United States (Brussels Morning) – Influential Republican activist Charlie Kirk was shot dead whilst speaking at an event of 3.000 people at Utah Valley University on Wednesday afternoon.
Who was Charlie Kirk?
Charlie Kirk, a high-profile conservative activist and a major Trump supporter was shot on Wednesday, September 10th while hosting a college event for Turning Point USA, a non-profit organization he co-founded at the age of 18. In an effort to locate the culprit, the FBI is co-leading the investigation alongside the Utah Department of Public Safety.
Turning Point USA is an organization that advocates for conservative politics on high school and university campuses. They played a significant role in the effort to bring new voters in for Trump and other Republican candidates in last year’s election as they visited hundreds of campuses throughout the year. Kirk was credited widely with helping to register tens of thousands of voters and flipping Arizona in favor of the republicans.
Further than that, Kirk was known for his firm stance against transgender people, his skepticism regarding the Covid-19 pandemic as well as his views on favoring gun laws and banning abortion. In 2020, he publicly promoted the claim that the election won by Joe Biden was rigged.
The activist was married to former Miss Arizona, Erika Lane Frantzve, with whom he has two children. His religious beliefs were a big part of his public persona, making him one of the most well-known yet polarizing figures in the public eye.
Yet another shooting
So far, a suspect has not been identified and local as well as state authorities are actively looking for the shooter. According to Utah Valley University police, officers evacuated every building in the area after the shooting took place at approximately 12 p.m. Based on police reports, the victim was shot in the neck at a distance of 130m and remained in critical condition in the hours that followed.
During his speech, a dark shape appeared on the roof of a nearby building, and a single shot was fired towards Kirk. Two suspects were detained at the time of the event but were later released due to lack of evidence.
Donald Trump commented on Truth Social:
“The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead. 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. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!”
Additionally, the Trump administration ordered for flags to be flown at half-mast all over the country to commemorate him. During a televised public announcement, Trump described Kirk as a martyr for truth and freedom, and blamed “radical left-wing politics” for contributing to this assassination and other recent political attacks.
An eye for an eye
The political world has been in an uproar since yesterday evening. Many politicians and public figures condemned the attack, while others requested more immediate measures. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said in an interview on Fox News:
“Obviously they gotta catch this guy. We need a very quick death penalty prosecution. I don’t wanna see this take forever and a day. We need justice for this”.
The governor of Utah also noted that the death penalty is very much still in force in the state. More specifically, Utah is one of five states that continue to authorize death by firing squad.
