FBI cuts ties with Anti-Defamation League, FBI director says

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By Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The FBI said on Wednesday it cut ties with the Anti-Defamation League, a prominent Jewish group that tracks antisemitism, after conservatives criticized the group for including slain activist Charlie Kirk’s organization in a glossary on extremism.

In a social media post, FBI Director Kash Patel said the bureau “won’t partner with political fronts masquerading as watchdogs.”

The ADL did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Patel’s announcement followed criticism of the ADL by right-wing activists and leaders, including billionaire Elon Musk, over its inclusion of Kirk’s Turning Point USA in a “Glossary of Extremism and Hate” on its website. Kirk was assassinated on a college campus in September.

After that criticism, the ADL removed the entire glossary from its website. The glossary had said that Turning Point USA had a history of “bigoted statements,” a charge the group rejects.

The ADL website says it “works closely with federal, state and local law enforcement” in fighting extremism and hate. It also notes the FBI had turned to it for data and research since the 1940s.

Senior U.S. officials have often taken part in ADL events and gatherings.

Former FBI director James Comey, against whom President Donald Trump’s Justice Department has filed criminal charges, noted in remarks at a 2014 ADL summit that the FBI worked with the group to host civil rights and hate crime training for state and local counterparts through various programs.

Former Attorney General Merrick Garland also delivered remarks at one of the group’s events last year.

The U.S. has witnessed other recent instances of right-wing backlash against critics and commentators whose views on Kirk after his assassination have upset conservatives.

Last month, “Jimmy Kimmel Live” was briefly taken off the air, political analyst Matthew Dowd was fired from MSNBC and columnist Karen Attiah was fired by the Washington Post.

Civil rights advocates criticized Kirk for rhetoric they called racist, anti-immigrant, transphobic and misogynistic, citing his public remarks about Black Americans, LGBTQ+ communities, Muslims and immigrants. His supporters described him as a defender of conservative values and champion of public debate who galvanized young voters for Trump.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh and Jasper Ward in Washington; Editing by Katharine Jackson and Daniel Wallis)