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."

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
Explore More
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.