The Federal Bureau of Investigation is cutting ties with the Anti-Defamation League amid outrage over the antisemitism and racism watchdog’s designation of Turning Point USA and the Christian Identity movement as radical, ultimately leading to the ADL removing its Glossary of Extremism database.
FBI Director Kash Patel on Tuesday decried the ADL for running “disgraceful [operations] spying on Americans” and for his predecessor James Comey for embedding agents within the group and giving it support.
“That era is over. This FBI won’t partner with political fronts masquerading as watchdogs,” Patel said on Twitter/X.
Patel also told Fox News that the ADL was an “extreme group functioning like a terrorist organization.”
Comey’s involvement with the ADL “was not law enforcement, it was activism dressed up as counterterrorism, and it put Americans in danger,” Patel told Fox.
The ADL said on Tuesday that it had deep respect for the FBI and all levels of law enforcement to protect all Americans regardless of background.
“In light of an unprecedented surge of antisemitism, we remain more committed than ever to our core purpose to protect the Jewish people,” said the ADL.
US Sen. Eric Schmitt said Patel’s move was excellent, as the ADL had allegedly ruined the lives of “countless innocent people” and was involved in the “weaponizing of law enforcement agencies.”
“These so-called ‘anti-hate’ groups have smeared, censored, and attacked patriotic Americans for decades,” Schmitt said on social media.
Musk, other right-wing voices bash ADL over Kirk inclusion
Patel’s statement on partnerships with the ADL followed backlash about the NGO’s work with the FBI while maintaining an extremism database that included entries on TPUSA and the Christian Identity movement.
Screenshots were circulated on X of part of the ADL database article on the Christian Identity movement, which, according to a 1989 FBI document, is a radical religious stream that ascribes to white supremacist Christian nationalism and identifies non-white and Jewish people as adversaries.
Outrage about the entry was led by X CEO Elon Musk, who said on his social media platform on Sunday that the ADL was a “hate group” because it “hates Christians.”
The ADL explained on X that the “loosely organized” Christian Identity movement had nothing to do with mainstream Christianity and that it had been tracked by the FBI for years because it had inspired violence.
“The screenshot being shared by some is completely and purposely misleading,” said the ADL.
ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt also said on Sunday that the ADL was not anti-Christian.
“Many of our staff members are Christian. Many of our supporters are Christian. We are blessed to work with many Christian brothers and sisters in the shared fight against antisemitism and all forms of hate,” Greenblatt argued on X.
FBI ends ADL ties in aftermath of Charlie Kirk's assassination
Conservative commentators, such as Libs of TikTok creator Chaya Raichik, noted that the ADL had an entry for TPUSA, whose founder, Charlie Kirk, was murdered on September 10 in an alleged political assassination.
A background article on TPUSA on the ADL website alleged that Kirk promoted Christian nationalism, and that while Kirk had condemned white supremacism, proponents of the ideology had attended TPUSA events. The ADL also detailed several incidents in which activists associated with TPUSA had made racist statements.
TPUSA spokesman Andrew Kolvet slammed ADL as a “pro-Antifa, anti-Christian hate group” on Monday, and Donald Trump Jr. said that the TPUSA article was disgraceful.
Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna said on X that “America First” was no hate speech, and TPUSA was not a hate group. The Florida politician suggested she subpoena Greenblatt.
Right-wing commentator Mike Cernovich asserted on social media on Monday that ADL’s article on TPUSA was indicative of a larger problem due to its partnerships with the FBI. Musk responded to Cernovich by again calling the ADL a “hate group.”
On Monday evening, the ADL announced that it was retiring its Glossary of Extremism database, ostensibly because the entries had become outdated and others were being “intentionally misrepresented and misused.”
“With over 1,000 entries written over many years, the ADL Glossary of Extremism has served as a source of high-level information on a wide range of topics for years. At the same time, an increasing number of entries in the Glossary were outdated,” said the ADL.
“We always are looking for how we can and should do things better. That’s why we are moving to retire the Glossary effectively immediately. This will allow ADL to explore new strategies and creative approaches to deliver our data and present our research more effectively. It will keep us focused on ensuring we do what we do best: fighting antisemitism and hate in the most impactful ways possible.”