The Trump administration denounced “terrorism” in France and warned of left-wing violence after nationalist activist Quentin Deranque was beaten to death.
Sarah Rogers, the State Department under secretary for public diplomacy, said the killing showed “why we treat political violence—terrorism—so harshly.”
“Once you decide to kill people for their opinions instead of persuade them, you’ve opted out of civilization,” she wrote on X.
“We will continue to watch this case,” she said.
The State Department’s bureau of counter-terrorism separately posted: “Violent radical leftism is on the rise and its role in Quentin Deranque’s death demonstrates the threat it poses to public safety.”
An official French X account, @FrenchResponse, replied to Rogers sarcastically by sharing statistics on the homicide rate in the United States, quipping: “We will continue to watch this case.”
