We Must End Stochastic Terrorism After The Murder Of Charlie Kirk

We stand only with those who uphold our safety and the safety of our families.

Sep 17, 2025

Before publishing this article I spoke with my wife about it. She was concerned for my safety, because she knows that I have been targeted by the same labels that Charlie Kirk was before his murder. We have children the same age as Charlie Kirk’s and she fears the same happening to us. She also knows that there were people who we thought were friends who participated in the stochastic terrorism against me. Yet, we also know that these behaviors will only end if we speak about them.

Stochastic terrorism is the indirect incitement of violence against a person or group using rhetoric that suggests violence against that person is acceptable or desirable.1 When someone calls another a “Nazi,” “white nationalist,” or “alt right,” they are engaged in stochastic terrorism, since major political factions, non-profit organizations, and mainstream publications condone violence against those they attack with these labels.

In 2016, prior to the release of my film, activists with close family connections to the Anti-Defamation League met with leaders in the intactivist movement and falsely called me a “white nationalist.”2 These individuals and organizations did not alert me to the risks to my safety caused by these accusations or attempt to verify them in any way. Some repeated those accusations to personal and professional associations of mine.

Later, these same activists reached out to journalists, including those at major publications like The Guardian and The Atlantic.34 These journalists also did not inform me that activists were engaged in false claims about me or engaged in a behind the scenes campaign that could put my safety in jeopardy. In my view, these journalists behaved like accomplices to those attempting to silence children activists.

This behavior is not unique to them. Many of the same people and organizations that engaged in stochastic terrorism against Charlie Kirk have also attacked children’s advocates. The same Anti-Defamation League that claimed that Kirk “promotes Christian nationalism,” TPUSA “attract racists,” and “white nationalists have attended TPUSA events,” has also repeatedly attacked efforts to protect children as “antisemitic.”56

There are ties between the activists who attempted to harm me and pro-circumcision organizations like the ADL. In the acknowledgements of his book, ADL CEO Jonathon Greenblatt personally thanks Batya Ungar-Sargon, a family member of those involved in the campaign.7 Many of the journalists involved have personal connections to Batya Ungar-Sargon.89 While the extent of her involvement is unknown, it is reasonable to conclude that her brother’s ability to reach and influence those journalists may have depended on her connections and assistance.

Batya Ungar-Sargon claims to have shifted from far-left to MAGA around "five or six years ago,” after any participation in her brother’s smear campaign would have taken place.10 Now she writes in The New York Post that “the left is gaslighting us about the truth” that “the vast majority of the political violence in this country is coming from their side.”11 She writes that “when you call your political opponents Hitler enough times, you’ve signed their death warrant,” yet this is the kind of rhetoric her own family used against me.12

If this is true, Batya Ungar-Sargon should start with her own house. She must publicly disavow her brother’s accusations, take public accountability for any role she might have played in the campaign against myself and other activists, and disclose the names and actions of all others involved. If she really believes that “this only stops when they take responsibility for their actions” and “confess that their rhetoric has led to the murder of innocents,” then she must lead by example, not merely use the issue when it benefits her career.13

It is time for activists to take a look at the stochastic terrorism and controlled opposition organizations they have enabled as well. During their campaign, activists pressured those I knew into signing a statement on antisemitism that rewrote the definition to target political enemies. Under the legal definition used by Congress, the Palestinian activists who authored the statement would be considered antisemitic.14 Under their invented definition, anyone who calls adults that put their mouths on children’s genitals “pedophiles” is considered “antisemitic.”15

Many who signed the statement privately admitted real views that contradicted the public statement they put their names on and indicated they felt pressured to sign it, fearing of similar campaigns like the one waged against me. Yet, they stilled signed it. Their actions betrayed the people they were supposed to defend and contributed to the kind of rhetoric that has lead to political violence. No activist whose name remains on that list can be trusted.

One of the lessons from both Charlie Kirk’s death and my own experience with stochastic terrorism is that we cannot debate those who want us dead. When I tried to engage in good-faith with the ideas activists were pressuring me to accept by writing a book called Children’s Justice, they escalated their attacks. When I pursued legal action, the public attacks stopped.16 The lesson is clear: dialogue does not work. Legal consequences do.

As many call to tone down the rhetoric, it is worth remembering that what these groups targeted me for was asking them to tone down their rhetoric. In their attacks, the article they cite was one that specifically said “avoid inciting violence” and explained how when they “attempt to frame survivors as ‘Nazis’ they are suggesting it would be okay to engage in violence against survivors.”1718 These people and organizations were warned their actions could lead to violence and chose to escalate.

When I and many Americans look at the horrific murder of Charlie Kirk, we think: that could have been me. When we see others celebrate his death, we know that they would celebrate ours just as easily. Even on my page and the page for my documentary American Circumcision, there are who responded to our condolences for Kirk’s family and a video of him respectfully engaging on the issue of the film with statements I would consider stochastic terrorism against me and my family.1920

While I will work with anyone who wishes to protect children, I will never work with those who engage in violence, enable it through their rhetoric, or collude with those who do. In my view, every person and organization whose rhetoric contributed to the death of Charlie Kirk should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. I will use everything in my power to ensure there are legal consequences for those who engage in stochastic terrorism. We stand only with those who uphold our safety and the safety of our families.

P.S. Follow Brendon Marotta on X for more here.

Amman, Molly, and J. Reid Meloy. “Stochastic Terrorism: A Linguistic and Psychological Analysis.” Perspectives on Terrorism, vol. 15, no. 5, 2021, pp. 9-27.

Marotta, Brendon. “Bruchim’s Founders Have Been Engaged In A Slander Campaign Against Me.” Hegemon Media, 7 May 2022, https://www.hegemonmedia.com/p/response-to-slander.

Amrani, Iman. “Circumcision: ‘Penises Are a Taboo Subject’ | Modern Masculinity – video.”* The Guardian, 23 Jan. 2020, https://www.theguardian.com/society/video/2020/jan/23/circumcision-penises-are-a-taboo-subject-modern-masculinity-video.

After I spoke at length with the reporter, no article was published in The Atlantic. Documentation of this correspondence is available upon request.

Anti-Defamation League. “Turning Point USA: Backgrounder.” Anti-Defamation League, www.adl.org/resources/backgrounder/turning-point-usa. Archived at archive.fo/t2Sru. Accessed 17 Sept. 2025.

Gold, Tanya. “A Ban on Male Circumcision Would Be Antisemitic.” The Guardian, 11 Oct. 2013, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/oct/11/ban-male-circumcision-antisemitic.

Greenblatt, Jonathan. It Could Happen Here: Why America Is Tipping from Hate to the Unthinkable―And How We Can Stop It. Mariner Books, 2022, p. 234

Blocked and Reported. “Episode 168: Just the Tip of the Circumcision Debate.” Blocked and Reported, 10 June 2023, www.blockedandreported.org/p/episode-168-just-the-tip-of-the-circumcision.

Harpaz, Beth. “An Anti-Circumcision Activist’s Lawsuit Sheds Light on Concerns over Antisemitism in the Movement.” Forward, 13 Sept. 2023, www.forward.com/fast-forward/560880/brendon-marotta-bruchim-circumcision-intactivist/

Ungar-Sargon, Batya. “Donald Trump, Inheritor of the Left and the American Jewish Legacy.” Newsweek, 29 Oct. 2024, www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-inheritor-left-american-jewish-legacy-opinion-1976834

Ungar-Sargon, Batya. “Even as They Condemn It, the Left Gaslights Us About Charlie Kirk’s Death.” New York Post, 11 Sept. 2025, https://nypost.com/2025/09/11/opinion/even-as-they-condemn-it-the-left-gaslights-us-on-charlie-kirks-death/

Antisemitism Awareness Act of 2023. H.R. 6090, 118th Cong., Congress.gov, U.S. Congress, 2023, https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/6090/text

“Statement Opposing Antisemitism Within The Genital Autonomy Movement.” Beyond the Bris, 28 Apr. 2022, www.beyondthebris.com/standing-against-antisemitism/. Archived at https://archive.ph/Ywn02.

Marotta, Brendon. “A Jewish Guide To Talking To Circumcision Survivors.” Hegemon Media, 16 Mar. 2022, https://www.hegemonmedia.com/p/a-jewish-guide-to-talking-to-circumcision.

American Circumcision. Facebook, www.facebook.com/circmovie/posts/pfbid02bH9UaTp3Dr64PJhXX7QTstrNccYKLA6fPPf9XSfz4mC9yrVAHMEKSaMadxaGe1nFl. Accessed 17 Sept. 2025.

Marotta, Brendon. Facebook, www.facebook.com/bdmarotta/posts/pfbid0SzJ686yRCbH6puPi9QFkBa5So9L82ZQmnt341vqg2BLfiQL76LM3yjgPEmfpRMgfl. Accessed 17 Sept. 2025.

Hegemon Media

We Must End Stochastic Terrorism After The Murder Of Charlie Kirk

We stand only with those who uphold our safety and the safety of our families.

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