Rising conservative star Charlie Kirk posted a survey in April showing those on the political left were far more likely to justify killing Donald Trump and sidekick Elon Musk.
“Assassination culture is spreading on the left,” Mr. Kirk posted on X. “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.”
Mr. Kirk, who is credited with mobilizing youths for Mr. Trump’s and the Republicans’ sweeping November victories, and for bringing his conservative activism and arguments to college campuses across the United States, was fatally shot Wednesday, five months after issuing his social media warning about a rise in left-wing violence.
Nobody knows the politics of the shooter, but Republicans say Mr. Kirk, who was 31, married and a father of two young children, was a victim of political violence that has ramped up now that the Republicans have gained a political foothold among voters who historically aligned with Democrats.
A bullet struck Mr. Kirk as he spoke at an event at Utah Valley University sponsored by his organization, Turning Point USA. He is known for engaging college campuses in political debate on hot-button issues, and his appearances have long drawn protesters who dislike his conservative views.
He was assassinated after a series of threats against Republican lawmakers, two assassination attempts against President Trump and an increase in violent rhetoric aimed at Republicans as they ushered through a conservative agenda.
One man charged with attempting to assassinate Mr. Trump is now on trial in Florida after coming within 500 yards of aiming a loaded semiautomatic rifle at the president as he golfed last September.
A former Voice of America employee was indicted recently on charges of repeatedly threatening to kill Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a conservative firebrand from Georgia.
Congress recently voted to increase funding so lawmakers could increase their personal security.
“Leftist violence is out of control,” Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said Wednesday after the Kirk shooting.
Mr. Musk, whose Tesla dealerships and cars were burned by left-wing opponents when he briefly headed the White House Department of Government Efficiency, went further on X.
“The left is the party of murder,” he said.
Republicans blame left-wing rhetoric for stirring crazed and violent behavior.
In May, the left-wing Southern Poverty Law Center put Mr. Kirk’s Turning Point USA organization on its “Hate Map.”
The organization accused Mr. Kirk of embracing White nationalist conspiracy theories, celebrating Mr. Trump’s plans to deport illegal immigrants and promoting gun ownership despite mass shootings.
“Over the last several years, the political right has increasingly shifted toward an authoritarian, patriarchal Christian supremacy dedicated to eroding the value of inclusive democracy and public institutions,” the Southern Poverty Law Center wrote. “The political right in the U.S. … has embraced aggressive state and federal power to enforce a social order rooted in white supremacy. Turning Point USA and its growing influence on conservative politics is emblematic of this current state.”
In July, the Trump administration blamed leftist rhetoric on a dramatic increase in violent attacks on Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents carrying out deportations.
Mr. Kirk was shot as he debated the causes of mass violence with his audience.
Republicans are pinning his death on angry liberal rhetoric.
“Left-wing violence is a crisis in America,” Trump aide Richard Grenell posted on X shortly after the news about Mr. Kirk spread. “The leaders on the Left must stop making excuses and combat it.”
Lawmakers, governors and other leaders in both parties condemned the shooting.
Democrats say the rhetoric on the right has also spurred violence.
In June, Democratic Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, were fatally shot in their home, and Democratic state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, were shot and wounded at their home by a man now accused of carrying out a politically motivated attack.
Asked about the shooting of Mr. Kirk, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker blamed Mr. Trump.
“It’s got to stop,” Mr. Pritzker said. “And I think there are people who are fomenting it in this country. I think the president’s rhetoric often foments it. We’ve seen the January 6 rioters who clearly have tripped a new era of political violence. And the president, what did he do? He pardoned them. I mean, what kind of signal does that send to people who want to perpetrate political violence? Not a good one.”
When Mr. Kirk’s death was announced, bipartisanship quickly unraveled on the U.S. House floor, where lawmakers were debating legislation.
Violent rhetoric has long been the source of partisan anger.
It was blamed for the 2017 shooting of Republicans as they practiced for the annual congressional baseball game. The gunman was a left-wing extremist who hated Mr. Trump. One of the bullets nearly killed Senate Majority Leader Steve Scalise, Louisiana Republican.
Democrats and Republicans shouted at each other Wednesday afternoon after House Speaker Mike Johnson, Louisiana Republican, called for a moment of silence for Mr. Kirk.
Some Republicans wanted a prayer read out loud. Democrats objected.
A shouting match ensued, and Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, Florida Republican, yelled across the aisle where Democrats sat: “You f——— own this!”
• Susan Ferrechio can be reached at sferrechio@washingtontimes.com.