The DOJ Task Force to Combat Antisemitism aims to determine what measures are available to “prevent the promotion of violent antisemitic rhetoric in the United States” after violent chants by punk duo Bob Vylan this weekend at the Glastonbury Festival, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Leo Terrell posted Sunday on X.
Bob Vylan singer Pascal Robinson-Foster on Saturday led the Glastonbury crowd in chants of “Death to the IDF,” “Free Palestine” and “From the river to the sea,” statements that were strongly condemned by festival organizers and Jewish advocacy groups Sunday.
Bob Vylan plans to visit the United States in the fall as part of the 24-city Inertia Tour, including stops in New York and Washington, D.C. Department of Justice Task Force to Combat Antisemitism chair Leo Terrell, a Trump appointee and former Fox News contributor, posted on Sunday that his department would contact the State Department on Monday to sort out what can be done to stop Robinson-Foster from spreading his message further.
“These abhorrent chants, which included calls for the death of members of the Israeli Defense Forces … have no place in any civil society,” Terrell wrote, tagging President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. “We understand that Mr. Vylan is planning to travel to the United States as part of the Inertia Tour. In response, Mr. Terrell’s Task Force will be reaching out to the U.S. Department of State on Monday to determine what measures are available to address the situation and to prevent the promotion of violent antisemitic rhetoric in the United States.”
The Daily Wire reported Sunday that the State Department is already looking to revoke Robinson-Foster’s visa, citing an anonymous senior State Department official. Messages sent to the Department of Justice and State Department were not immediately returned Sunday.
Robinson-Foster responded to the controversy Sunday on Instagram, saying it’s important to “encourage and inspire future generations to pick up the torch that was passed to us.”
“Let us display to them loudly and visibly the right thing to do when we want and need change,” he wrote. “Let them see us marching on the streets, campaigning on the ground level, organising online and shouting about it on any and every stage that we are offered.”
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