Washington — Charlie Kirk, A Right-Wing Political Activist and Influential Vonservatives Shot and Killed

[bonnie1962]

cs

Charlie Kirk, influential voice for young conservatives, killed at 31

By 

Caitlin Yilek,

 

Kathryn Watson

Updated on: September 10, 2025 / 5:08 PM EDT / CBS News

 

 

Washington — Charlie Kirk, a right-wing political activist and influential voice for young conservatives in the digital age, died Wednesday after he was shot in the neck at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. He was 31. 

Kirk, a father of two, was shot as he was speaking to students at an event for Turning Point USA, an organization for young conservatives he co-founded in 2012. 

"The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead," President Trump wrote. "No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us." 

According to video shared on social media, an audience member asked Kirk about mass shootings in the U.S. before Kirk was hit in the neck and slumped in his chair. Two eyewitnesses told CBS News a large volume of blood poured from his neck. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. 

The gunman is apparently still at large, and a search is underway, three sources familiar with the investigation told CBS News.

 

 

Mr. Trump, who survived an assassination attempt at an outdoor political event last year, told the New York Post, "He was a very, very good friend of mine and he was a tremendous person." Democrats and Republicans alike expressed their outrage, prayers and concern on social media upon news of the shooting. 

Kirk, a close Trump ally, helped boost the president's support with young conservatives during his 2016 campaign. Kirk stood by the president during what could be described as his political winter, soon after he announced his second presidential campaign, when skeptics doubted he could become president again. Kirk also made it his mission to engage more young people in politics, and register them to vote. Kirk was also a close friend of the president's son, Donald Trump, Jr. 

 

[bonnie1962]

Kind of telling you don't see the left beating their chest and foaming at the mouth

[bonnie1962]

Did you know that Charlie Kirk kept the 7th day sabbath 

If you are interested in Charlies explanation as to why  but do not have the time to read it now, copy the link as it will very soon be buried under an avalanche of political posts. Postive for the left and  negative for the right.

 

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A Horrifying Act

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The assassination of Charlie Kirk, the high-profile conservative activist, is apparently the latest in a string of terrifying acts of political violence in the United States. Real America’s Voice, which aired Kirk’s show, announced his death. He was 31.

Kirk was shot during an appearance at Utah Valley University, just north of Provo, Utah. After initially saying that the police had arrested a suspect, the school now says that there is no suspect in custody, and the shooter’s motive is not known. Videos of the shooting posted to social media by onlookers are nauseating. President Donald Trump has ordered flags to be flown at half-staff until Sunday.

The two attempts on Trump’s life last year, one of which left him bleeding from the ear, are only the most prominent recent instances of political violence. In June, a Minnesota state representative and her husband were killed, while another state legislator and his wife were wounded. As my colleague Adrienne LaFrance reported in a 2023 cover story, scholars have warned for years about the growing presence of violence in American politics. Extreme rhetoric has become common, and it too often leads to action—usually not by organized groups but by individuals responding to the broader culture, in which more Americans say they approve of political violence. “The form of extremism we face is a new phase of domestic terror, one characterized by radicalized individuals with shape-shifting ideologies willing to kill their political enemies,” Adrienne wrote.

All murders are horrifying, but political violence brings its own special challenges. A society that resorts to violence to solve its problems starts to surrender its claim on being a society. A grim irony of this case is that Kirk was appearing on a university campus, a place that is supposed to be set apart specifically for the testing and debate of ideas—a place for discourse and conversation. Kirk was a frequent visitor to university campuses. He was shot while sitting under a tent, as he typically did, that said: “Prove Me Wrong.” He has been willing to face off against overtly hostile opponents, such as students in the venerable debate clubs of Oxford and Cambridge. Kirk achieved political prominence by winning over and motivating young conservatives, who have been crucial to Trump’s electoral success.

But employing force is actually an admission of defeat. A person who resorts to violence has concluded that he cannot change the terms of debate with words or arguments. Might may not make right, but it can end the conversation. Scholars have noted that assassinations occur most frequently in countries with “strong polarization and fragmentation” and that “lack consensual political ethos and homogeneous populations (in terms of the national and ethnic landscape).”

That’s a good description of this moment. American politics today are dangerous not merely because they are polarized but also because they are so closely divided. No party or side is able to win an enduring political advantage, which produces a constant back-and-forth—what the scholars John Sides, Chris Tausanovitch, and Lynn Vavreck have called “calcification.” Partisans on both sides believe that the stakes of each election are existential—for their way of life and perhaps even for their actual life. Conspiracy theories, including claims of election fraud, are common.

People who have concluded that they are powerless to stop politicians and policies they oppose are killing, trying to kill, or threatening to kill CEOs, Supreme Court justices, judges, members of Congress, Jewish people. Although political violence and support for it have been a larger problem on the right for the past few decades, in recent years, there have been a number of prominent acts of left-wing violence.

The impulse to solve political problems through violence would be a danger to any society, but it can prove particularly lethal in the United States, where firearms are common and easy to obtain, legally and illegally. Kirk himself was a major proponent of the Second Amendment, and gun-rights advocates frequently point out that most people with guns don’t use them to hurt anyone. That is, however, what many guns are designed to do. Widespread access to guns means that any conflict can easily become fatal.

Political violence is terrifying in part because it is self-perpetuating. Even before anyone had been arrested, much less identified, in Kirk’s shooting, social-media users were quick to denounce suspected motives. Such attributions tend to fly fast after any incident, well before real information is available. Attacks inspire copycats and reprisals. They also draw government responses, which is particularly worrying with a president who disdains the rule of law, overrides checks on executive power, and wants to remove some civil liberties. As Adrienne wrote last year, “Periods of political violence do end. But often not without shocking retrenchments of people’s freedoms or catastrophic events coming first.” There’s little reason to expect that this period will end differently.

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4 leaders, 1 message

Senior lawmakers of both parties condemned political violence today after Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk, 31, was shot and killed at Utah Valley University.

Why it matters: Congress is processing the horrific attack in real time, with Democrats and Republicans denouncing the shooting.

• "There is no place in our country for political violence. Period, full stop," said Senate Majority Leader John Thune on X. "Please join me in praying for Charlie Kirk."
• "Political violence has no place in America," said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on X. "This shooting is horrifying, and I'm praying for Charlie Kirk and his family."
• "The idea that political violence has taken one of the strongest voices on the conservative side is a great heartbreak," House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters after learning of Kirk's death.
• "Political violence is NEVER acceptable," said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries on X. "My thoughts and prayers are with Charlie Kirk and his family."

Between the lines: "I want to be very clear that this is a political assassination," Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said.

• "Today, a young man was murdered in cold blood while expressing his political views. ... Members of other political parties are not our enemies; they are our fellow citizens," former President George W. Bush said in a statement.

But former Presidents Obama and Biden were more cautious on describing the motivations behind the killing.

• "We don't yet know what motivated the person who shot and killed Charlie Kirk, but this kind of despicable violence has no place in our democracy," Obama said on X. "Michelle and I will be praying for Charlie's family tonight."
• "There is no place in our country for this kind of violence," Biden said. "It must end now. Jill and I are praying for Charlie Kirk's family and loved ones."

— Hans Nichols

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Charlie Kirk Assassinated

Conservative activist and influencer Charlie Kirk was killed yesterday after being shot in the neck while speaking at an outdoor event at Utah Valley University. Authorities are searching for the suspect as of this writing; at least two people were taken into custody and later released. The campus is closed, and classes have been canceled. See live updates here.    The 31-year-old Kirk cofounded the conservative student organization Turning Point USA and had amassed over 3 million followers on his YouTube channel. A university spokesperson said Kirk was struck from roughly 200 yards away—about the length of two football fields—20 minutes into the event, where at least 3,000 people had gathered. According to videos posted to social media, Kirk had been answering audience questions about mass shootings and gun violence before being shot.   The incident is among recent attacks on political figures in the US and follows last summer’s assassination attempt on President Donald Trump and June's assassination of Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman (D) and her husband.

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The mounting toll

Charlie Kirk's assassination is the latest in a string of violent attacks that have marred American politics, including the two assassination attempts against President Trump himself last year, Zachary Basu writes.

• In June, Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman, a Democrat, and her husband were killed by an assailant impersonating a police officer who also wounded state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife.
• In May, two Israeli embassy staffers were killed while leaving an event at the Capital Jewish Museum in D.C.
• In April, an arsonist set fire to the residence of Josh Shapiro, Pennsylvania's Democratic governor, while his family was inside.

Covers: TIME, N.Y. Post

The incidents were part of a grim trend that has plagued U.S. politics for years.

• In 2022, Paul Pelosi — husband of then–House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D) — was bludgeoned with a hammer inside their San Francisco home.
• In 2021, a mob of pro-Trump rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol and injured hundreds of police officers.
• In 2017, then-House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) was shot by a left-wing activist at a congressional baseball practice.

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Charlie Kirk’s Death Is a Watershed Moment

The political assassination brings the nation to a moral crossroads.

The death of Charlie Kirk is a watershed moment for the United States.

A death in the family can bring people together. It can also rip them apart. The same goes for countries.

It is often the older among us, those entrenched in their opinions, who refuse to learn the lessons of violence. It is as easy to buy a gun now as it was when 20-year-old Adam Lanza walked into Sandy Hook Elementary School on Dec. 14, 2012, and shot dead 26 people, 20 of them children.

Much has been made of Kirk’s ability to connect with young conservatives. To his credit, he was just as willing to debate with young liberals.

It is this spirit that must prevail as his death is mourned in the days and weeks to come. A campus shooter took the opposite course in Utah on Wednesday. The path of violence that could lead to ruin.

Much of Kirk’s appeal lay in his everyman enthusiasm. The son of an architect living in a plush Chicago suburb, he dropped out of community college and failed to get accepted into West Point.

And yet he was comfortable debating everything from post-modernism to geoengineering. He didn’t have a college degree but addressed the elite Oxford Union earlier this year. He also debated at Cambridge University and Brown. The point of the Turning Point USA student organization, which he founded at 18 in 2012, was to spread his right-wing gospel through left-leaning schools. Not by force. By Debate.

His views were strong, sometimes questionable. He was convinced the 2020 election was stolen and was barred by Twitter because of his evangelism about unconventional—some would say bizarre or even dangerous—COVID treatments.

“If you disagree with me, please move to the front of the line,” was his mantra at the college rallies he held across the country.

Kirk, 31, could make a compelling argument that his get-out-the-vote movement, aimed at bringing young new voters to the polls, contributed to Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 election. He was certainly pivotal in flipping Arizona and was rewarded with regular trips to the White House.

He was married to podcaster and former Miss Arizona Erika Frantzve, with two small children. He knew the importance of family.

Even before the president announced his passing on Wednesday, politicians of both parties were already calling for an end to political violence.

“I am just going to state the obvious here,” said Speaker Mike Johnson. “Political violence has become all too common in American society. This is not who we are. It violates the core principles of our country… and it must stop. We need every political figure, we need everyone who has a platform, to say this loudly and clearly.”

“Let me be clear,” posted former Vice President Kamala Harris. “Political violence has no place in America. I condemn this act, and we all must work together to ensure this does not lead to more violence.

But Johnson and other lawmakers are missing the point.

The United States is polarized down the middle. The families we treasure are being ripped apart. Friends are not talking. Politicians certainly aren’t working together.

And some of the blame for that must lie with Charlie Kirk’s president.

Trump has engendered hatred during the eight months he has been back in the Oval Office. He doesn’t debate; he bullies. He blames. He harangs. He attacks. He never admits he is wrong.

He runs a White House that calls people names and picks on those who cannot answer back. Billionaires are always welcome; penniless immigrants are picked up off the street and thrown into jail.

“If you disagree with me, then leave,” is the president’s position. Any lawmaker or journalist who dares to question him is disparaged or insulted.

Across the aisle, Democrats sit around their dinner tables, pouring out their spite for Trump while failing to recognize how out of touch they have become. Gavin Newsom drops to Trump’s level with corrosive social media posts to win support and sell his soul. He did, at least, feature Kirk on his podcast.

Republican Governor Spencer Cox dared to speak about the elephant in the room after Kirk’s assassination. He challenged anyone who would “celebrate” the shooting to look at themselves in the mirror and hope there is “a better angel out there somewhere.”

“Is this what 250 years has wrought for us?” he asked at a press conference in Orem, Utah.

Americans hating Americans.

Bret Baier on Fox News conceded there was “a lot of vitriol” around the country.

Hatred breeds violence. This is the crossroads we find ourselves at.

A death in the family is a time to forgive any grievances and find a way to live together. The United States must do the same and start living up to its name.

We can agree and disagree. It is the fundamental rock upon which this nation is built.

We must move forward together after this tragedy.

Or all may be lost.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/why-we-cannot-allow-charlie-kirks-death-to-rip-america-apart/?

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MSNBC Axes Analyst Who Blamed Charlie Kirk’s ‘Hateful Words’

The network apologized for the “insensitive” comments.

An MSNBC analyst who suggested Charlie Kirk’s “hateful words” were responsible for his shocking assassination has been fired by the network.

Political analyst Matthew Dowd appeared on the network as part of Katy Tur Reports when news broke of gunfire at Utah Valley University, where Kirk, 31, was speaking on Wednesday afternoon.

Host Tur introduced the analyst, then clarified that reports of what happened had yet to be confirmed. Dowd said, “We don’t know the full details of this; we don’t know if this was a supporter shooting their gun off in celebration or, so we have no idea about this.”

He added: “He’s been one of the most divisive, especially divisive younger figures in this who is constantly pushing this sort of hate speech aimed at certain groups.”

He added, “I always go back to hateful thoughts lead to hateful words, which then lead to hateful actions. I think that’s the environment we’re in... You can’t stop with these awful thoughts you have and then saying these awful words and then not expect awful actions to take place.”

Tur awkwardly stopped Dowd to say they had confirmation Kirk had been shot and cut to their investigative correspondent Marc Santia. But minutes later she returned to Dowd to discuss the rise of political shootings in the U.S.

Dowd said America had “this awful toxic stew of political, divisive hate speech that’s being pushed and simultaneously combined with unbelievable access that people have to guns and guns at every level, not just handguns or shotguns, but assault rifles.He added, “We’re one of one in the world where we have this free speech, which has turned into hate speech, combined with access to guns. I hope we can take a pause and say, ‘What are we doing in America that’s different and why is this happening here?’”

As the news of Kirk’s death broke, social media was flooded with criticism of Dowd’s “hateful words lead to hateful actions” comments.

MSNBC president Rebecca Kutler apologized in a statement on X: “During our breaking news coverage of the shooting of Charlie Kirk, Matthew Dowd made comments that were inappropriate, insensitive and unacceptable. We apologize for his statements, as has he. There is no place for violence in America, political or otherwise.”

Dowd posted his own apology to BlueSky, saying his thoughts and prayers were with Kirk’s family and friends.

He added, “On an earlier appearance on MSNBC I was asked a question on the environment we are in. I apologize for my tone and words. Let me be clear, I in no way intended for my comments to blame Kirk for this horrendous attack. Let us all come together and condemn violence of any kind.”

CNN media analyst Brian Stelter followed up with a post on X that read, “Matthew Dowd is no longer an MSNBC political analyst, according to a network source.” The Wall Street Journal confirmed the move through a person familiar with the matter. Variety, meanwhile, cited a network source.

The Daily Beast has contacted MSNBC for comment.

Maria Shriver, who has dated Dowd for 12 years since her divorce from ex-husband Arnold Schwarzenegger, condemned the Kirk killing in a tweet.

The shooter who killed Kirk is still on the run at the time of publishing, with the FBI detaining, and then releasing, a suspect overnight.

“Our investigation continues and we will continue to release information in interest of transparency,” FBI Director Kash Patel said.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/msnbc-axes-analyst-who-blamed-charlie-kirks-hateful-words/?

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MAGA Declares ‘War’ After Charlie Kirk Shooting

“We have to have steely resolve. Charlie Kirk is a casualty of war,” Steve Bannon said.

Some right-wing commentators are declaring “war” following the shooting death of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk.

The 31-year-old was killed on Wednesday at a public speaking event at Utah Valley State University, the first of 15 scheduled stops on his American Comeback Tour. The motive for the shooting is unclear, since no suspect has been arrested.

That didn’t stop conspiracy theorist Alex Jones from pinning the blame on “The Democrat deep state.”

“The left has been saying, ‘put a bullseye on Trump, put a bullseye on his supporters.’ They’ve been calling for violence,” Jones said in a video taken in his car, even as the suspect’s political affiliations aren’t currently known. “They’re going to attack.”

Jones later posted a lengthy clip from his show with the caption, “Emergency Warning! The Democrat Deep State Killed Charlie Kirk In A Desperate Attempt To Shut Down Populist Free Speech And Conservative / Nationalist Voting Recruitment On College Campuses.”

Former Trump White House adviser Steve Bannon had a similar reaction on his show, War Room.

“We have to have steely resolve. Charlie Kirk is a casualty of war. We are at war in this country. We are,” Bannon said.

Fox News host Jesse Watters, meanwhile, claimed that Kirk’s death would be avenged.

“Trump gets hit in the ear, Charlie [Kirk] gets shot dead,” he said on The Five.

“Think about it... it’s happening. You’ve got trans shooters, you’ve got riots in L.A. They are at war with us. Whether we want to accept it or not, they are at war with us. And what are we going to do about it? How much political violence are we going to tolerate? And that’s the question we are going to have to ask ourselves.”

“We are sick. We are sad. We are angry. And we are resolute,” he added. “And we are going to avenge Charlie’s death in the way that Charlie wanted to be avenged.”

Later in the show, co-host Greg Gutfeld said Kirk’s death would not discourage others from pursuing his goals.

“If you thought that you were going to shut a movement down, you’re going to get a rude awakening,” he said. “You woke us the f--k up.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/maga-declares-war-after-charlie-kirk-shooting/?

[bonnie1962]

Well predictable but won the bet with a former member.

 

 

[bonnie1962]

Can't agree with most everyone here. Politics is just the catalyst ,an excuse to those with a sick and twisted mind. You can dislike someone's political leanings without running amuck and shooting someone, unless you are looking for justification to act out your fantasies. Then blame it on some lofty belief. I don't care if the shooter is conservative or liberal,if he shoots a family member of mine they are just as dead.

I intensely dislike Joe Biden, I don't wish him dead or have any desire to take his life. To me, he showed exactly who he was when he joined his less then honorable son in publically refusing to acknowledge his granddaughter. I don't have the slightest desire to shoot anyone that disagrees with me. A sane person does not commit this type of act. Both sides have been guilty of saying things that could be the excuse someone uses. Anyone that does was a nut job before those words were uttered by either party. How about putting the blame where it belongs instead of using it as an excuse to strut our own political beliefs. It just makes enemies where there were friends before. Should I dislike or ridicule any Biden supporter here because they don't agree with me? Blame them for all evil in the world? I may have missed it but the negative comments are all directed at Trump or conservatives, instead of

At the party that took a man' life. Why is that. I can go back and drag up many "inflammatory" statements by liberals. A twisted mind will be influenced by those agreeing with them. But here we go again and again and again. This twisted mind only became that way when Trump came on the scene

 

 

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FBI releases photos of person of interest in Charlie Kirk’s killing on a Utah university campus

OREM, Utah (AP) — The shooter who assassinated conservative activist Charlie Kirk and then vanished off a roof and into the woods remained at large more than 24 hours later Thursday as federal investigators appealed for the public’s help by releasing a pair of photos of the person believed responsible.

https://apnews.com/article/charlie-kirk-assassinated-utah-university-shooter-search-b0acf4797f57f3436d8f8d0843dbea43?

FBI releases photos of person of interest in Charlie Kirk’s killing on a Utah university campus

OREM, Utah (AP) — The shooter who assassinated conservative activist Charlie Kirk and then vanished off a roof and into the woods remained at large more than 24 hours later Thursday as federal investigators appealed for the public’s help by releasing a pair of photos of the person believed responsible.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/09/11/charlie-kirk-shooting-shooter-search/?

Live updates: FBI releases photos of a person of interest in Charlie Kirk’s assassination

The FBI released photos of a person of interest in the shooting of Charlie Kirk as investigators are appealing to the public for tips.

https://apnews.com/live/charlie-kirk-shooting-response-updates?

Authorities release new photos of the person of interest in Charlie Kirk's shooting

Utah Department of Public Safety has released new photos of the person of interest in the shooting and killing of conservative Charlie Kirk.

https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/charlie-kirk-shot-utah-death-09-11-25?

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Violence Up Close (Illustration by The Atlantic. Source: Trent Nelson / The Salt Lake Tribune / Getty.)

View in browser Yesterday afternoon, after hearing that the conservative activist and influencer Charlie Kirk had been shot, I turned, as I often do when news breaks, to social media. I didn’t have to go looking for it: I was immediately confronted with a five-second video in which Kirk, coarsely pixelated and sitting under a tent, crumples to the ground, microphone still in hand, as a fountain of blood spills from the left side of his neck. I saw the clip on X, as did millions of others, perhaps in part because of a feature that automatically plays videos for anyone scrolling through their feed. There are reasonable arguments to be made about the importance of society facing the truth of preventable violence—in recent years, those who argue for stricter gun regulations have said that Americans should be forced to see photos of the aftermath of school shootings, for example—but footage of Kirk’s death quickly spread across the internet with a horrific ubiquity. That Kirk, who became famous for participating in viral political debates, was gunned down on a university campus is a tragedy, period. And seeing such brutal violence up close can take a psychological toll on observers, the long-term effects of which are harder to gauge. It’s one thing to hear about a murder, or to read about it; it’s another to see it as it happened, over and over. X’s owner, Elon Musk, claimed last year that the site has roughly a billion active users, the caveat being that about 40 percent of them come to the platform only “during major world events.” No one user’s feed looks exactly like any other’s, and the Kirk clip has been posted many times by many different accounts, but the particular post I saw had more than 8.8 million views as of this afternoon. Footage of homicides has always been a feature of the internet, and major platforms have taken a variety of whack-a-mole approaches to suppressing or removing the clips over the years. (To give one famous example, Reddit banned the community r/watchpeopledie in 2019.) In an effort to balance a sensible content-moderation strategy with a commitment to allowing users to say and post what they wish to, some social-media outlets have tried to hew toward moderation, at least in the context of graphic violence. To get to the explicit content, users generally have to look for it. Since Musk’s takeover of X, in 2022, there’s been an apparent recalibration of the site’s algorithms, which now seem palpably more lenient toward content that aligns with the right-wing honcho’s own political worldview. Now the same users who might have sought violent imagery on the dark web can access such videos by simply logging into X—as can anyone who has no intentions of viewing video of graphic death. The problem goes beyond a single platform: All day today, searching Charlie Kirk on platforms such as YouTube and Instagram has yielded videos of the killing for users over the age of 18 who clicked past the platforms’ sensitive-content warning or logged in to verify their age. (YouTube told the AP that it was removing “some graphic content related to the event if it doesn’t provide sufficient context” in addition to adding age restrictions. Meta declined to comment, and X, which did not respond to a request for comment, posted that it “will continue to stand against violence and censorship, ensuring this platform amplifies truth and open dialogue for everyone.”) Kirk’s murder is not even the first to be broadcast on social media this week. Graphic videos of a man fatally stabbing a young woman on public transit in Charlotte, North Carolina, last month have also made the rounds. In the absence of concrete details on Kirk’s murder, social media has filled the information void with images of violence and threats of retaliation, which can function as substrates for misinformation. Musk’s inflammatory assertion yesterday that “the Left is the party of murder” has now been viewed more than 54 million times and counting—never mind that the killer hasn’t been named yet, and that no suspects are currently in custody. Another viral post circulating yesterday falsely identified a random man—a 77-year-old retired banker who was in Toronto at the time of the shooting—as the “registered Democrat” behind the killing. Our modern parade of digital gore corrodes not just the individuals who are exposed to it, but also the prospect of social cohesion more broadly. “THIS IS WAR,” wrote the prominent right-leaning X account Libs of TikTok; the right-wing influencer Andrew Tate posted just, “Civil war.” There’s reason to take this kind of rising anger as a real threat; as David A. Graham wrote yesterday in this newsletter, “The impulse to solve political problems through violence would be a danger to any society, but it can prove particularly lethal in the United States, where firearms are common and easy to obtain, legally and illegally.” That Tate’s post has already been viewed more than 15 million times is a reminder of the stakes of this latest act of political violence—not in the virtual world, but here, in real life. Related: Political violence could devour us all. Trump’s dangerous response to the Kirk assassination

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Suspect in Charlie Kirk assassination expressed opposition to conservative activist’s views

OREM, Utah (AP) — A 22-year-old Utah man who was arrested and booked on murder charges in the assassination of Charlie Kirk held deep disdain for the conservative activist’s provocative viewpoints and indicated to a family member that he was responsible for the shooting, authorities said Friday.

https://apnews.com/article/charlie-kirk-shooter-search-utah-governor-21ba12bbf01579fd2fbcdbe1da03dae5?

Suspect in Charlie Kirk killing became more political, opposed activist’s views, authorities say

OREM, Utah (AP) — A 22-year-old Utah man who was arrested and booked on murder charges in the assassination of Charlie Kirk held deep disdain for the conservative activist’s provocative viewpoints and indicated to a family member that he was responsible for the shooting, authorities said Friday.

https://apnews.com/article/charlie-kirk-shooter-search-utah-governor-21ba12bbf01579fd2fbcdbe1da03dae5?

Suspect in Charlie Kirk killing became more political, opposed activist’s views, authorities say

OREM, Utah (AP) — A 22-year-old Utah man who was arrested and booked on murder charges in the assassination of Charlie Kirk held deep disdain for the conservative activist’s provocative viewpoints and indicated to a family member that he was responsible for the shooting, authorities said Friday.

https://apnews.com/article/charlie-kirk-shooter-search-utah-governor-21ba12bbf01579fd2fbcdbe1da03dae5?

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Keystone Kash’s Cops in Chaos Over ‘Trans Ideology’ Bullets

Authorities are urging people not to jump to conclusions based on incomplete initial reports.

Justice Department officials have urged people not to jump to conclusions after The Wall Street Journal published a report on Thursday about ammunition used in the shooting death of Charlie Kirk.

The Journal was told by a law enforcement source that cartridges recovered at the scene were engraved with “transgender and antifascist ideology,” but no further details were provided, and no evidence was forthcoming.

The newspaper later followed that report with another stating that some officials are cautioning people against making any conclusions based on that initial report.

The initial bulletin said that a hunting rifle had been discovered in the woods near the Utah Valley University campus, along with a spent cartridge still in the chamber and three unspent rounds in the magazine, “all with wording on them.”

The claim was originally surfaced by right-wing podcast host Steven Crowder, who posted a screenshot of the leaked bulletin on X. The stand-up comedian, whose news career began on Fox News, has been accused of racism, homophobia, and workplace bullying.

The Journal is now reporting that Justice Department officials have stressed that the probe is still in its early stages and investigators are still analyzing the evidence. As a result, the initial bulletin “may not accurately reflect the messages on the ammunition.”

A report from The New York Times quoted a senior law enforcement official who cautioned that the preliminary report had not been verified by analysts from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and did not match other summaries of the evidence.

Unsubstantiated initial reports of the shooter’s potential gender identity or pro-trans ideology were enough for many in the MAGAsphere to begin demonizing trans people.

President Donald Trump’s eldest son, Don Jr., said during a Thursday appearance on The Megyn Kelly Show, “I can’t name, including probably like Al-Qaeda and the Taliban, a group that is more violent per capita than the radical trans movement.”

“It feels like they’ve done every mass shooting in America for the last few years, but we’re not allowed to talk about it,” Trump added.

Based on a study of 4,147 mass shootings carried out since 2018, PolitiFact found that seven were perpetrated by transgender people, at a rate of 0.17 percent.

MAGA has fixated on trans people as a source of gun violence in the U.S. in recent weeks as a result of the Annunciation Catholic School shooting in Minneapolis. The shooter in that incident, who died by suicide at the scene, had legally changed their name from Robert to Robin.

Earlier this month, a report from CNN revealed that senior officials in the Justice Department were contemplating introducing a weapons ban singling out transgender Americans, limiting their ability to possess firearms in spite of the Second Amendment and repeated refusals on the part of Republican lawmakers to implement gun control measures in response to repeated mass shootings.

It was this hot-button issue that Kirk was being questioned about when he was killed at Utah Valley University campus.

The student who asked Kirk the question took to social media to speak about what he witnessed, describing it as a “rough 24 hours” and Kirk’s death a “tragedy.”

Hunter Kozak, a mathematics student at Utah Valley University, had previously uploaded a video to TikTok debunking Kirk’s claims about there being a “trend” of transgender mass shooters in recent months.

Finding just five transgender mass shooters among the 5,469 mass shootings he examined, Kozak concluded that “trans people are surprisingly and extremely non-violent.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/keystone-kash-patels-cops-in-chaos-over-trans-ideology-bullets/?

[phkrause]

Student Behind Final Question at Charlie Kirk Shooting Speaks Out

Hunter Kozak said it had been a “rough 24 hours.”

The Utah Valley University student who asked Charlie Kirk a question about transgender mass shooters when the right-wing influencer was shot to death has spoken out about the shooting.

Hunter Kozak, who is studying mathematics at the school, posted a video to social media on Thursday reacting to the news, particularly his role in the final moments of Kirk’s life.

“I don’t know how to make this video; it’s been a rough 24 hours. I was the last person to talk to Charlie Kirk,” Kozak said.

Moments before Kirk’s murder, Kozak asked Kirk if he knew how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years, to which Kirk responded, “Too many.” PolitiFact places the number at seven out of 4,147 mass shootings since 2018, or a rate of 0.17 percent.

Kozak replied that the number was just five before asking Kirk if he knew how many mass shootings there have been in the U.S. in total in the past 10 years.

Kirk responded, “Counting or not counting gang violence?” Seconds later, he was shot and killed.

Addressing the person responsible and those celebrating the shooting, Kozak said, “First off, you sick f---ing psychos who think this is the answer, it’s not. I don’t know what else to say. It’s awful, and a father doesn’t have his kids anymore. Charlie had two kids and a wife.”

He continued, “Not to make this about me, but I have two kids and a wife, and if my 1-year-old boy, like his 1-year-old boy, will grow up without memories of his dad, it’s a tragedy, and it’s hard to grapple with. I’m part of a community that’s struggling to grapple with it right now.”

“People have obviously pointed to the irony that the point I was trying to make is how peaceful the left was right before he got shot, and that only makes sense if we stay peaceful,” he added.

“As much as I disagree with Charlie Kirk—I’m on the record for how much I disagree with Charlie Kirk—but he is still a human being. Have we forgotten that?” Kozak said, visibly emotionally affected by what he witnessed.

“And if you’re salivating about what happened, don’t. I don’t know if any of my audience is, but if you are, you’re not part of what I’m trying to build here, at all,” he finished.

In a video posted in late August, Kozak collated data from thousands of mass shootings that have taken place in the U.S. in response to Kirk’s claims that a “trend” of transgender mass shooters was emerging, as evidenced by the shooting of two children at a Minneapolis Catholic school.

His research found that if transgender mass shooters were proportionally represented among the perpetrators of 5,469 mass shootings, there would need to have been 27 for anyone “to even begin suspecting there was a trend.” Instead, he found five.

He concluded that based on the data, “trans people are surprisingly and extremely non-violent.”

“If that seems surprising to you, and it might, you need to understand that 6,000 data points is an ungodly amount of data points, and you could cherry pick any sort of trend that you would like if you would just pull examples out.”

Kozak ended his video by saying, “I would love nothing more than to confront [Kirk] on his own turf about these questions that I have.” He also asked for donations to the Unf--- America Tour that features content creators taking far-right influencers like Kirk “head on.”

The tour released a statement on social media expressing their condolences to Kirk’s family and condemning political violence, while also explaining that the entire point of the tour is to have “good faith debates with our political opponents.”

“We were really excited to meet with Charlie Kirk for a scheduled debate a week from Sunday and are devastated by this outcome,” the statement read.

It also mentioned Kozak, though not by name, referring to “one of the UFA debaters” who “was debating Charlie when this happened and had to witness this horrifying, traumatic event.”

“Because of this, we are asking that people respect both our creators’ and our staff’s privacy while we grieve.” The tour has canceled all events until further notice.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/student-behind-final-question-at-charlie-kirk-shooting-speaks-out/?

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Family helped arrest

Family members recognized Tyler Robinson, the man accused of killing Charlie Kirk, and helped facilitate his arrest, law enforcement officials said today.

• Robinson's father encouraged his son to turn himself in, AP reports.
• The family "did a great job of helping him come to a positive resolution to turn himself in," Beau Mason, Utah's public safety commissioner, told The New York Times. "He was very compliant" when officers arrived to arrest him.

Robinson was arrested on suspicion of aggravated murder. He could face the death penalty.

• Officials said they believe he acted alone.

[bonnie1962]

I found this article really  interesting. Did a little searching after reading a few of the articles here.  Some of you seem to rely on their findings. Oddly enough I said almost the same thing to a close family member on line and was promptly taken to the woodshed  and deleted along with one of my sons. I have also lost a friend simply by saying I do not care, leave it alone. Lengthy read but worth the time regardless of who you support. At least let the family bury their dead

 

Claudia Tenney

stated on February 21, 2018 in a radio interview:

"So many of these people that commit the mass murders end up being Democrats."

 

Rep. Claudia Tenney, R-Utica, claimed many mass murderers turn out to be Democrats.

By Dan ClarkFebruary 23, 2018

By Paul SpechtFebruary 23, 2018

Do many mass shooters 'end up being Democrats', as Rep. Tenney said? No

An upstate New York member of Congress made national headlines when she suggested many mass shooters were Democrats.

Rep. Claudia Tenney, R-Utica, was speaking with a radio host from Albany, N.Y., about how to prevent future mass shootings when she made the claim.

"It's interesting that so many of these people that commit the mass murders end up being Democrats, but the media doesn't talk about that either," Tenney said on Feb. 21, 2018.

The host of the radio show did not ask Tenney to back up her claim, but several reporters on Twitter did. Her office sent out a statement from Tenney that evening:

"I am fed up with the media and liberals attempting to politicize tragedies and demonize law-abiding gun owners and conservative Americans every time there is a horrible tragedy," Tenney said in the statement. "While we know the perpetrators of these atrocities have a wide variety of political views, my comments are in response to a question about the failure to prosecute illegal gun crime. I will continue to stand up for law-abiding citizens who are smeared by anti-gun liberal elitists."

Sign up for PolitiFact texts

Tenney did not answer questions about her claim at a press event the next day. Her office has not provided any support for the claim. (A lawmaker in North Carolina made a similar claim this week as well. Read more about that here.)

We wondered if there was any truth to Tenney’s claim. Do many mass shooters turn out to be Democrats?

Mass shooters since Columbine

There is no universal definition for mass shootings.

We looked at 19 shootings that have received significant national media coverage since the Columbine High School shooting in 1999. More than eight people were killed in each of the shootings.

We found very few cases in which the political affiliation of the shooter could be verified. 

Omar Mateen, the shooter who killed 49 people at a nightclub in Orlando, Florida, in 2016, was registered as a Democrat in 2006. He voted in the Florida primary in 2016, according to reporting from Politico.

A dating profile for Chris Harper Mercer, who killed nine people at a community college in Oregon in 2015, said he was a Republican, according to reporting from CBS News. There was no evidence of his political affiliation beyond the profile.

A friend of Aaron Alexis, who killed 12 people at the Washington Navy Yard in 2013, said in a CNN interview that the shooter was "more of a liberal type." There were no other reports of his political affiliation.

Politicians were the victims of a couple of recent shooting rampages that weren’t on our list of 19 mass shootings.

In 2017, 66-year-old James Thomas Hodgkinson shot and injured six people at a congressional baseball game in Virginia — nearly killing House Majority Whip Steve Scalise. Hodgkinson volunteered for the presidential campaign of Democrat Bernie Sanders and apparently targeted the Republican team.

In 2011, 22-year-old Jared Lee Loughner opened fire in Tucson at an event hosted by Rep. Gabby Giffords, an Arizona Democrat. Loughner killed six and injured 13 others, including Giffords. Authorities reported that he was obsessed with Giffords.

Inaccurate reporting

There was speculation about the political leanings of some of the other shooters.

ABC News falsely reported that James Holmes, who killed 12 people in Colorado in 2012, was a member of the conservative tea party. ABC apologized for the error. Breitbart News reported that Holmes may have been a registered Democrat, but also walked back that claim. Holmes’ political affiliation was never verified.

Fake news websites claimed Devin Patrick Kelley, who killed 26 people in a Texas church last year, was linked to anti-fascist groups. PolitiFact debunked that claim.

Websites made the same claim about Las Vegas shooter Stephen Craig Paddock. We debunked that, too. Paddock wasn’t registered to vote and his family said he didn’t have strong political views, according to a report from Fox News.

There were also claims that Adam Lanza, who killed 20 people at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012, was a Democrat. He was not registered to vote, according to the Washington Post.

Most recently, our friends at Snopes debunked the claim that Nikolas Cruz, who allegedly killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida, was a Democrat. A search of Florida’s voter database yielded no results for Cruz’s party affiliation.

There was no reporting on the political leanings of the other 11 shooters.

Featured Fact-check

X posts

stated on July 28, 2025 in an X post

Suspect in July 28 New York City shooting “was shouting Free Palestine and wearing a Keffiyeh.”

By Maria Briceño • July 29, 2025

Is it relevant?

Mass shooters are rarely motivated by a political agenda, experts told us.

Mass shootings are often perpetrated by young men who are socially isolated or have a mental illness, experience a trauma or conflict that sends them reeling emotionally, and have easy access to guns, said Alan Lipman, professor at George Washington University Medical Center and founder of the Center for the Study of Violence.

"Their motives are almost always, without exception, nonpolitical. And they don’t describe themselves as having a particular political motivation," Lipman said.

Some — like Dylann Roof, who killed nine people at a church in Charleston, South Carolina, in 2015 — might channel their rage at a specific group of people, said James Alan Fox, criminologist at Northeastern University and author of "Extreme Killing: Understanding Serial and Mass Murder." But that doesn’t mean they’re acting on a Republican or Democratic mission, he said.

"Very few are motivated by any sort of political agenda in terms in parties. They might be anti-gay or anti-black or anti-white. You could argue those are political, I guess," he said.

Even then, those beliefs are often born out of personal vendettas — not political propaganda, said Katherine Ramsland, professor of psychology at DeSales University.

"Look at Stephen Paddock. We don't know his motive," Ramsland said of the Las Vegas shooter. "Devin Kelly — his political affiliation is secondary to his family disputes and need for payback. I just think it's overly simplistic to align a mass shooter's influence with a political ideology unless it's clear from the shooter that this was his (or her) driving issue."

Other experts reacted similarly to the assertion that shooters tend to have common political beliefs.

"Most of the school shooters are children who wouldn’t know a conservative from a communist," said Jack Levin, Northeastern professor and co-director of the Brudnick Center on Violence and Conflict. "The idea of associating politics with these mass murders is absurd. It has absolutely nothing to do with it."

Lipman agreed: "There is absolutely no evidence to show that mass killings are motivated by political ideologies of any type. All of the mass killings we’ve seen have been motivated by a lethal combination of a small subgroup of mental illnesses, and easy accessibility to weapons of mass killing during the peak symptomatology of those illnesses."

 

 

[phkrause]

A Call for Peace, Half in Vain (George Frey / Getty; Brendan Smialowski / AFP / Getty)

View in browser One small relief in an awful week is that Utah Governor Spencer Cox was the man leading the official response to Charlie Kirk’s assassination. In any other state, local politicians might have either become targets for President Donald Trump or leapt to inflame the situation. But the Beehive State’s governor is perhaps the most consistent voice of calm and conciliation in the GOP. Cox’s impulse to appeal to what Abraham Lincoln called the “better angels of our nature” was on display this morning in a press conference, where, flanked by FBI Director Kash Patel and local leaders, he announced the arrest of Tyler Robinson, the suspect in Kirk’s killing, on Wednesday. “This is certainly about the tragic death, political assassination of Charlie Kirk. But it is also much bigger than an attack on an individual,” Cox said. “It is an attack on all of us. It is an attack on the American experiment. It is an attack on our ideals. This cuts to the very foundation of who we are, of who we have been, and who we could be in better times.” This kind of language was once common among mainstream politicians responding to a tragedy; now Cox is a notable and praiseworthy outlier in his own party. Trump’s response has been mercurial. At times, the president has seemed to call for a calm, measured reaction to the shooting. “He was an advocate of nonviolence,” Trump said of Kirk on Thursday. “That’s the way I’d like to see people respond.” In the next breath, however, he cast blame and demanded forceful reprisal. During Cox’s remarks this morning, the governor seemed almost to be trying to speak to Trump—or at least to those who might be swayed by his rhetoric. “We have radical-left lunatics out there, and we just have to beat the hell out of them,” Trump said yesterday. “To my young friends out there, you are inheriting a country where politics feels like rage,” Cox lamented. “It feels like rage is the only option.” “My administration will find each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity and to other political violence,” Trump said in a brief speech Wednesday night, “including the organizations that fund it and support it, as well as those who go after our judges, law-enforcement officials, and everyone else who brings order to our country.” And here’s Cox today: “There is one person responsible for what happened here, and that person is now in custody and will be charged soon and will be held accountable.” This morning on Fox & Friends, Trump told the hosts, “I’ll tell you something that’s gonna get me in trouble, but I couldn’t care less. The radicals on the right oftentimes are radical because they don’t want to see crime.” He added: “The radicals on the left are the problem. And they’re vicious, and they’re horrible, and they’re politically savvy.” Later that morning, Cox said, “Your generation has an opportunity to build a culture that is very different than what we are suffering through right now, not by pretending differences don’t matter, but by embracing our differences and having those hard conversations.” “Social media is a cancer on our society right now, and I would encourage—again, I would encourage people to log off, turn off, touch grass, hug a family member, go out and do good in your community,” Cox said. This advice might be particularly valuable to Trump, who has his own social-media network, which he uses to blast out invective at all hours of the day. But if Cox and Trump represent two rival impulses within the Republican coalition, Trump is undoubtedly winning. “Democrats own what happened today,” Representative Nancy Mace of South Carolina said on Wednesday. “Y’all caused this,” Representative Anna Paulina Luna of Florida told Democrats on the House floor. “It’s time for the Trump administration to shut down, defund, & prosecute every single Leftist organization,” the influential Trump adviser Laura Loomer posted on X. “We must shut these lunatic leftists down. Once and for all. The Left is a national security threat.” Other influential figures on the right have been equally or more strident. “The Left is the party of murder,” Elon Musk declared on X before a suspect had even been identified. Andrew Tate, the misogynist who has been charged with sex trafficking in two countries (which he denies); Alex Jones, the conspiracy-theorist broadcaster; and Libs of TikTok influencer Chaya Raichik all invoked “civil war.” (Notwithstanding accusations of stoking violence, prominent Democrats have consistently condemned Kirk’s assassination. That’s a vivid contrast to the mockery from many on the right—including Donald Trump Jr.—after a man attacked the husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and the muted reactions, disinformation, and silence that followed the assassination of the Democratic Minnesota legislator Melissa Hortman and her husband, this summer.) No other politician can really hope to compete with a president’s influence (though California Governor Gavin Newsom is certainly willing to try), and that is especially true of Trump, who is so omnipresent that a few days’ absence from the spotlight led to rumors of his death. Even Cox has partly succumbed to Trump’s gravitational pull. Although for a long time he distanced himself from the president—one of the most notable Republicans to neither endorse Trump nor leave the GOP—he eventually got behind him in the last election. As he told my colleague McKay Coppins, in a somewhat-pained interview, he understood Trump’s character but thought that public criticism was useless. Instead, he hoped that Trump might at least modulate his tone if given sufficient positive reinforcement. Cox was right to call for conciliation and peace today, but by now, he must surely know that his hopes for Trump were in vain. Perhaps other Americans are still redeemable. Related: The last man in America to change his mind about Trump Jonathan Chait: Trump’s dangerous response to the Kirk assassination

[bonnie1962]

Amazing isn't ? This article isn't really about Charlie Kirk but another excuse for those so obsessed with Trump I wonder if Trump keeps them awake at night.

Love him or hate him you have to give Charlie Kirk his due, it is obvious he read  his bible and acted with conviction as to how he understood scripture. I wonder how many of hiss detractors could make the same claim

[phkrause]

Widow of Charlie Kirk says her ‘cries will echo around the world like a battle cry’

In statement Friday, Erika Kirk says ‘evildoers responsible for my husband’s assassination have no idea what they have done’

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/12/erika-kirk-charlie-kirk?

Trump declines to call for unity after Charlie Kirk killing in stunning move

President tells Fox News ‘the radicals on the left are the problem’ and refuses to seek common way forward

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/12/trump-fox-friends-charlie-kirk-shooting

 

[phkrause]

Kirk investigators: "Aghast" transgender roommate may lead to motive

Authorities are investigating whether Tyler Robinson, suspected of killing Charlie Kirk, believed Kirk's views on gender identity were hateful to people like Robinson's transgender roommate, six sources familiar with the case tell Axios' Marc Caputo.

• Why it matters: Investigators believe Robinson's anger at Kirk's views could be a key to establishing a motive for the slaying of the controversial activist whose death sent shockwaves through American politics.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) told Kristen Welker on NBC's "Meet the Press" that Robinson "does come from a conservative family. But his ideology was very different than his family … We can confirm that that roommate is a boyfriend who is transitioning from male to female."

• Cox said the roommate has been "very cooperative with authorities."

The roommate was "aghast" at the slaying when speaking to investigators and shared electronic messages sent by Robinson, one of Axios' sources said.

• The phone messages indicated a sender listed as "Tyler" had mentioned that after the shooting, he had wrapped his rifle in a towel and stashed it in some bushes near Utah Valley University, where the shooting occurred, Cox said Friday during a news conference.

Read on.

?️ "The fire that you have ignited"

Erika Kirk's defiant remarks about her husband's assassination, delivered next to the microphone and big swivel chair where he hosted "The Charlie Kirk Show," have more than 3.7 million views as of this morning.

• On the video, she addresses Kirk's killer directly:

"If you thought that my husband's mission was powerful before, you have no idea. You have no idea what you just have unleashed across this entire country and this world. You have no idea. You have no idea the fire that you have ignited within this wife. The cries of this widow will echo around the world like a battle cry."

Watch the video.

Post early today by Andrew Kolvet, spokesman for Turning Point USA and producer of "The Charlie Kirk Show." Via X

? A memorial service open to the public, "Building a Legacy: Remembering Charlie Kirk," will be held a week from today (Sunday morning, Sept. 21) at State Farm Stadium — an NFL stadium near Turning Point USA headquarters in Phoenix. (capacity: more than 60,000).

• "Charlie's life was short, but it was full," the announcement says.

Trump told reporters earlier this week that he had spoken with Erika Kirk, and will attend the service: "They've asked me to go and I think I have an obligation to do it ... Whenever it is, I'll be going."

• Service details at a new website, "Fight for Charlie."

[bonnie1962]

Amazing, just amazing . The old saying "that those that don't remember history are condemned to repeat it" is certainly showing the accuracy of that  statement. The almost sick obsession with Trump I think had a lot to do with his extraordinary re-election. The more the left dumped on him the more popular he became. The same is happening with Charlie Kirk. This man seems to reside free of charge in the heads of many. An unbelievable number of chapters have begun across the US. The same kind of sick obsession seems to be going on .

A young father will not be here to guide and watch his babies grow up. It appears he had a very loving and loyal wife that is now no longer a wife. No matter whether I agreed with him or not on all counts it makes me almost sick to my stomach knowing  Erica saw him shot on TV. She appears to be a strong lady. She will need to be in the weeks and months to come

 

[phkrause]

Suspect in Kirk killing charged with aggravated murder as prosecutor says DNA found on gun trigger

PROVO, Utah (AP) — Prosecutors brought a murder charge Tuesday against the man accused of assassinating Charlie Kirk and outlined evidence, including a text message confession to his partner and a note left beforehand saying he had the opportunity to kill one of the nation’s leading conservative voices “and I’m going to take it.”

https://apnews.com/article/charlie-kirk-tyler-robinson-court-death-penalty-f541df08a936e06497ee2342296bc398?