The Elon Musk Charlie Kirk FBI Situation Has Divided The Internet
PDS Published 10/02/2025
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Two Jewish people were killed and four others severely injured in the UK this morning after a man drove a car into a Manchester Synagogue.
Even worse is that he got out and started stabbing people before being shot to death by police shortly after the attack began.
Given the nature of the attack and the fact it happened on Yom Kippur -- the holiest day in the Jewish Calendar -- police are calling it a terror attack.
Actual footage from the scene and prior to the attack largely doesn’t exist as of right now likely because of the demographics of the area.
Right, Manchester and this area in particular has the highest Jewish population in the UK.
And generally speaking, observant Jews don’t use devices on High Holidays like Yom Kippur.
So the exact details of the attack likely won’t come out for a while.
Also I’m saying “attacker” because as of right now we don’t know the suspect’s name, with London police just saying they believe they know his identity but are “unable to confirm at this stage.”
And really in general we don’t know a lot because this just happened this morning and police are keeping info close to their chest.
Which means, knowing my luck, we’ll get all the information RIGHT as I make this video go live.
(And if you’re wondering why the Metropolitan Police -- which deals with London -- would be commenting on crimes in Manchester it’s because they handle all terrorism cases and took over the investigation).
Another hurdle to identifying the attacker was because “suspicious items” were found on the body which required the bomb squad to come out.
But as of recording it’s been revealed that the items weren’t “viable” and not a threat.
On top of that it looks like he may have not worked alone, as two others have been arrested in connection with the crime.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer gave his initial thoughts on X before telling reporters:
“The attack in Manchester this morning is absolutely shocking and all of our thoughts are with those affected. I’m on my way back to London and when I arrive I will chair an emergency COBRA meeting. I am able to say that additional police units and dogs are being deployed across the country and we will do everything to keep our Jewish community safe.” @0:00-0:21
The Israeli embassy also condemned the attack and said:
“That such an act of violence should be perpetrated on the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, in a place of prayer and community, is abhorrent and deeply distressing,”
For Jewish people in the UK, this attack is just another example of a rising wave of antisemitism -- albeit one of the most deadly.
According to the Community Security Trust, which is a charity that tracks antisemitic acts in the UK, 1,521 cases have been documented between January and June of this year.[]
That ranges from assaults, graffiti, online abuse, and other acts.
This means this year has the second-highest rates of antisemitic incidents since they’ve started tracking it in the country.
In general there's a real fear from the UK’s leadership that this could lead to even FURTHER increased tensions between sectarian groups across the UK.
And regardless of your faith or race or whatever I think we can all agree that the last thing we want is for more people to needlessly die.
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The Anti-Defamation League is now paying the price for criticizing Charlie Kirk.
Right, the ADL? It’s one of the most prominent Jewish advocacy organizations in the US.
But it’s recently come under attack by Elon Musk and other right-wing influencers for its work documenting alleged racism and antisemitism connected to Kirk’s Turning Point USA.
With Musk and others accusing the ADL of labeling Kirk’s organization an extremist group or a hate group.
And this seemingly leading FBI Director Kash Patel to announce that the agency is cutting ties with the ADL – suggesting the ADL itself is an “extreme group functioning like a terrorist organization.”
But to be clear, the ADL never labeled Turning Point as an extremist or a hate group.
It described it as a “right-wing student organization” that provided a “platform for extremists and far-right conspiracy theorists.”
It also claimed that “TPUSA’s leadership and activists have made multiple racist or bigoted comments and have been linked to a variety of extremists” – giving various examples there.
And it further argued that Kirk himself pushed “numerous conspiracy theories about election fraud and Covid-19 and has demonised the transgender community” – as well as promoted “Christian Nationalism.”
And connected to that, we’ve also seen people sharing screenshots of an ADL webpage talking about what is known as the “Christian Identity” movement – right, which isn’t just about identifying as Christian.
It’s actually an extremist ideology dating back to the 19th century which believes that white people are God’s chosen ones and advocates for a “holy war” against Jews and other minority groups.
But you’ve still had Musk pointing to all that to argue that the ADL is a “hate group” against Christians.
While also claiming that using “false and defamatory labels about people and organizations” – including calling them “Extremist, Hate or Terror” groups – “encourages murder.”
You also had him arguing that the organization has become a “far left hate propaganda machine” – which is kind of ironic because a lot of criticism of the ADL has actually come from people who might be considered the far left.
And specifically, Palestine supporters have slammed the organization for equating anti-Zionism and even general criticism of Israel with antisemitism.
And you’ve even had ADL employees speaking out against the ADL’s defense of the Israeli government.
Although, notably, a lot of the backlash has also come in response to the ADL’s past defense of Musk – like when he gave what were widely seen as two fascist-style salutes on stage after Trump’s inauguration and the ADL called it “an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm.”
And now, in response to all this, you’ve actually had the ADL accused of folding to Musk again by taking down its "Glossary of Extremism” – reportedly removing over one thousand pages of related research from its website.
With the ADL defending itself in a statement by saying that “an increasing number of entries in the Glossary were outdated” – and also noting:
“We also saw a number of entries intentionally misrepresented and misused.”
But with all that, the other aspect of this backlash has had to do with the ADL’s ties to the FBI and other law enforcement.
And by ties, I just mean the fact that the group has partnered with law enforcement agencies for decades to educate them on extremism and antisemitism.
In the case of the FBI, for example, it’s mandatory for new agents to complete the ADL’s Law Enforcement and Society workshop.
Which – according to the description – “examine[s] the history of the Holocaust, the role of police under the Nazis, and the implications of the Holocaust for law enforcement today.” []
And in 2014, you actually had former FBI Director and recently indicted James Comey delivering a speech praising the ADL for its work, saying:
“If this sounds a bit like a love letter to the ADL, it is, and rightly so.”
And so now you’ve had Kash Patel using all this to take a hit at Comey while also suggesting without evidence that there’s been something much more nefarious going, telling Fox News:
“James Comey disgraced the FBI by writing ‘love letters’ to the ADL and embedding agents with an extreme group functioning like a terrorist organization and the disgraceful operation they ran spying on Americans.”
“ That was not law enforcement, it was activism dressed up as counterterrorism, and it put Americans in danger.”
“That era is finished. This FBI formally rejects Comey’s policies and any partnership with the ADL.”
So we’ll have to wait and see if he has anything more to say to try and back up those claims.
But in the meantime – even as some say there’s good reason to criticize the ADL – you also have people saying this is all kinds of alarming in the way it’s happening and how it might empower right-wing extremists.
And with that, I’d love to hear your thoughts on the whole situation.
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That is the latest from this saga because in case you missed it, earlier this week the NFL and Apple Music announced that Bad Bunny would be the halftime headliner, which in many ways, not too surprising, he is one of the biggest artists in the world.
But it caused a ton of controversy, because even though Bad Bunny is from Puerto Rico, which is an American territory, many on the right believed this was an “unamerican” choice.
With some outraged that his music is primarily in Spanish, not English.[][][]
Megyn Kelly calling his selection an “active middle finger” to the right, others writing things like:
“Roger Goodell and the @NFL just decided to make the Super Bowl political…This is not a pick designed to unite football fans or let people just enjoy the show. It was a pick designed to divide fans and no doubt Bad Bunny will find some way to push a woke message…Does this guy really scream American football to anyone?”[]
Some also pointing to the fact that Bad Bunny actually opted to not have any shows in the 50 states for his recent tour because he has a huge Latino fan base, and he was concerned about ICE, explaining:
“There were many reasons why I didn’t show up in the US, and none of them were out of hate.”
“But there was the issue of—like, fucking ICE could be outside [my concert].”
And that only furthered this MAGA outrage because the NFL picked a star who didn’t even tour in the states for political reasons.[]
And now, it seems like this outrage has reached the Trump administration, because Corey Lewandowski, a senior adviser in the Department of Homeland Security, just went on Benny Johnson’s podcast.
And when Benny asked if there would be ICE enforcement at the Super Bowl, Lewandowski said:
“There is nowhere you can provide safe haven to people who are in this country illegally. Not the Super Bowl and nowhere else. We will find you. We will apprehend you. We will put you in a detention facility. And we will deport you. So know that is a very real situation under this administration.” (0:07-0:22)
“It’s so shameful that they’ve decided to pick somebody who seems to hate America so much to represent them at the Halftime game.” (1:00-1:09)
And that clip has now taken off, and ICE backed up these comments to TMZ, confirming ICE presence at the event.[]
And this has stirred its own wave of responses, with some people thinking it is ridiculous to threaten an ICE raid over a Puerto Rican, and therefore American artist. [][]
Right, that this just proves Bunny’s point about not touring here. []
But some also thinking that, in practice, this is a pretty empty threat.
Right, because the crowds attending the Super Bowl and those attending a regular Bad Bunny concert are just not the same.
Sure, some people do attend it for the halftime show, but it’s really a lot of football fans, so it is less likely to put his fans at risk in the same way his own tour would.[]
You also have some noting the hefty price of tickets to the game and adding:
“rich white people attend the super bowl, ICE isn’t targeting them.”[]
And for many, the fact this turned into a controversy at all highlights why it is such a big deal that Bad Bunny is doing the half time show, with big creators like Tefi (Teffy, teff like jeff) saying:
“Bad Bunny is performing on the biggest stage on the biggest night when Latinos are being scapegoated and being persecuted and talked about like we don’t belong here.” (1:03-1:16)
“Bad Bunny champions his island. Okay, he wears his culture on his sleeve. It’s representation. It’s defiance. It is joy in the face of people who try to shrink us.” (1:26-1:44)
And so I would love to know your thoughts on any of this here, on Bad Bunny getting this gig, on this MAGA outrage, on ICE, anything.
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We’ve talked a lot recently about how political violence is getting worse in the United States, but we haven’t considered whether or not it’s necessary.
Now to be clear, I’m not advocating any form of violence here, but according to this new survey, a shocking number of people are.
With 30% of respondents agreeing that Americans may need to resort to violence to get the country back on course. [Quote, find “three in 10”]
And that’s up 11 points from just a year and a half ago, with shares rising for all party identifications, though not equally. [Quote same link, find “11 points”]
Right, Republicans went up three points, independents went up seven points, and Democrats shot up 16 points, going from 12 to 28%! [Quote same link, find “25%” and “28%”]
But although Democrats had the biggest increase, that’s only because Republicans were already so high.
Right, a year and a half ago the GOP was where Democrats are now in terms of support for potential violence, and today they’re still higher, showing 31% support. [Quote same link, find “31%”]
So basically Dems are just catching up to the other side on this issue.
And as for why, you have NPR’s senior political editor Domenico Montanaro [Pronounce 01:14], whose outlet was involved in the survey, giving his interpretation. [Lead B roll into clip]
[Clip, 02:55 - 03:00, 03:04 - 03:11, 03:15 - 03:33] Caption: “I think that it really speaks a lot to people who feel under threat in the country, … whether they’re targeted for hiring practices or feel like they don’t have upper mobility or feeling like the country’s not going in the direction they want. … In some senses though, I feel like there is a failure of politics here overall, because if you feel that politics, which is the only way to really create change in the country, is the way to make that change, then you don’t feel this way. But when politics people feel has let them down, then you start to see these kinds of openings.”
And that brings us to another poll that just came out, because it seems to demonstrate what he just said.
With it finding that 64% of registered voters believe the nation is too politically divided to solve its problems. [Image]
And that’s up a staggering 22 points from 42% in fall 2020, when the U.S. was wrenching itself apart over Covid lockdowns and BLM protests. [Same image]
But hey, arguably it’s not as big a deal that politics can’t solve our problems if those problems aren’t very urgent, right?
Except it turns out that a third of people said America’s problems are so bad that it’s in danger of failing as a nation. [Quote, find “33%”]
With that including well over half of Democrats and hardly more than a twentieth of Republicans. [Quote same link, find “58%” and “6%”]
And keep in mind, both of these polls were conducted after the Kirk assassination but before the government shutdown, so it’s possible the sense of hopelessness and desperation gets even worse.
But on the bright side, there are some things that both sides seem to agree on.
So for example, despite the third who think political violence may be necessary, 95% of Americans still say it’s a problem. [Quote, find “77%”]
But then, when you ask what kind of violence they’re worried about, people give very different answers.
With Republicans expressing more concern about violence against public officials, while Democrats have more concern for violence against protestors. [Quote same link, find “74%”]
And for many other issues, the broad, surface-level agreement also turns out to conceal a deeper disagreement when you break it down further.
So for example, only 12% of registered voters support revoking the licenses of TV stations that air programs criticizing Donald Trump. [Quote, find “12%”]
But when you narrow it down to just Republicans, that number rises to 26%, or one in four people. [Quote same link, find “26%”]
With 64% of the GOP adding that Trump’s actions pressuring media organizations which cover him unfavorably have been about right or haven’t gone far enough. [Quote same link, find “53%” and “11%”]
Then, even on Jeffrey Epstein, although 61% of Americans disapprove of the Trump Administration’s handling of the case, that number’s only 25% for Republicans. [Quote, find “61%”]
With nearly half positively approving of it, and 9% saying they don’t want any of the files released, whether victims’ names are redacted or not. [Quote same link, find “9%”]
Yet despite all this, I was able to find at least one question from the second survey on which both sides seem to genuinely agree.
And that’s whether they would call each other “the enemy” or “fellow Americans” whom they merely disagree with politically.
With just 10% of Democrats and 14% of Republicans opting for the harsher description, and the overwhelming majority of both preferring the kinder one. [Quote]
Which really contrasts with the absolutely venomous rhetoric we hear from the president on a near-daily basis.
[Clip, 01:28 - 01:34] Caption: “I hate my opponent. And I don’t want the best for them. I’m sorry.”
[Clip, 00:33 - 00:36] Caption: “I called the fake news the enemy of the people, and they are.”
[Clip, 00:25 - 00:32, 00:53 - 00:56] Caption: “It is the enemy from within, and they’re very dangerous. They’re Marxists and communists and fascists, and they’re sick. … These people, they’re so sick, and they’re so evil.”
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20 states are suing the Trump administration for barring them from using federal funds to help survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence who "cannot immediately prove their immigration status.”
With the attorneys generals bringing the case noting that "even lawful residents and U.S. citizens could be shut out from urgently needed services" – and adding in a statement:
"People fleeing abusive households often do not physically have the legal documents needed to demonstrate immigration status.”
“Abusers will frequently restrict a victim’s access to important legal documents as a means of control and as a tactic to prevent them from escaping the dangerous situation." []
And with that, you also had them pointing out that Trump seemed to minimize the seriousness of domestic violence in a recent speech:
“Things that take place in the home, they call crime. You know, they'll do anything they can to find something. If a man has a little fight with the wife, they say, ‘This was a crime.’ So now I can't claim 100%.” (BYTE: 0:27-0:0:38)
But with all that, to zoom out, this reportedly has to do with funding awarded by way of two laws – the Victims of Crime Act and the Violence Against Women Act – as well as something called the Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant. []
And the Justice Department’s new rules restricting the use of this funding to provide legal services to undocumented immigrants is scheduled to go into effect October 31st.[]
Although, notably, this isn’t the first time the White House has gone after money meant for victims of crimes.
Right, back in August, the Trump administration actually threatened to withhold Victims of Crime Act funding to states that don’t assist with immigration enforcement.
And that also prompted 20 states as well as DC to sue the Trump administration.
Right, because that funding? It reportedly covers the cost of about 75% of state-run victims compensation programs.
And these programs? They help victims with medical expenses, counseling, and even funeral costs in the case of homicides. []
With funds established by the law also paying for services including testing rape kits and going toward grants for organizations helping people recover from domestic violence and other trauma. []
And notably, this funding comes entirely from fines and penalties in federal court cases, not even from tax dollars. []
And so you had people like New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin – who’s involved in both of these lawsuits – saying at the time that the administration’s threat to withhold funds was “the most heinous act” he’s seen in politics – adding:
“These people did not ask for this status as a crime victim. They don’t breakdown neatly across partisan lines, but they share one common trait, which is that they’ve suffered an unimaginable trauma.”
And so ultimately it’s kind of the type of news that often gets buried when there’s so much going on but it just goes to show how many ways all that’s happening has the potential to impact people’s lives in a big way.
