The Trump administration has taken action against Lebanese diplomat Ibrahim Charara, ordering him to leave the United States due to his social media posts praising Hezbollah's 1983 suicide bombing of the US Marine barracks in Beirut. The decision to expel Charara comes after the Washington Free Beacon reported on his posts from 2021, in which he referred to the 1983 bombing as "heroic resistance" against "American military occupation".
The bombing, which was carried out by Hezbollah terrorists, resulted in the deaths of 241 US Marines, 58 French service members, and 5 civilians. Charara has been active in the local community in Dearborn, Michigan, attending events with officials and community leaders, including the annual banquet of the Arab American Political Action Committee and an Arab American Civil Rights League gala.
He has also been photographed with left-wing YouTube host Cenk Uygur and has attended events with Dearborn mayor Abdullah Hammoud and community leader Osama Siblani, who refers to Hezbollah as "freedom fighters". The Lebanese embassy in Washington, DC, has stated that any support for the 1983 suicide bombing is unacceptable, while an ally of Charara has claimed that his posts were from an old account that was hacked.
Charara is expected to leave the US by the end of the weekend.