A group of Afrikaners, Afrikaners for SA (AfSA), has expressed concern over the display of 3,000 white crosses on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., representing farm-murder victims in South Africa. The crosses were planted by Lex Libertas, a Pretoria-based think tank and lobby group, to raise awareness about farm murders in South Africa. AfSA stated that while they condemn farm killings and all violence against farming communities, they are worried that the display is being used to tell a misleading story and advance a private political agenda.
Lex Libertas, run by former AfriForum deputy CEO Ernst Roets, aims to build international support for practical solutions to farm murders, political incitement, and threats facing minority communities in South Africa. The group presented the project with the New York Young Republican Club. According to Roets, the display is meant to portray the reality of farm murders in one of the most visible locations in the world, ensuring that the victims are not forgotten and that the international community can no longer pretend that this problem does not exist.
AfSA, however, disagrees with Lex Libertas' approach, stating that research shows farm attacks are driven mainly by robbery and other criminal motives, not a coordinated campaign of racial persecution. The group also criticized Lex Libertas' political goal, which they believe is tied to the display of crosses. AfSA argued that the deaths of farm victims cannot serve as a mandate for Lex Libertas' push for American support for white self-governance.
The display of crosses on the National Mall was accompanied by a documentary, Crossed Out: Confronting Persecution in SA, co-directed by Roets, which was screened at a closed event at the White House on Thursday. The audience included White House and State Department staff and three people affected by farm attacks. Roets said that one of their central objectives has been to ensure that the realities facing people and communities in South Africa are heard directly by those in positions to influence policy.
The US has recently taken action related to South Africa, with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announcing visa restrictions on foreign nationals linked to race-based discrimination and uncompensated land seizures in South Africa. AfSA fears that the display of crosses will hand the US campaign fresh ammunition ahead of the American midterm elections. The group also expressed concern that South Africans should not pay the price for a small faction's political point-scoring and fundraising in America.
International relations minister Ronald Lamola has rejected claims of a white genocide in South Africa, stating that the story of white genocide does not exist and is fake news. According to police records, one farm murder was reported between April and June this year, down from six in the same three months of 2025. Over the same three months, 5,427 people were murdered across the country.
Lex Libertas' petition, which supporters used to sponsor crosses, called on the US to appoint a special envoy for Afrikaners and other cultural minorities and to recognize the pursuit of self-governance in South Africa as legitimate. The organization described its goal as a political order built on freedom, decentralization, and self-governance for "the peoples of South Africa."
Key points
- Afrikaners for SA criticizes the display of 3,000 crosses in Washington, D.C., saying it misrepresents farm murders in South Africa and serves a political agenda.
- Lex Libertas aims to build international support for practical solutions to farm murders and threats facing minority communities in South Africa.
- The display of crosses has sparked controversy, with some arguing it could deepen racial divisions in South Africa and others seeing it as a way to raise awareness about farm murders.
