Charlie Kirk, founder of the right-wing youth organizing group Turning Point USA and co-founder of Liberty University’s Falkirk Center, called on President Donald Trump to invoke the Insurrection Act, which allows the president to deploy active U.S. military troops on U.S. soil, after protests erupted in cities across the nation following the police killing of George Floyd, a black man.
Kirk tweeted on Monday morning, “RT if @realDonaldTrump should invoke the Insurrection Act and restore ORDER to our cities!” He had made a similar appeal directly to Trump hours earlier, tweeting, “President Trump PLEASE invoke the INSURRECTION ACT to stop this madness. This will NOT get better. Democrat mayors are happy to watch their cities burn.” Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) also called on Trump Monday to invoke the law, which allows the president to deploy active-duty military forces, adding, “lets see how these anarchists respond when the 101st Airborne is on the other side of the street.”
Kirk has been busy on Twitter during the protests that erupted across the country over the past week after the police killing of Floyd in Minneapolis. On Sunday, Kirk used the violence to smear Democrats and the left with a broad brush:
What we are seeing here is the left’s dream come true.
They have ALWAYS wanted chaos, riots, and destruction.
This is all part of their plan to destroy America from within.
This is why Democrats are allowing this to happen with no resistance.
Arrest the terrorists!
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) June 1, 2020
Kirk was similarly unrestrained about labeling protesters terrorists:
RT if EVERY single “protestor” in Minneapolis should be arrested and charged with Domestic Terrorism!
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) May 29, 2020
Kirk also connected the protests to what he called the “absolute tyranny” of social distancing restrictions imposed to slow the spread of COVID-19:
The Left kept people confined for 10 weeks with no human contact
Absolute tyranny led to a more combustible equation than anyone could imagine
Draconian lockdowns created the tension that’s boiled over into the streets of Minneapolis
Never give Democrats power again
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) May 30, 2020
Kirk, who has teamed up with Christian nationalists, also brought a religious-right COVID-19 angle to his Twitter feed:
It is unacceptable that Christians were arrested for taking Communion while terrorist thugs are allowed to burn down American cities
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) May 30, 2020
And he declared on Sunday, “Jesus is King, he is the true healer and answer to everything. May our country repent and affirm him as Lord!”
Over the last several days, Kirk tweeted twice about white privilege being a “racist myth” and a “racist lie.” He urged people to “RT if you support police officers as they defend America against radical leftwing terrorism!” And he posted video of himself and right-wing commentator Candace Owen arguing that Black Lives Matter has no credibility because they do not oppose abortion.
The pinned tweet at the top of Kirk’s Twitter feed, as of Monday morning, simultaneously promotes Kirk’s book “The MAGA Doctrine” and praises Trump for having “made history” and “changed America forever.”
“The future of America depends on Trump being re-elected,” Kirk tweeted on Sunday. “Nothing is more important than making sure America gets four more years of Donald Trump.”
