The revelation that Joe Biden’s Department of Justice included Charlie Kirk and his Turning Point USA organization in a sweeping FBI investigation has shocked conservatives and renewed charges that federal law enforcement has been weaponized against political opponents. Known by its codename “Arctic Frost,” the probe began in 2022 under FBI Director Christopher Wray and was later handed to Special Counsel Jack Smith. New documents released by Senator Chuck Grassley confirm that Arctic Frost reached far beyond Donald Trump himself and was used to sweep in 92 Republican individuals and groups. Among them was one of the most influential conservative voices of a generation, Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated just days ago at the age of 31.
The Origins of Arctic Frost
Arctic Frost was billed as an investigation into Trump’s efforts to contest the 2020 election. According to Grassley, it looked into “purported claims of election fraud, fake elector schemes, frivolous lawsuits, financial fraud, and pressure on state officials to flip vote counts in Trump’s favor.” The scope was vast, targeting everyone from attorneys like Sidney Powell to former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Yet, in Grassley’s words, the probe “wasn’t just a case to politically investigate Trump. It was a vehicle by which partisan FBI agents and Department of Justice prosecutors could achieve their partisan ends and improperly investigate the entire Republican political apparatus.”
The senator’s warning cut to the heart of what conservatives have argued for years: that the Biden White House was determined to criminalize Trump’s allies. Arctic Frost became the hammer, and anyone associated with Trump became a nail.
Why Charlie Kirk Was Targeted
What makes Arctic Frost especially alarming today is the revelation that Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA was among the organizations subpoenaed. Kirk, who co-founded TPUSA in 2012, built it into one of the most powerful conservative movements in the country, with chapters on college and high school campuses nationwide. At the time of his death, TPUSA had been flooded with more than 37,000 new chapter requests, reflecting his influence on a generation of young conservatives.
Kirk amplified Trump’s concerns about mail-in ballots in 2020, voicing fears about election integrity. That appears to have been enough to put him in the DOJ’s crosshairs. President Trump blasted the move on Truth Social: “They tried to force Charlie, and many other people and movements, out of business. They Weaponized the Justice Department against Sleepy Joe Biden’s Political Opponents, including ME!”
Even now, many are asking why a student-focused non-profit became the subject of a federal subpoena. Grassley himself admitted the rationale for including Turning Point USA was “less clear” than for other figures like Powell and Giuliani. To conservatives, that lack of clarity only proves it was political targeting disguised as law enforcement.
Kirk’s Legacy and His Final Days
The release of these Arctic Frost documents comes at a painful moment for conservatives mourning Kirk’s assassination. On September 10, he was shot and killed during a Turning Point USA speaking event at Utah Valley University. Prosecutors say the suspect, Tyler Robinson, was motivated by hatred of Kirk’s political views and left antifascist messages in his communications. Robinson has been charged with aggravated murder and other crimes, and Utah prosecutors have filed notice they will seek the death penalty.
Kirk’s death has sparked an outpouring of support for his movement. His widow Erika made an emotional plea for supporters to continue the mission, and TPUSA has since been flooded with thousands of new requests for chapters. A makeshift memorial outside the organization’s headquarters in Phoenix now bears his image, a stark reminder of both his impact and the cost of political violence.
What Arctic Frost Found
Despite the broad net cast by the FBI and DOJ, Arctic Frost produced nothing of substance. Jack Smith brought charges against Trump related to classified documents at Mar-a-Lago and alleged efforts to overturn the election, but those cases never made it to trial before Trump won reelection in 2024. The cases were later dropped, leaving Arctic Frost as an expensive and politically charged failure.
For Kirk, the lack of results is telling. His organization was investigated, his reputation was put under scrutiny, and yet there was never a finding of wrongdoing. The only thing that distinguished him from thousands of other activists was his outspoken defense of Trump and his effectiveness in mobilizing young conservatives.
Weaponization of the DOJ
Republican Attorneys General Association Executive Director Adam Piper summarized the broader picture: “The Biden Administration bastardized the rule of law, gave license to lawless liberals, and did everything possible to kneecap any and all opposition. Republican AGs will work to hold these bad actors accountable and help President Trump restore objectivity to our federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies.”
Grassley echoed that sentiment during his Judiciary Committee hearing, warning that Arctic Frost was not an honest investigation but “a partisan vehicle” aimed at intimidating an entire political movement.
The targeting of Charlie Kirk illustrates just how far the Biden administration was willing to go. To include a young activist leading a student organization in an election probe was to cross a line that separated political disagreement from government persecution. Trump himself accused Biden of “trying to put Charlie Kirk out of business,” a charge that resonates more powerfully now that Kirk has been silenced by violence.
With each new revelation, Arctic Frost appears less like a legitimate investigation and more like one of the darkest political abuses in American history. It sought to criminalize dissent, discredit Trump’s allies, and destroy rising conservative leaders like Charlie Kirk. In the end, it uncovered no crimes, but it exposed something even more dangerous: a willingness by those in power to weaponize the justice system against political enemies.
