The Pentagon has ramped up a political correctness crusade in the wake of the killing of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk.

The military is taking disciplinary action against both enlisted troops and officers over social media posts regarding Kirk, who was shot last week at an event at Utah Valley University.

In the wake of Kirk’s death, a number of X accounts began calling for their followers to find social media posts made by troops that they saw as being critical of — or even not sufficiently deferential to — Kirk or mocking or celebrating his death. The accounts began posting screenshots, tagging Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and other senior Pentagon officials and calling for the troops to be fired.

The leaders of the U.S. military took note. “We WILL NOT tolerate those who celebrate or mock the assassination of a fellow American at the Department of War,” chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell posted on X on Sunday. “It’s a violation of the oath, it’s conduct unbecoming, it’s a betrayal of the Americans they’ve sworn to protect & dangerously incompatible with military service.”

Hegseth added: “We are tracking all these very closely — and will address, immediately. Completely unacceptable.” Hegseth has previously been accused of calling for the death of fellow Americans before his time in office, when he allegedly chanted “Kill all Muslims,” and has railed against political correctness at the Pentagon.

The secretary of war’s office refused to say if they knew the total number of service members who had been swept up in the crackdown. But one defense official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said dozens of personnel had or will face sanctions in the face of pressure by Hegseth, who knew Kirk personally.

Last week, Task & Purpose reported that a Marine Corps recruiter had been demoted and was under investigation for a post on Instagram referencing Kirk. “Another racist man popped,” the Marine shared. His message included the emoji of two beer steins mid-toast. “The Marine in question has been relieved of his recruiting duties and the matter is currently under investigation,” a........

© The Intercept