Conservative commentator and founder of Turning Point USA Charlie Kirk predicted political violence from the left was “becoming a ticking time bomb” just five months before he was shot and killed on Wednesday.
Kirk, 31, was shot in the neck during a Turning Point campus event at Utah Valley University. At the time of this writing, the suspect is still at large.
The pundit, author, and activist was known for telling blunt truths and inviting open debate. He usually set up a tent on college campuses to have honest discussions with young students.
Despite fiery exchanges and strong disagreements, Kirk always supported the notion that America should have a free-flowing exchange of ideas.
Yet he also recognized a storm was brewing amongst far-left fanatics that had the potential to end in violence.
Back in April, Kirk posted a story from Fox News to the social media website X, highlighting a study that revealed how calls for assassinations — particularly against people like President Donald Trump and Elon Musk — were being normalized.
“Assassination culture is spreading on the left. Forty-eight percent of liberals say it would be at least somewhat justified to murder Elon Musk,” Kirk wrote. “Fifty-five percent said the same about Donald Trump.
“In California, activists are naming ballot measures after Luigi Mangione,” he continued. “The left is being whipped into a violent frenzy. Any setback, whether losing an election or losing a court case, justifies a maximally violent response. This is the natural outgrowth of left-wing protest culture tolerating violence and mayhem for years on end.”
“The cowardice of local prosecutors and school officials have turned the left into a ticking time bomb,” Kirk concluded.
Assassination culture is spreading on the left. Forty-eight percent of liberals say it would be at least somewhat justified to murder Elon Musk. Fifty-five percent said the same about Donald Trump.
In California, activists are naming ballot measures after Luigi Mangione.
The… pic.twitter.com/xiGAAvoPHy
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) April 7, 2025
Kirk knew the risks. Yet he continued to share his Christian faith, his constitutionalist beliefs, and his defense of the family unit in enemy territory for years.
Kirk entered one of the most difficult arenas in the nation for conservatives: college campuses.
Radical students, professors, and onlookers alike stepped up to the microphone in an attempt to stump him.
Yet his simple rebuttal questions, irrefutable facts, and polite demeanor usually ended the conversation quickly.
His mission was to educate. His goal was for sanity to prevail and for a return to traditional values.
For expressing his opinions outwardly — and effectively — someone with no humanity shot Kirk down like a dog.
This country cannot exist without its citizens being able to peacefully disagree with one another. Once this type of violence is introduced, normalized, and glorified, the nation begins to split apart.
Democrats and liberals have a responsibility to not only condemn what happened to Kirk, but to get their own house in order.
They’ve stirred people up into a frenzy, telling them that Trump and his allies are the second coming of Adolf Hitler.
They’ve downplayed the assassination attempts against Trump at every turn. The media, Democratic lawmakers, and academia continue branding anyone who supports the president’s agenda as a “threat to democracy.”
In addition, they’ve coddled people with mental illness and allowed radical ideologies to creep into the mainstream of our schools, universities, entertainment, and more.
Any dissent is immediately met with anger, hatred, threats, and cancel culture.
Kirk died for an ideal. That ideal is that no one should be silenced. Everyone has a First Amendment right to speak their mind and be heard.
He believed that God endowed us with certain rights that no government, nonprofit, or media conglomerate can take away.
It was most likely these steadfast beliefs that got him killed. It’s a sad fact of life, but Jesus Christ warned us that the faithful will always be persecuted.
In the Gospel of John, He said, “A servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also.”
Now, the nation must pick up the pieces and make certain that Kirk’s death was not in vain.
Americans cannot allow fear to win. We have to continue speaking our minds, hold those who would terrorize us accountable, and pick up our crosses so we can carry on together.
We ask respite for a good man’s soul, peace for Kirk’s family, and grace from the Holy Spirit so that we may know the best way forward.
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