but government remains without a majority, leaving the risk of instability.

Japan’s parliament has elected ultraconservative Sanae Takaichi as the nation’s first female prime minister.

A protege of assassinated former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Takaichi received  237 votes in the 465-seat lower house of parliament on Tuesday to confirm her in the role.

The victory follows a last-minute coalition deal by her Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) with the right-wing Japan Innovation Party (JIP), also known as Ishin, on Monday. However, her government is still two seats short of a majority, suggesting a risk of instability.

Takaichi replaces Shigeru Ishiba, ending a three-month political vacuum and wrangling since the LDP – which has governed Japan for most of its post-war history – suffered a disastrous election loss in July.

Her victory marks a pivotal moment for a country where men still hold overwhelming sway. But it is also likely to usher in a sharper move to the right on immigration and social issues, with little expectation that it will help to promote gender equality or diversity.

Takaichi has stonewalled measures for women’s advancement. She supports the imperial family’s male-only succession and opposes same-sex marriage and allowing separate surnames for married couples.

The LDP had earlier lost its longtime partner, the Buddhist-backed Komeito, which has a more dovish and centrist stance.

Komeito ended the partnership due to its concerns that the LDP was not prepared to fight corruption.

“Political stability is essential right now,” Takaichi said at the signing ceremony with the JIP leader and Osaka Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura. “Without stability, we cannot push measures for a strong economy or diplomacy.”

JIP will not hold ministerial posts in Takaichi’s Cabinet until his party is confident about its partnership with the LDP, Yoshimura said.

After years of deflation, Japan is now grappling with rising prices, something that has caused public anger and fuelled support for opposition groups, including far-right upstarts.

Like Abe, Takaichi is expected to favour government spending to jumpstart the weakened economy. That has prompted a so-called “Takaichi trade” in the stock market, sending the Nikkei share average to record highs, the most recent on Tuesday.

But it has also caused investor unease about the government’s ability to pay for additional spending in a country where the debt load far outweighs annual output.

Shortly after the lower house vote, Takaichi’s elevation to prime minister was also approved by the less-powerful upper house. She will be sworn in as Japan’s 104th prime minister on Tuesday evening.

Takaichi is also running on a deadline, as she prepares for a major policy speech later this week, talks with United States President Donald Trump and regional summits.

The election in Frankfurt an der Oder, a city on the border with Poland, is between Independent candidate Axel Strasser and AfD contender Wilko Moller.

Voters in the eastern city of Frankfurt an der Oder have cast their ballots in a run-off election that could give the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, the largest opposition party in parliament, its first mayoral victory in a German city.

Independent candidate Axel Strasser and AfD contender Wilko Moller faced off on Sunday after leading the first-round vote on September 21, with Strasser receiving 32.4 percent of the vote and Moller 30.2 percent.

Candidates from the centre-right Christian Democratic Union and the centre-left Social Democratic Party were eliminated in the first round.

The election comes three days after the Bundestag, Germany’s parliament, stripped two AfD lawmakers of their parliamentary immunity, with one accused of defamation and the other of making a Nazi salute, which is illegal in Germany.

Political scientist Jan Philipp Thomeczek, of the University of Potsdam, told the dpa news agency that a victory for Moller would send “a very strong signal” that the anti-immigrant and eurosceptic AfD can succeed in urban areas.

Frankfurt an der Oder is a city in the eastern German state of Brandenburg, located directly on the border with Poland. It is distinct from Frankfurt am Main, the much larger financial hub in western Germany.

The German Association of Towns and Municipalities says there is currently no AfD-affiliated mayor of a city of significant size anywhere in the country.

Tim Lochner became mayor of the town of Pirna, near the Czech border, after being nominated for election in 2023 by the AfD, but he is technically an independent.

An AfD politician, Robert Sesselmann, is the district administrator in the Sonneberg district in Thuringia. There are also AfD mayors in small towns in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt.

The Brandenburg domestic intelligence service in May classified the AfD’s state branch as “confirmed far-right extremist”, a label the party rejects as a politically driven attempt to marginalise it.

A 1,100-page report compiled by the agency – that will not be made public – concluded that the AfD is a racist and anti-Muslim organisation.

The designation makes the party subject to surveillance and has revived discussion over a potential ban for the AfD, which has launched a legal challenge against the intelligence service.

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio sharply criticised the classification when it was announced, branding it as “tyranny in disguise”, and urged German authorities to reverse the move.

In response, Germany hit back at US President Donald Trump’s administration, suggesting officials in Washington should study history.

“We have learnt from our history that right-wing extremism needs to be stopped,” said Germany’s Federal Foreign Office in a statement.

The Kremlin also criticised the action against the AfD, which regularly repeats Russian narratives regarding the war in Ukraine, and what it called a broader trend of “restrictive measures” against political movements in Europe.

Brandenburg leaders say the AfD has shown contempt for government institutions, while the state’s domestic intelligence chief, Wilfried Peters, added that the party advocates for the “discrimination and exclusion” of people who do not “belong to the German mainstream”.

Polling stations closed at 6pm local time (16:00 GMT), and results were expected by late Sunday.

Opposition parties are calling on embattled President Macron to resign before his term ends in 2027.

Caretaker French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu has played down the prospect of a dissolution of parliament following talks with political parties to form a coalition and pass an austerity budget to resolve the nation’s worst political turmoil in years.

The talks showed a desire to pass the proposed budget cuts by the end of the year, Lecornu said, following an impasse which has prompted calls for embattled President Emmanuel Macron to step down.

“This willingness creates a momentum and a convergence, obviously, which make the possibilities of a dissolution more remote,” Lecornu said in a speech on Wednesday at Paris’s Matignon Palace.

Lecornu, who himself resigned on Monday after less than a month in power, said he would present a plan to Macron later on Wednesday.

The plan is the latest development in a political crisis that started when Macron called snap elections last year. His goal was to get a stronger majority in parliament, but he instead finished with an even more fractious assembly.

This plunged France into deeper political chaos: with no governing majority, the parliament has been unable to approve the budget to narrow France’s growing debt.

To resolve the deadlock, Macron appointed three prime ministers who either failed to secure a majority or resigned, including Lecornu.

Meanwhile, opposition parties have been seizing the momentum. A leading figure of far-right National Rally (NR) party, Marine Le Pen, has once again called for Macron to resign before the president’s term ends in 2027.

“Let’s return to the ballot box,” Marine Le Pen said on Monday. “The French must decide, that is clear,” she told reporters. Le Pen and Jordan Bardella, NR’s president, refused to join negotiations with Lecornu , French media reported on Tuesday, saying that such talks did not serve the interest of French citizens but rather those of Macron.

They called instead for the dissolution of the National Assembly. Following last year’s elections, NR won more seats than any other, but not enough to form a majority.

In September, a poll by TF1-LCI showed that more than 60 percent of French voters approved new elections. And should those take place, the leaders of the NR would lead the race’s first round, according to a poll by Ifop Fiducial.

Jean-Luc Melenchon, leader of the far-left France Unbowed party, and Francois-Xavier Bellamy, head of the right-wing Republicans party, also called for the president to resign.

The political chaos is not only emboldening Macron’s rivals, it is also turning his allies away.

“I no longer understand the decision of the president. There was the dissolution and since then, there’s been decisions that suggest a relentless desire to stay in control,” said Gabriel Attal, leader of the president’s centrist party.

“People are abandoning him on all sides, it’s clear that he is responsible for the political crisis which gets worse each day,” said political analyst Elisa Auange. “He seems to be making all the wrong decisions.”

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has become the target of a sustained right-wing backlash after the US-based Jewish advocacy group included an organisation founded by slain right-wing figure Charlie Kirk in its online database on extremism.

The blowback escalated sharply on Wednesday after FBI Director Kash Patel announced that the bureau would sever ties with the ADL, accusing the prominent advocacy group of spying on Americans.

Tech billionaire Elon Musk’s post calling the ADL a “hate group” set off a firestorm of criticism online, forcing the group to scrap the “Glossary of Extremism and Hate”, which contained more than a thousand entries on groups and movements with connections to hateful ideologies.

But that has not subdued the backlash from conservatives – the base of the governing Republican Party.

So, what’s ADL’s online database, and why has it triggered MAGA (Make America Great Again) rage? And how has the nonprofit, which backed the crackdown on pro-Palestine campus protests by the administration of US President Donald Trump, ended up ruffling feathers across the political spectrum?

What is ADL?

The ADL is one of the oldest and most influential Jewish advocacy groups in the United States. It was founded in 1913 by members of the B’nai B’rith – Hebrew for “Sons of the Covenant”, a Jewish fraternal organisation – to counter anti-Semitism and prejudice against Jews.

The group, which calls itself “a global leader in combating antisemitism”, started with its original mission, “to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all”.

Over time, the ADL grew into a national force with branches spread across the country. It works closely with law enforcement agencies to train officers on identifying bias-motivated violence. It also develops programmes and resources on anti-Semitism and the Holocaust, partnering with schools, universities and communities.

Its monitoring of right-wing racist and anti-LGBTQ+ extremism also allowed it space within the US’s liberal Jewish community.

Since its inception, the ADL has argued that anti-Zionism could lead to anti-Semitism. But in the past couple of decades, the nonprofit has been pushing to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism, which conflates some criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism. The ADL has also backed a controversial resolution passed by the US Congress that defined anti-Zionism as anti-Semitism.

The ADL is a well-resourced civil society group, with around $163m in revenue last year alone.

What caused the backlash against ADL?

The recent backlash was triggered after several influential right-wing social media accounts began posting screenshots of the ADL’s entry on Kirk’s organisation, Turning Point USA, in its “Glossary of Extremism”.

Kirk, who is credited with galvanising young voters for Trump, was assassinated last month.

Though Turning Point USA was not listed as an “extremist organization”, the nonprofit had documented incidents where its leadership and affiliated members had made “racist or bigoted comments”.

ADL’s entry on “Christian Identity” – which the nonprofit identified as an extremist theology that promotes white supremacy – also drew widespread criticism from right-wing influencers.

The ADL has long positioned itself as a nonpartisan watchdog. But conservatives have increasingly argued that it has become politically aligned with progressive causes, including the group’s partnerships with social media companies in moderating hate-speech policies.

Jonathan Greenblatt, the ADL’s CEO, has been accused of “weaponising anti-Semitism” to attack critics of liberal policies and of conflating right-wing populism with hate speech in the past.

In the weeks following Kirk’s assassination, the US has seen a wave of right-wing backlash against public figures who criticised him, with several commentators and journalists facing professional repercussions – including the brief suspension of a television show by comedian Jimmy Kimmel and the firing of Washington Post columnist Karen Attiah.

What was in ADL’s online database?

The ADL “Glossary of Extremism and Hate” was an online, searchable database launched in March 2022 by the organisation’s Center on Extremism. After the backlash from right-wing influencers, mostly from the MAGA camp, the ADL quietly moved to retire its database from the public.

The database contained more than 1,000 entries providing overviews and definitions of terms, symbols, slogans, tactics, publications, groups, and individuals associated with various extremist ideologies, hate movements, and related activities.

The resource covered a broad spectrum, including white supremacism, anti-Semitism, anti-Muslim bigotry, and extremism on the far right and far left. The glossary reportedly included groups like the Proud Boys, the Nation of Islam, the Oath Keepers, and others.

The ADL, in its statement, argued that “an increasing number of entries in the Glossary were outdated”, and “a number of entries [were] intentionally misrepresented and misused”.

The organisation further said that it wanted to focus on exploring “new strategies and creative approaches to deliver our data and present our research more effectively”.

The list is no longer publicly available on ADL’s site, and the original URL now redirects to the organisation’s home page.

How did Musk get into this?

The online smear campaign gained traction on Sunday night after billionaire Elon Musk started interacting with posts targeting the ADL.

Musk, who has more than 227 million followers on X, said, “The ADL hates Christians, therefore it is is [sic] a hate group.”

The ADL’s operations encourage murder, Musk said in another reply to a post on X, formerly Twitter, which he bought in 2022 after paying $44bn.

Musk’s attacks on the ADL still came as a shock to some. ADL’s Greenblatt has, in fact, praised Musk several times, including in 2023 for saying that X would block use of the pro-Palestinian slogan “from the river to the sea”.

That applause reportedly led to the resignation of a top ADL executive, Yael Eisenstat, who headed the nonprofit’s Center for Technology and Society, and the group lost several donors.

The ADL has also criticised Musk, saying X’s Grok chatbot promoted pro-Nazi ideology. The chatbot has praised Adolf Hitler, and called itself “MechaHitler”.

Former and current ADL employees have told Jewish Currents, a US-based progressive publication, that Greenblatt has repeatedly given a pass to Musk’s white nationalist sympathies if they help the ADL fight anti-Zionism – a pattern that reportedly escalated after the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, followed by Israel’s now two-year-long war on Palestine, which has been dubbed genocide by an United Nations inquiry panel.

Then again, earlier this year, Greenblatt came to Musk’s defence after several Jewish lawmakers and civil society groups condemned Musk’s fascist-style salutes on stage during a speech after Trump’s re-election.

The ADL had posted: “It seems that Elon Musk made an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute.”

Why did the FBI snap ties with ADL?

The FBI’s decision to cut ties with the ADL also marks a sharp rupture in a partnership that had lasted for decades, at least since the 1940s, rooted in joint efforts to train law enforcement officers and monitor extremist threats across the US.

The move was announced by FBI chief Patel just 24 hours after Musk joined the online campaign, accusing the ADL of having “become a political front masquerading as a watchdog”.

Patel also targeted James Comey, an American lawyer who served as the director of the FBI from 2013 to 2017, during the era of US President Barack Obama.

“James Comey wrote ‘love letters’ to the ADL and embedded FBI agents with them – a group that ran disgraceful ops spying on Americans,” Kash said in a post on X, without offering any more clarity on this.

“That era is OVER. This FBI won’t partner with political fronts masquerading as watchdogs,” he concluded.

Why is ADL accused of pro-Israel bias and of suppressing pro-Palestinian activism?

The ADL has also faced criticism from left-wing activists for exhibiting a pro-Israel bias and suppressing pro-Palestinian activism, particularly in the wake of widespread protests across US campuses over the Gaza war that has killed more than 67,000 Palestinians and turned the Palestinian enclave into ruins.

The advocacy group has dubbed grassroots protests against Israel’s genocidal campaign in Gaza as “pro-Hamas activism”, while its CEO Greenblatt has described the Jewish groups calling for a ceasefire as “the ugly core of anti-Zionism”.

The ADL also publicly campaigned against campus protests last year, describing some demonstrations as “antisemitic hate rallies”. The group urged university administrators and government officials to take action against protest organisers, and pressured institutions to censor or discipline dissenting voices.

ADL’s Greenblatt praised Trump for withholding $400m in grants to Columbia University after campus protests and complimented the arrest of Columbia pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil.

“We appreciate the Trump Administration’s broad, bold set of efforts to counter campus antisemitism – and this action further illustrates that resolve by holding alleged perpetrators responsible for their actions,” the ADL posted above a tweet about Khalil’s arrest.

The ADL’s collaboration with the US administration has dented its credibility, and several staff have resigned, citing the organisation’s overt emphasis on pro-Israel advocacy.

“The ADL has a pro-Israel bias and an agenda to suppress pro-Palestinian activism,” an ADL employee told The Guardian newspaper last year.

With most votes tallied, Babis’s ANO party is ahead, but it appears set to fall short of a majority in parliament.

Billionaire Andrej Babis’s populist ANO party has taken a commanding lead in the Czech Republic’s parliamentary election, but is on track to fall short of a majority.

With ballots from more than 97 percent of polling stations counted on Saturday, ANO had 35 percent of the vote, according to the Czech Statistical Office. Prime Minister Petr Fiala’s centre-right Spolu (Together) alliance trailed with 23 percent.

Shortly after the preliminary results were announced, Fiala conceded defeat and offered congratulations to Babis.

Turnout reached 68 percent, the highest since 1998, with more than 4,400 candidates and 26 parties competing for seats in the 200-member lower house.

President Petr Pavel, who holds the power to appoint the next prime minister, is expected to open coalition talks with party leaders on Sunday once results are finalised. Officials have warned that the rollout of mail-in voting could slow the official confirmation.

Despite the strong showing, the failure to secure a majority means Babis cannot rule alone. Early signs suggest ANO may seek backing from the Motorists, a party opposing European Union green policies, and the far-right Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD), which has campaigned against both NATO and the EU.

SPD deputy leader Radim Fiala told Czech television the party was ready to help topple the government. “We went into the election with the aim of ending the government of Petr Fiala and support even for a minority cabinet of ANO is important for us and it would meet the target we had for this election,” he said.

The partial results showed fringe pro-Russian parties underperforming. SPD managed 8 percent, while the far-left Stacilo! movement, centred on the Communist Party, failed to clear the 5 percent threshold to enter parliament.

Babis, who led a centre-left government from 2017 to 2021, has shifted sharply to the right in recent years. Once supportive of adopting the euro, he now brands himself a eurosceptic and admirer of US President Donald Trump, even handing out “Strong Czechia” baseball caps styled after Trump’s MAGA slogan.

He has also forged close ties with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and aligned with far-right forces in the European Parliament.

While resisting SPD’s call for a referendum on leaving the EU and NATO, Babis has promised to end Prague’s arms procurement initiative for Ukraine, insisting military aid should be managed directly by NATO and the EU.

US President Donald Trump to address Arizona service for assassinated ally.

Tens of thousands of people are expected to attend a memorial service in Arizona for Charlie Kirk, the right-wing United States activist and founder of Turning Point USA who was shot dead this month.

The event will take place on Sunday at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, which seats more than 63,000 people. Organisers said additional space has been arranged nearby to accommodate overflow crowds.

President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and several other Republicans will address the gathering, which Turning Point USA has called Building a Legacy: Remembering Charlie Kirk. Kirk’s widow, Erika, who recently became the organisation’s chief executive, is also expected to speak.

The Department of Homeland Security has classified the service as an event of “the highest national significance”, a designation usually reserved for occasions such as the Super Bowl. Officials said tight security measures are in place due to Trump’s attendance and the political tension surrounding Kirk’s killing.

Kirk, 31, was killed on September 10 during a university event in Utah. Police charged a 22-year-old suspect with murder, saying he carried out the attack alone and killed Kirk because he had “enough of his hate”.

Kirk was a polarising figure who called for the use of tear gas, rubber bullets and whips against immigrants at the US-Mexico border; suggested Islam is a danger to American society; and claimed there was “no factual data to back up global warming”.

The US right-wing viewed Kirk as a major figure in the Trump movement who played a pivotal role in building support for the US president and conservative causes among young people.

Trump has been accused of exploiting Kirk’s murder for political gain by linking the killing to what he calls “left-wing extremism” despite law enforcement dismissing claims of a wider alleged assassination plot. His remarks have drawn criticism from opponents who accused him of inflaming political divisions.

Kirk established Turning Point USA in 2012 at the age of 18. The organisation has grown into one of the largest right-wing groups in the US with influence across high schools, universities and social media platforms.

Dutch police deployed water cannons and tear gas to disperse a protest in The Hague. The protesters were rallying for immigration restrictions and stricter policies for asylum seekers.

UK High Court ruled against Eritrean man in case that tested new ‘one in, one out’ migration scheme.

An Eritrean man who has been fighting to stay in the United Kingdom is set to be deported to France after losing a High Court bid to have his removal temporarily blocked.

The 25-year-old Eritrean man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, crossed the English Channel in August and was originally due to be removed on Wednesday under a “one in, one out” pilot scheme agreed between the UK and France in July.

But London’s High Court granted him an interim injunction on Tuesday, preventing his removal, pending a full hearing of his trafficking claim.

The man told the court he fled Eritrea in 2019 because of forced conscription before ultimately making his way to France. In France, he went to Dunkirk, on the English Channel, where he stayed in an encampment known as “the jungle” for about three weeks before travelling to the UK.

The UK’s Home Office opposed the bid to temporarily block the man’s removal and, at a hearing on Thursday, the High Court agreed, saying there was “no serious issue to be tried in this case”.

The judge, Clive Sheldon, said the man gave inconsistent accounts of his allegations of trafficking.

“It was open to [the Home Office] to conclude that his credibility was severely damaged and his account of trafficking could not reasonably be believed,” the judge said.

The man is set to be deported to France on Friday at 6:15am local time (05:15 GMT).

UK puts new plan into action

As the court was ruling against the Eritrean man, the UK interior ministry, the Home Office, was actively testing out its new scheme, deporting a man from India to France. The man, who arrived in the UK on a small boat in August, was sent to France on Thursday on a commercial flight.

This deportation was the first under the partnership between the UK and France, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer saying it provided “proof of concept” that the deal works.

“We need to ramp that up at scale, which was always envisaged under the scheme,” Starmer told reporters at a news conference alongside US President Donald Trump.

Under the “one in, one out” plan between the UK and France, people arriving in the UK would be returned to France, while the UK would accept an equal number of recognised asylum seekers with family ties in the UK.

Downing Street has defended the plan, calling it a “fair and balanced” system designed to reduce irregular migration.

UK charities have condemned the scheme.

The “cruel policy targeting people who come here to seek safety” was a “grim attempt … to appease the racist far-right,” Griff Ferris, of the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, told the news agency AFP.

Anti-immigrant sentiment on the rise

While Starmer has made stopping small boat crossings central to his government’s agenda, anti-immigrant sentiment has continued to rise in the UK.

Up to 150,000 people marched through central London over the weekend in a protest organised by far-right activist Tommy Robinson. Four police officers were seriously injured during the protest, with a glass bottle appearing to have smashed against a police horse at one point.

Tens of thousands of migrants have arrived annually on UK shores in recent years. At least 23 people have died so far this year, according to an AFP tally based on official French data.

Tyler Robinson, 22, expected to face formal charges in the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

Between 100,000 and 150,000 people have demonstrated in London against immigration, with arrests made after violent clashes with police.

The rally was organised by Tommy Robinson – a far-right activist with criminal convictions – backed by billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk.

What are the implications?

Presenter: Adrian Finighan

Guests:

Peter Geoghegan – Editor of the investigative news site Democracy for Sale

Jennifer Nadel – Director and co-founder of cross-party UK think tank Compassion in Politics

Tariq Ali – Political writer and historian

Antifascist campaign group Hope Not Hate condemns speeches at Saturday’s rally in London as ‘extremely disturbing’.

Britain will “never surrender” to far-right protesters who use the national flag as cover for violence and intimidation, United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer says after violent scenes at one of the country’s largest far-right demonstrations in decades.

More than 110,000 people marched through central London on Saturday in a protest against immigration led by far-right activist Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon. Some attending the Unite the Kingdom rally clashed with police. Twenty-six officers were injured, and at least 24 people were arrested, according to the Metropolitan Police.

In his first public comments since the rally, Starmer said on Sunday that peaceful protest was a fundamental value in Britain, but he condemned assaults on police officers and intimidation against marginalised communities.

“People have a right to peaceful protest. It is core to our country’s values,” he said. “But we will not stand for assaults on police officers doing their job or for people feeling intimidated on our streets because of their background or the colour of their skin.”

He added: “Britain is a nation proudly built on tolerance, diversity and respect. Our flag represents our diverse country, and we will never surrender it to those that use it as a symbol of violence, fear and division.”

Islam is the ‘real enemy’

Saturday’s protest was marked by nationalist symbols, scuffles and inflammatory speeches. Footage showed police on horseback pelted with bottles while baton charges were used to push back Robinson supporters and allow about 5,000 counterdemonstrators to leave the Whitehall area of central London safely.

A stage was erected for speeches from a lineup of far-right figures. Leading the charge was Robinson, who told the crowd: “It’s not just Britain that is being invaded. It’s not just Britain that is being raped.”

“Every single Western nation faces the same problem: An orchestrated, organised invasion and replacement of European citizens is happening,” he added.

International speakers included French politician Eric Zemmour, who echoed the views put forward by Robinson. “We are both subject to the same process of the great replacement of our European peoples by peoples coming from the south and of Muslim culture,” he said, citing the great replacement conspiracy theory that white Europeans are being deliberately replaced by people from other ethnicities.

“You and we are being colonised by our former colonies,” Zemmour added.

Similarly, Belgian far-right politician Filip Dewinter declared: “It has to be clear that Islam is our real enemy. We have to get rid of Islam. Islam does not belong in Europe, and Islam does not belong in the UK.”

Other speakers included Danish People’s Party leader Morten Messerschmidt, German Alternative for Germany MP Petr Bystron and Polish politician Dominik Tarczynski.

Tesla CEO and X Chairman Elon Musk also made an appearance by videolink, telling protesters the UK needed an “urgent change in government” and warning them to “fight back” or “die”.

Police, government and antifascist groups condemn violence

The rally came amid a wave of far-right violence in recent months, including arson attacks on hotels housing asylum seekers.

Experts said these incidents, fuelled by conspiracy theories, xenophobia and online disinformation, have intensified concerns over the rise of far-right movements across Britain and Europe, which often spill over into rioting and violence.

Assistant Metropolitan Police Commissioner Matt Twist said the violence directed at officers was “wholly unacceptable”. He added: “There is no doubt that many came to exercise their lawful right to protest, but there were many who came intent on violence.”

British Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood also condemned the violence, warning that anyone taking part in criminal acts would “face the full force of the law”.

Starmer’s remarks followed calls from the antifascist group Hope Not Hate and several MPs urging the government to act against the surge in far-right mobilisation. Hope Not Hate described the protest as “extremely disturbing”.

“While the turnout was significantly smaller than the millions claimed by Lennon and his supporters, it appears to be the largest far-right demonstration ever seen in Britain,” the group said.

“For anyone worried about the rise of far-right activism and the normalisation of viciously anti-migrant, anti-Muslim sentiment, it could be a sign of dark times to come,” it added.

A coordinated online doxxing campaign has emerged in the wake of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk’s killing, targeting academics, teachers, government employees and others who have posted critical remarks about him.

At least 15 people have been fired or suspended from their jobs after discussing the killing online, according to a Reuters tally on Saturday based on interviews, public statements and local press reports. The total includes journalists, academic workers and teachers.

On Friday, a junior Nasdaq employee was fired over her posts related to Kirk.

Others have been subjected to torrents of online abuse or seen their offices flooded with calls demanding they be fired, part of a surge in right-wing rage that has followed the killing.

Chaya Raichik, who runs the right-wing “Libs of TikTok” account and is known for her anti-immigrant activism, is at the forefront of the campaign. She has shared names, photos and workplace details of individuals who expressed little sympathy for Kirk’s death.

In one case, Raichik targeted a lecturer at California State University, Monterey Bay, who reportedly wrote in an Instagram story: “I cannot muster much sympathy, truly. People are going to argue ‘He has a family, he has a wife and kids.’ What about all the kids, the many broken families from the over 258 school shootings 2020–present?”

Raichik reposted the lecturer’s photo, accusing him of mocking Kirk’s assassination.

The lecturer has not commented, but several teachers across the United States – including in California, Florida, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, North Carolina, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon and Texas – have been suspended or dismissed over similar online remarks. Union leaders condemned Kirk’s killing, but also warned against punishing educators for free speech.

Raichik has also targeted members of the military. One Coast Guard employee is under investigation after posting a meme saying he did not care about Kirk’s death. A former Twitter worker was also singled out for criticising the New York Yankees for holding a moment of silence for Kirk.

A newly registered site, “Expose Charlie’s Murderers,” has 41 names of people it alleges were “supporting political violence online” and claims to be working on a backlog of more than 20,000 submissions.

A Reuters review of the screenshots and comments posted to the site shows that some of those featured joked about or celebrated Kirk’s death. One was quoted as saying, “He got what he deserved”, and others were quoted providing variations on “karma’s a bitch.” Others, however, were critical of the far-right figure while explicitly denouncing violence.

Some institutions have already taken disciplinary action. Middle Tennessee State University dismissed an assistant dean after she wrote: “Looks like ol’Charlie spoke his fate into existence. Hate begets hate. ZERO sympathy.” The comment referred to Kirk’s 2023 defence of gun violence, in which he argued: “I think it’s worth to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment … That is a prudent deal. It is rational.”

Even quoting that remark has been enough for some to be targeted.

Republican response

Some Republicans want to go further still and have proposed deporting Kirk’s critics from the US, suing them into penury or banning them from social media for life.

“Prepare to have your whole future professional aspirations ruined if you are sick enough to celebrate his death,” said conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer, a prominent ally of Trump and one of several far-right figures who are organising digital campaigns on X to ferret out and publicly shame Kirk’s critics.

The wave of firings and suspensions has raised concerns over free expression, while far-right activists celebrate what they see as a campaign of accountability.

US lawmaker Clay Higgins said in a post on X that anyone who “ran their mouth with their smart**s hatred celebrating the heinous murder of that beautiful young man” needed to be “banned from ALL PLATFORMS FOREVER.”

The US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said on the same site that he had been disgusted to “see some on social media praising, rationalizing, or making light of the event, and have directed our consular officials to undertake appropriate action.”

Republicans’ anger at those disrespecting Kirk’s legacy contrasts with the mockery some of the same figures – including Kirk – directed at past victims of political violence.

For example, when former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul, was clubbed over the head by a hammer-wielding conspiracy theorist during a break-in at their San Francisco home shortly before the 2022 midterm elections, Higgins posted a photo making fun of the attack. He later deleted the post.

Loomer falsely suggested that Paul Pelosi and his assailant were lovers, calling the brutal assault on the octogenarian a “booty call gone wrong.”

Speaking to a television audience a few days after the attack, a grinning Kirk called for the intruder to be sprung from jail.

“If some amazing patriot out there in San Francisco or the Bay Area wants to really be a midterm hero, someone should go and bail this guy out,” he said.

Cofounder of anti-Islamist EDL says rally is for free speech, as protesters attack police and antiracism campaigners.

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of London for a march organised by far-right activist Tommy Robinson, as support for the anti-immigrant Reform UK party soars across the country.

London’s Metropolitan Police estimated that Robinson’s “Unite the Kingdom” rally drew about 110,000 people on Saturday, crowds marching from two directions – Waterloo Bridge and Lambeth Bridge – and converging on Whitehall, next to the United Kingdom Parliament.

Al Jazeera witnessed people waving an assortment of flags – Union Jacks, the red and white St George’s Cross of England and the Israeli Star of David – chanting “[Keir] Starmer is a w*****” as they flocked to see famous far-right speakers next to the UK Prime Minister’s Downing Street residence, including Robinson, Katie Hopkins, and Steve Bannon.

Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon and is known for his anti-immigrant and anti-Islam views, billed the march as a demonstration for free speech, British heritage and culture, pumping up the crowd with claims that migrants now had more rights in court than the “British public, the people that built this nation”.

The Met deployed more than 1,600 officers to keep apart Robinson’s rally and a counter “Stand Up to Racism” protest attended by about 5,000 people, reporting on X that a number of officers were assaulted as they tried to stop the former breaching cordons delineating a buffer area between the two.

“We continue to see significant aggression directed at officers by Unite the Kingdom protesters,” said the force on X, which arrested nine protesters, adding that additional officers supported by police horses had been deployed in “multiple locations”.

Stand Up to Racism counterprotest held

At the counterprotest, attended by left-wing lawmakers Zarah Sultana and Diane Abbott, the crowd held signs saying “refugees welcome” and ”smash the far right,” and shouted “stand up, fight back”.

The “Stand Up to Racism” campaign group posted on X that its protesters had also been attacked by Robinson’s followers. “Are these the ‘concerned ordinary people’ we’ve heard so much about? Or are they far right thugs,” said one post.

Robinson’s rally comes at the tail end of a highly charged summer in the UK that featured several protests staged outside hotels housing asylum seekers in England, following the arrest of an Ethiopian man who was later convicted of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl in a London suburb.

BREAKING: far right thugs attack anti-fascists in Whitehall. Are these the “concerned ordinary people” we’ve heard so much about? Or are they far right thugs. #StandUptoRacism pic.twitter.com/0rkMf5BxmM

— Stand Up To Racism (@AntiRacismDay) September 13, 2025

It also comes as the far-right, anti-immigrant Reform UK party establishes itself as a significant political force, with recent polls saying it would be the UK’s largest political party if a general election were held now.

People at the march displayed placards with slogans like “send them home” and “stop the boats”, the latter a reference to asylum seekers making the perilous journey over the English Channel in inflatable boats.

One woman who had travelled from Scotland for the march told Al Jazeera that she was sick of seeing homeless British people in the street while immigrants were receiving shelter and that empty buildings should be opened for both groups.

“Bad things are going to happen if things don’t change,” she said.

Robinson founded the nationalist and anti-Islamist English Defence League (EDL) and is one of the most influential far-right figures in the UK.

While the crowd attending the “Unite the Kingdom” was large, it fell far short of one of the biggest pro-Palestinian marches, which drew an estimated 300,000 people in November 2023.

Charlie Kirk, a well-known conservative activist in the United States and staunch ally of President Donald Trump, was shot dead at an event at Utah Valley University.

Video of the incident circulating on social media showed Kirk speaking to a large outdoor crowd when a loud crack, a gunshot, rings out.

Kirk briefly clutches his neck before collapsing from his chair, sending attendees fleeing. He was 31 years old.

Here is what we know:

What happened?

Kirk was on a speaking tour, and his stop at Utah Valley University was the first of at least 15 scheduled events at universities around the country as part of his “American Comeback Tour”.

Before the shooting, he was seated at his “Prove Me Wrong” debating table, taking questions from an audience outdoors.

Videos show that Kirk was going back and forth with a student about mass shootings and transgender people when he was shot.

“Do you know how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years?” Kirk was asked.

“Too many,” Kirk responded as the crowd clapped.

“Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years?” To which Kirk replied, “Counting or not counting gang violence?”

Seconds later, Kirk could be seen struck in the neck as he falls from his chair.

According to reports, Kirk was shot about 20 minutes after he began speaking at approximately 12:10pm local time (18:10 GMT).

In video footage from the event, it can be seen how Kirk moved his hand towards his neck as he fell off his chair, sending the attendees running. In another clip, blood can be seen gushing from his neck immediately after the shot.

No one else was shot during the event.

Kirk’s wife and children were present during the incident.

Where did the shooting happen?

The shooting took place in the courtyard at Utah Valley University, located about 64km (40 miles) south of Salt Lake City.

A spokeswoman for the university said Kirk was hit by a shot fired from the roof of the school’s Losee Center, a campus building about 180 metres (200 yards) from the event area.

It was not clear whether the shot was fired from a rooftop or an open window.

Who was Charlie Kirk?

Charlie Kirk was one of the most prominent conservative activists and media personalities in the US, and a trusted ally of President Trump.

He co-founded Turning Point USA, a nonprofit conservative advocacy group, when he was just 18.

Kirk’s group grew into the country’s largest conservative youth movement, and over the years, he became a central player in a network of pro-Trump influencers, often described as the face of the “Make America Great Again” movement.

Trump often credited Kirk with bringing many young voters and voters of colour over to his side during the 2024 presidential campaign.

He was also a sharp critic of mainstream media and threw himself into culture-war battles over race, gender and immigration.

His provocative style won him a loyal support base but also fierce opposition.

Kirk also became a close friend of the president’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr, with whom Kirk travelled to Greenland in January. He was also an early champion of Vice President JD Vance as Trump was deciding whether the senator would be his running mate.

Kirk had 5.2 million followers on the platform X and hosted The Charlie Kirk Show, a podcast and radio programme that reached more than 500,000 listeners each month. He made regular appearances on Fox News, including a recent guest co-hosting slot on Fox & Friends.

According to a report by The New York Times, Kirk never pursued a role within the administration. His aim was to reshape the Republican Party and, more broadly, American politics.

“We want to transform the culture,” he told The New York Times Magazine in February.

Kirk also built a fortune through his popular podcast, frequent speaking engagements and books, including his 2020 bestseller, The MAGA Doctrine.

On social media, he posted constantly, offering a right-wing perspective on a plethora of issues.

In response to the fatal, unprovoked stabbing of a white woman by a Black man, Kirk posted this on X on Tuesday:

Will Cain is 100% right.

We have been propagandized by liars and fakers in the media to believe that America is a vicious, racist country and indiscriminate attacks on black people by whites happen all the time.

But the numbers tell the truth. Black attacks on white people… pic.twitter.com/SHmlxAIhds

— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) September 9, 2025

What do we know about the shooter?

There was confusion about whether a suspect was in custody.

A “person of interest” was in custody on Wednesday evening, Utah Governor Spencer Cox said, though no charges were immediately announced.

FBI director, Kash Patel, said on X: “The subject in custody has been released after an interrogation by law enforcement. Our investigation continues and we will continue to release information in the interest of transparency.”

Beau Mason, the head of the Utah Department of Public Safety, said a suspect was described as being dressed in all-dark clothing.

He said one shot was fired in the fatal attack.

Six officers were working the event, and there were more than 3,000 people in attendance, according to Jeff Long, chief of the Utah Valley University police department.

Kirk also had a private security team with him.

“This is a dark day for our state. It’s a tragic day for our nation,” Utah Governor Cox said.

“I want to be very clear that this is a political assassination.”

What’s the latest on the ground?

Currently, the campus is closed, according to the university.

At 12:37 pm (18:37 GMT), the university shut down the campus, cancelled classes, and told everyone to leave.

At 2:01 pm (20:01 GMT), students were told to “stay where you are until police can escort you off campus safely”.

Classes have been cancelled until further notice.

UVU campus is closed. Classes cancelled. Those on campus, secure in place until police officers can escort you safely off campus. Police are currently going building to building escorting people off campus. Roads to campus are currently closed.

— UVU (@UVU) September 10, 2025

What have been the reactions?

Democrats and Republicans quickly denounced the shooting on social media and in Congress.

Trump has ordered all American flags to be lowered to half-staff until Sunday evening, in honour of Kirk.

“There is no place” for this violence, former US President Joe Biden said on X.

There is no place in our country for this kind of violence. It must end now. Jill and I are praying for Charlie Kirk’s family and loved ones.

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) September 10, 2025

Vice President JD Vance also reacted:

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord. pic.twitter.com/lYLEjv40bN

— JD Vance (@JDVance) September 10, 2025

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had invited Kirk to Israel:

Charlie Kirk was murdered for speaking truth and defending freedom. A lion-hearted friend of Israel, he fought the lies and stood tall for Judeo-Christian civilization. I spoke to him only two weeks ago and invited him to Israel. Sadly, that visit will not take place.
We lost an…

— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) September 10, 2025

Kirill Dmitriev, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s investment envoy, posted on Telegram: “There was an attack on Charlie Kirk, one of the most ardent conservative leaders known for his positive statements about Russia and his calls for dialogue.”

Barack Obama, former US president, said this: “Despicable violence has no place in our democracy.”

We don’t yet know what motivated the person who shot and killed Charlie Kirk, but this kind of despicable violence has no place in our democracy. Michelle and I will be praying for Charlie’s family tonight, especially his wife Erika and their two young children.

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) September 10, 2025

Turning Point also posted on X:

pic.twitter.com/JbWK9BNnbR

— Turning Point USA (@TPUSA) September 10, 2025

Move part of broader immigration crackdown as ruling Labour Party comes under pressure from hard-right Reform UK party.

The United Kingdom’s Labour government has said it is suspending a scheme enabling registered refugees to bring family members into the country amid soaring support for the far right in opinion polls.

UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced on Monday that she was “temporarily” suspending new applications to the refugee family reunion route as the government draws up new rules set to be introduced by spring next year.

“The system has to be controlled and managed based on fair and properly enforced rules, not chaos and exploitation driven by criminal smuggler gangs,” she said.

Under the current system, an asylum seeker granted indefinite leave to remain in the country can bring in children under the age of 18, and their partner if they can prove they have been in a relationship for at least two years.

Cooper told Parliament that increasing numbers of family reunion applications had placed pressure on housing across the country, with many applying to bring relatives over within about a month. One of the planned reforms would mean longer waiting periods before applying.

Refugee charities blasted the move. Safe Passage, which supports child refugees, accused the government of “giving in to far-right pressure”, saying that it would leave children fleeing war and persecution in countries like Afghanistan, Sudan or Iran “trapped in danger”.

🚨 SHOCKING: The UK Government has temporarily suspended all new refugee family reunion applications.

The consequences will be devastating for the children we support, who’ve now been stripped of almost every safe route to join their loved ones. pic.twitter.com/YErszylNft

— Safe Passage International🧡 (@safepassageint) September 1, 2025

Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, said: “Far from stopping people taking dangerous journeys to cross the Channel, these changes will only push more desperate people into the arms of smugglers in an effort to reunite with loved ones.”

Far right whipping up anger

Cooper announced the move as Labour faced a bumpy return to Parliament after a summer break that has seen anti-immigration protesters repeatedly targeting hotels housing asylum seekers in various parts of England – most recently in Epping, northeast of London, on Sunday.

Facing pressure from Nigel Farage’s hard-right Reform UK party, which has whipped up anger over people arriving in small boats over the English Channel from France, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Monday that he will accelerate plans to empty the asylum hotels.

Accused of moving too slowly, the government has been eager to demonstrate it is tackling a problem left by previous Conservative-led administrations by brokering return deals with other nations and speeding up the processing of asylum claims.

Cooper said that the UK and France will start implementing a “one in, one out” pilot scheme later this month, with the former sending refugees and asylum seekers to the latter in exchange for approved applicants.

“Applications have also been opened for the reciprocal legal route, with the first cases under consideration subject to strict security checks,” she said, adding that “family groups” would be prioritised under the deal with France.

The government will also establish a new independent body to deal with appeals as tens of thousands of people in asylum accommodation are currently awaiting a decision, Cooper said.

She added that the current average waiting time for appeals to be heard is 54 weeks.

A court in Bolivia has transferred a high-profile opposition leader, Luis Fernando Camacho, to house arrest amid outcry over the length of his pretrial detention.

On Wednesday, a court ruled that Camacho, the right-wing governor of the eastern department of Santa Cruz, could be returned to his home and released from preventative detention on bail, provided he submits to house arrest.

He is expected to travel on Friday back to Santa Cruz, home to Bolivia’s most populous city, also called Santa Cruz.

“The judicial authority has ordered the end of preventive detention against Governor Luis Fernando Camacho and has replaced it with precautionary measures, including house arrest,” his lawyer, Martin Camacho, confirmed on Wednesday.

The lawyer said Governor Camacho would be able to resume his political duties under the work-release terms of his bail.

A political shift in Bolivia

Camacho has been held in pretrial detention since December 2022, when he was arrested amid weeks of deadly protests led by right-wing forces frustrated with the left-wing political leadership in La Paz.

Normally, pretrial detention in Bolivia should not last longer than six months. Last week, the Supreme Court of Justice called for a review of Camacho’s incarceration, and on Tuesday, a judge considering one of the two cases against him approved his release.

After Wednesday’s hearing, a second judge echoed the first’s decision to place Camacho under house arrest instead.

“This is the first step towards freedom,” Camacho said after Tuesday’s decision. “The elected representatives of justice today begin to restore the rule of law.”

Camacho’s release comes as the political sphere in Bolivia braces for a dramatic shift. The left-wing Movement for Socialism (MAS) party has led the country for much of the last 20 years.

But in the August 17 general election, all the left-wing presidential candidates were knocked out of contention.

Two right-wing politicians have instead progressed to the run-off race: centrist Senator Rodrigo Paz and former President Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga, who has promised more radical change.

Camacho, meanwhile, has gained fame as a leader in Bolivia’s far-right Christian coalition, Creemos, which translates to “We Believe”. The Argentinian newspaper La Nacion even nicknamed him the “Bolivian Bolsonaro”, a reference to Jair Bolsonaro, a former Brazilian president currently on trial for allegedly conspiring to overturn an election.

For his part, Camacho has been held in La Paz’s Chonchocoro prison while facing “terrorism”-related charges.

Wednesday’s release to house arrest does not mean those charges have gone away.

The case against Camacho

Camacho still faces legal jeopardy, including the two high-profile cases that landed him behind bars.

The first concerns his actions during the 2019 political crisis that saw then-President Evo Morales flee the country.

Morales is considered to be the first president of Indigenous heritage in Bolivia’s modern history, but he had controversially sought a fourth term as president in the 2018 general election.

In the months afterwards, Camacho emerged as a prominent opposition figure, calling Morales’s victory a “fraud”.

He and other conservative leaders pressured the then-president to resign, in a campaign Morales compared to a “coup”.

Upon Morales’s departure from the country, Camacho delivered a symbolic resignation letter to the presidential palace, carrying a Bible in hand. For his role in the political crisis, Camacho faces charges of sedition and “terrorism”.

The second major case against Camacho concerns his actions during the 2022 unrest in Santa Cruz. He has been charged with criminal association and illegal use of public property.

By 2022, Morales’s former finance minister, Luis Arce, had been elected president of Bolivia, continuing the streak of MAS-led governments in La Paz.

Santa Cruz, considered Bolivia’s most prosperous economic hub and the largest by land area, had expected to see gains in the upcoming census, which would potentially translate into greater representation in the country’s legislature.

But because of disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Arce government announced the census would be delayed.

Anger over the decision spilled into Santa Cruz’s streets. The Pro Santa Cruz Civic Committee, a powerful right-wing group that Camacho had once led, carried out a strike that stretched on for nearly 36 days.

Protesters blocked roads, set fires and clashed with law enforcement. Dozens of cases of human rights abuses were reported to the government ombudsman, including sexual assault and murder. Prosecutors have accused Camacho of complicity in the turmoil.

Split opinions over Camacho’s release

But the Supreme Court of Justice has called for a review of the cases concerning Camacho and other prominent opposition leaders, including former President Jeanine Anez and Marco Antonio Pumari.

As Quiroga campaigns for the presidency ahead of the October 17 run-off, he has championed efforts to release the imprisoned opposition figures.

On his Facebook page on Tuesday, Quiroga celebrated the news of Camacho’s impending release.

“Justice cannot be an instrument of revenge. It must be the pillar of a free and democratic Bolivia,” Quiroga wrote.

“I salute the release of Luis Fernando Camacho and Marco Pumari, so they can pursue their defence in freedom. Let’s move forward, and remember that when there’s justice, there’s hope for all.”

Supporters in Santa Cruz also gathered in the street to celebrate Camacho’s anticipated return.

But outside the court in La Paz, some protesters called for his continued incarceration. They blamed Camacho for stirring the unrest that caused at least 37 people to be killed in the 2019 political crisis.

“Without justice,” they chanted, “there is no democracy.”

State Department move comes as Israel’s war and induced-famine in Gaza reach new extremes, with 61,827 killed so far.

The United States has announced that it is halting all visitor visas for people from Gaza pending a “a full and thorough” review, a day after social media posts about Palestinian refugees sparked furious reactions from right-wingers.

The Department of State’s move on Saturday came a day after far-right activist and Trump ally Laura Loomer posted on X that Palestinians “who claim to be refugees from Gaza” entered the US via San Francisco and Houston this month.

“How is allowing for Islamic immigrants to come into the US America First policy?” she said on X in a later post, going on to report further Palestinian arrivals in Missouri and claiming that “several US Senators and members of Congress” had texted her to express their fury.

Republican lawmakers speaking publicly about the matter included Chip Roy of Texas, who said he would inquire about the matter, and Randy Fine of Florida, who described the alleged arrivals as a “national security risk”.

By Saturday, the State Department announced it was stopping visas for “individuals from Gaza” while it conducted “a full and thorough review of the process and procedures used to issue a small number of temporary medical-humanitarian visas in recent days”. It did not provide a figure.

All visitor visas for individuals from Gaza are being stopped while we conduct a full and thorough review of the process and procedures used to issue a small number of temporary medical-humanitarian visas in recent days.

— Department of State (@StateDept) August 16, 2025

The US issued 640 visas to holders of the Palestinian Authority travel document in May, according to the Reuters news agency. B1/B2 visitor visas permit Palestinians to seek medical treatment in the US.

Loomer greeted Saturday’s State Department announcement with glee.

“It’s amazing how fast we can get results from the Trump administration,” she said on Saturday, though she later posted that more needed to be done to “highlight the crisis of the invasion happening in our country”.

While I appreciate the State Department and @marcorubio issuing this statement, I want to press even harder to highlight the crisis of the invasion happening in our country.

The visas and arrivals of GAZANS to US airports isn’t new. This has been drastically increasing in speed… https://t.co/mI5APTairz

— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) August 16, 2025

The decision to cut visas comes as Israel intensifies its attacks on Gaza, where at least 61,827 people have been killed in the past 22 months, with the United Nations warning that “widespread starvation, malnutrition and disease” are driving a rise in famine-related deaths.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been pushing to seize Gaza City as part of a takeover of the Strip, forcibly displacing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to concentration zones.