John Bolton's new chief of staff has pushed for American Muslims who follow Islamic law to be deported

John Bolton.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

National Security Adviser John Bolton handpicked a chief of staff who has repeatedly argued that American Muslims who observe shariah should have their citizenship revoked and be deported.

Bolton announced this week that Fred Fleitz would be his chief of staff at the National Security Council, a decision that the Southern Poverty Law Center called deeply alarming given Fleitz's past work "propagating wild conspiracy theories" that "stoke a climate of fear and violence against American Muslims."

Fleitz co-authored a 2015 report titled "The Secure Freedom Strategy: A Plan for Victory Over the Global Jihad Movement." It argued that following Islamic law should be considered "legal premises for deportation and stripping of American citizenship." The Atlantic says the report was part of a longstanding pattern from Fleitz, who was vice president of the Center for Security Policy, an organization that says American Muslims who observe shariah are embracing a "totalitarian political program" as dangerous as Nazism.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

The report Fleitz worked on additionally claimed that "over 80 percent" of mosques in the U.S. are "shariah-adherent," which the report deemed to mean subversive of U.S. law and possibly violent. Mosques that appear to pose a threat "should be treated accordingly," the report said. The fierce Islamophobia in the organization that Fleitz helped lead has sparked many advocacy groups to denounce his appointment to the NSC, reports The Washington Post, especially given the organization's repeated claims that American Muslims are seeking to overthrow the U.S. Constitution with Islamic law. Read more at The Atlantic.

To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Summer Meza, The Week US

Summer Meza has worked at The Week since 2018, serving as a staff writer, a news writer and currently the deputy editor. As a proud news generalist, she edits everything from political punditry and science news to personal finance advice and film reviews. Summer has previously written for Newsweek and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, covering national politics, transportation and the cannabis industry.