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Last month, FBI Director Kash Patel wished his followers on X a happy Diwali. It did not go over well.

Far-right Christian nationalist and white nationalist accounts flooded his post with bigoted memes and rhetoric. “Go back home and worship your sand demons,” a far-right pastor wrote. “Get the f**k out of my country,” read another reply. Said another, “This is America. We don’t do this.” These responses, some of which were seen millions of times, were on the tamer end of the spectrum.

Similar hostility followed Diwali greetings on X from former UN ambassador Nikki Haley , former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon , as well as posts about the holiday from the

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