WASHINGTON: Pro-Khalistan Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) has denounced what it described as an “unacceptable escalation” after a call for violence against US President Donald Trump was made by a speaker at an event hosted by ITServe Alliance, drawing applause from some attendees.
A video from an H1B conference in Seattle hosted by ITServe Alliance, the largest H1B advocacy group in the US, has sparked outrage after members mocked Americans, threatened physical violence against the US president and boasted of having more political power than average Americans.
SFJ General Counsel Gurpatwant Singh Pannun said the remarks, which SFJ claims were later amplified online by accounts aligned with Hindutva ideology, constituted a direct challenge to US democratic norms and presidential security.
“A violent threat against the President of the United States is a line that must never be crossed,” Pannun said in a statement. “We are urging accountability for any attempt to normalise political violence on American soil.”
“This crossed a line — a violent threat against the President of the United States from supporters of Modi’s Hindutva extremist ideology is a direct challenge to American sovereignty,” said Pannun. “Modi’s Indo-American H-1B network must be held accountable for normalising political violence inside the US,” the statement emphasised.
SFJ said it has filed a formal complaint with the US Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, requesting a federal investigation into the incitement and its dissemination online. As of publication, federal authorities had not publicly confirmed an investigation.
SFJ urged President Trump to publicly pose what it termed a “loyalty question” concerning Indo-American political allegiances in a conflict involving India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He said: “Will Indo-Americans of Hindu faith bear arms for the United States in a war against Modi’s India?’ The American public has a right to know where the loyalties of Indo-Americans lie — with the US Constitution or with Modi’s extremist ideology.”
“There is no place on American soil for Modi’s violent Hindutva ideology. And if required, Hindutva extremism will be crushed under the full force of the US Constitution,” the SFJ leader said.
SFJ reiterated that the Khalistan Referendum is, in its words, a peaceful and democratic campaign advocating Sikh self-determination in India’s Punjab region. Pannun added that, in a US–India conflict initiated by Washington, pro-Khalistan Sikhs would support the United States.
