Senior White House official Stephen Miller vowed Monday that the Trump administration would dismantle an alleged “vast domestic terror movement” that he linked to the killing of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk.Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff, made the comments on Kirk’s podcast, which Vice President JD Vance hosted on Monday.”We are going to channel all of the anger that we have over the organized campaign that led to this assassination, to uproot and dismantle these terrorist networks,” said Miller.Miller and Vance both alleged the existence of a rising left-wing extremist movement, which they said the administration would now target.”We are going to use every resource we have at the Department of Justice, Homeland Security and throughout this government to identify, disrupt, dismantle and destroy these networks and make America safe again for the American people,” said Miller.The remarks, which come before all details of Kirk’s killing are fully known, have sparked alarm among some Trump critics that such a campaign could be used to quash dissent.While Kirk was a vocal conservative, the United States has seen violence targeting members of both political parties in recent years, amid a sharp rise in polarization and easy access to firearms.US President Donald Trump escaped two assassination attempts on the campaign trail last year, while a Minnesota Democratic lawmaker and her husband were shot dead by a masked gunman in June.Two months earlier, a man attacked the home of Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, a prominent Democrat.Kirk, a close ally of Trump, was shot Wednesday during a speaking event on a Utah university campus. He was the founder of the influential conservative youth political group Turning Point USA.On the podcast Monday, Vance was full of praise for a man he called “the smartest political operative I ever met.””He was a critical part of getting Donald Trump elected as president, getting me elected as vice president,” he said.Trump will attend a memorial service for Kirk on Sunday at a stadium in Arizona.On Monday, the president said he was considering designating “Antifa” a domestic terrorist organization and bringing organized crime charges against those raising funds for alleged “agitation.”Antifa — short for “anti-fascist” — is an umbrella term for diffuse far-left groups, and is often mentioned in right-wing talking points around violence at protests.Trump has previously threatened to name Antifa a “domestic terrorist organization” in his first term, but never followed through.While federal law enforcement includes combating domestic terrorism under its purview, the United States does not have a list of designated “domestic terrorist organizations.”- DNA evidence -Earlier Monday, FBI Director Kash Patel said that DNA found at the scene of the murder had been matched to suspect Tyler Robinson, who was arrested Thursday after a 33-hour manhunt.The 22-year-old is expected to be formally charged in the murder on Tuesday.Authorities said the suspect used a rifle to shoot Kirk with a single bullet to the neck from a rooftop.Patel also discussed a note that Robinson is believed to have written before the crime and later destroyed.The note is “basically saying… ‘I have the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk, and I’m going to take it,'” Patel said on Fox News.Kirk, a father of two, used his audiences on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube to build support for conservative talking points, including strong criticism of the transgender rights movement.A polarizing figure, he often posted carefully edited clips of his interactions during debates at his many college events.Utah Governor Spencer Cox on Sunday said Robinson was romantically involved with a transgender roommate and had “leftist ideology.”Patel has been heavily criticized for his actions in the immediate aftermath of the shooting, including having quickly announced the arrest of a suspect, only to confirm they had been released two hours later.On Monday, Patel defended his actions.”Could I have worded it a little better in the heat of the moment? Sure. But do I regret putting it out? Absolutely not,” he said.Patel is expected at Congress on Tuesday to answer questions from lawmakers.

From breaking up a fight or identifying a suspected robber to picking up trash and removing graffiti, National Guard forces are on an unusual deployment mixing security and cleanup in the US capital.Now such unorthodox assignments may soon be replicated elsewhere, with President Donald Trump on Monday signing an order sending troops to Memphis, Tennessee.Trump deployed the military in Washington a little over a month ago to help crack down on what he claimed was out-of-control crime, despite police statistics showing violent offenses were down in the city.The contentious move — which the Washington attorney general’s office said amounts to an “involuntary military occupation” — offers a preview of what the National Guard may do not only in Memphis, but also in Baltimore and Chicago where Trump has threatened to send troops.”Fighting crime in this manner is very unusual,” Mark Cancian, a retired US Marine colonel and senior advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said of the Washington deployment.Guard members have been called in for particular incidents that last a few days, “but this longer-term policing function” is not typical, Cancian said.There are currently some 2,300 troops in Washington, more than half of them from eight Republican-led states and the rest from the city’s National Guard.Federal law enforcement personnel have also increased their presence on Washington’s streets, and Trump threatened overnight Monday to declare a national emergency and federalize the city because Mayor Muriel Bowser said local police would no longer help with immigration enforcement.            – ‘Visible crime deterrent’ -A spokesperson for Joint Task Force-DC (JTF-DC) — to which the National Guard troops in the city are assigned — said they are tasked with “monument security, community safety patrols, protecting Federal facilities, traffic control posts, and area beautification.””Guard members will provide a visible crime deterrent, not arrest, search, or conduct direct law enforcement actions,” the spokesperson said.JTF-DC statements provide a snapshot of troop activities.On September 12, for instance, they responded to a potential active shooter situation at a Metro station, cordoning off the area. Five days earlier they broke up a fight near another station.In late August they identified and followed a suspected robber until police arrived and made an arrest, and protected a family that was being harassed by a man who said he had a gun.National Guard forces are also involved in projects aimed at city cleanup — another of Trump’s stated goals.As of September 15, troops cleared some 900 bags of trash, spread more than 700 cubic yards (535 cubic meters) of mulch, removed five truckloads of plant waste, and painted nearly 100 yards (90 meters) of fencing, according to JTF-DC.- ‘Shame and alarm’ -Cancian said that while these are not typical jobs for the Guard, troops have “been used for all kinds of things,” from handing out leaflets during the pandemic to shoveling snow or driving buses.However, “if you want to do landscaping, hire a landscaping company,” he said, as they are “much, much better at it, and cheaper, faster.”The deployment has been controversial — something JTF-DC is well aware of, according to a document mistakenly sent to journalists this month.The document, a daily summary gauging media and online sentiment, said social media mentions “from self-identified veterans and active-duty commenters expressed shame and alarm” about the deployment.”Trending videos show residents reacting with alarm and indignation,” it said, also referring to “mentions of fatigue, confusion, and demoralization — ‘just gardening,’ unclear mission, wedge between citizens and the military.”The open-ended nature of the mission in Washington could also be an issue, Cancian said, noting that “strain increases” as the deployment goes on, especially if “people don’t think that they’re doing something that’s particularly important.”There could eventually be “pushback from the Guard saying, you know, either we get a real mission… which doesn’t seem to be there, or send us home.”