Charlie Kirk assassination sparks bipartisan uproar over political violence as Utah manhunt underway

Lawmakers bridged the partisan divide on Wednesday after news that conservative activist Charlie Kirk, 31, was killed from a gunshot wound. 

Prayers for Kirk’s recovery on social media swiftly turned into condolences to his family and a widespread condemnation of political violence from both Republicans and Democrats. 

‘It’s devastating news,’ House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said. ‘The idea that political violence has taken one of the strongest voices on the conservative side is a great heartbreak. Charlie was a close friend of mine and a confidant, and he will be sorely missed, and we need every political leader to decry the violence and to do it loudly. The problem is in the human heart, and it’s gotten out of hand.’

‘This is beyond terrible,’ Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., said. ‘Charlie Kirk was a husband, father, and son. Violence is never the answer. Sydney and I are keeping the Kirk family in our prayers.’

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., addressed Kirk’s death on the Senate floor and said that ‘political violence, which this attack seems to be, has no place in this country — none.’ 

‘I’m deeply disturbed about the threat of violence that has entered our political life, and I pray that we will remember that every person, no matter how vehement our disagreement with them, is a human being and a fellow American deserving of respect and protection,’ he said. 

President Donald Trump confirmed the news on Truth Social and said, ‘No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie.’ 

Kirk was shot during an event on his ‘American Comeback Tour’ at Utah Valley University on Wednesday afternoon. The university initially said that a suspect was in custody but later announced that the person was released.

Campus police on Wednesday afternoon asked students to call a hotline and be escorted off.

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, called Kirk ‘an American patriot, an inspiration to countless young people to stand up and defend the timeless truths that make our country great.’ 

‘This murder was a cowardly act of violence, an attack on champions of freedom like Charlie, the students who gathered for civil debate, and all Americans who peacefully strive to save our nation,’ he said. 

‘The terrorists will not win,’ he continued. ‘Charlie will. Please join me in praying for his wife Erika and their children. May justice be swift.’

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., urged, ‘We must collectively find a way forward during these polarized times.’ 

His death follows a wave of high-profile political assassination attempts in an increasingly polarized political environment. 

Trump survived two separate assassination attempts within weeks of each other while running for re-election in 2024. Meanwhile, a gunman in Minnesota shot and killed state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, while critically injuring another state lawmaker, this past June.