Right-wing American Pied Piper Charlie Kirk assassinated

[MsAmerica]

I see a thread was started in Chat, but it's obviously more appropriate here. I've been in an American forum where someone wondered if it's of international interest.

Right now it's so early that there's no predicting what will develop, whether it will snowball into something catastrophic. Oddly, after a few hours, it's still not known for sure if they caught the shooter, which is strange, as they supposed knew where the shot came from. I'm already running across some odd conspiracy theories.

Conservative activist Charlie Kirk dies after being shot at Utah Valley University event
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/conservative-activist-charlie-kirk-shot-at-utah-valley-university-event-spokesperson-says

Charlie Kirk assassinated at Utah event
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/09/10/charlie-kirk-shot-at-utah-valley-university/86080079007/

Charlie Kirk, a prominent conservative activist and Trump ally, dies after shooting at Utah campus event
www.cnn.com/2025/09/10/politics/charlie-kirk-obituary

I wonder if it was his views on this that got him killed.

www.instagram.com/reel/DOcQt11gUOz/

We are told that words are literal violence. Any one who doesn't agree that 100% with the ideology are Nazis/ fascists.

This is how TRAs justify it.

But i see the conspiracy theories are already starting.

I didn’t say anything even vaguely related to a conspiracy theory.

The theories I keep seeing is that it was a set-up to distract from the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.

Which I consider to be pretty bizarre.

(I guess there's no way to include two quotes at once?)

That was a sudden creative inspiration. Kirk's goal was to get kids to follow him, and I suddenly thought of the story of the Pied Piper.

Excuse me? Are you assuming that the shooter is a Democrat? No reason to believe that, since Democrats don't have a track record of killings.

Yes, thank you!

You're not alone - a lot of Americans hadn't heard of him.

I agree, but Trump and Trumpers are constantly calling for imprisonment or death for people with whom they disagree.

I was apparently an early commenter on the lack of arrest after several hours. Seemed to me it should have been easy. Now it's been 24 hours, and, once again, the FBI/Police are reduced to begging for help from the public.

It's worth noting that despite SO much surveillance, it often fall short of its intended goals.

You simply don't get it, do you?

Well you're in good company - neither do the millions of MAGA supporters saying "But he had a family! Where is your empathy?!" whilst apparently forgetting that so do immigrants, people of colour, victims of school shootings, Gazans, and in fact anyone who disagrees with Charlie Kirk's or any other MAGA messages.

Just because someone is a registered republican it doesn't mean they vote republican. You can register for any party and vote for who you like.

I definitely remember reading something at the time suggesting his political views were not that cut and dried.

On gender, feminism and reproductive rightsReject feminism. Submit to your husband, Taylor. You’re not in charge.
– Discussing news of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s engagement on The Charlie Kirk Show, 26 August 2025
The answer is yes, the baby would be delivered.
– Responding to a question about whether he would support his 10-year-old daughter aborting a pregnancy conceived because of rape on the debate show Surrounded, published on 8 September 2024
We need to have a Nuremberg-style trial for every gender-affirming clinic doctor. We need it immediately.
– The Charlie Kirk Show, 1 April 2024

On raceIf I see a Black pilot, I’m going to be like, boy, I hope he’s qualified.
– The Charlie Kirk Show, 23 January 2024
If you’re a WNBA, pot-smoking, Black lesbian, do you get treated better than a United States marine?
– The Charlie Kirk Show, 8 December 2022
Happening all the time in urban America, prowling Blacks go around for fun to go target white people, that’s a fact. It’s happening more and more.
– The Charlie Kirk Show, 19 May 2023
If I’m dealing with somebody in customer service who’s a moronic Black woman, I wonder is she there because of her excellence, or is she there because affirmative action?
– The Charlie Kirk Show, 3 January 2024
If we would have said that Joy Reid and Michelle Obama and Sheila Jackson Lee and Ketanji Brown Jackson were affirmative action picks, we would have been called racists. Now they’re coming out and they’re saying it for us … You do not have the brain processing power to otherwise be taken really seriously. You had to go steal a white person’s slot to go be taken somewhat seriously.
– The Charlie Kirk Show, 13 July 2023

I didn’t like anything Kirk stood for. I found his views (with thanks to @orangeblosssomfor setting out for those who may not know them) misogynistic, racist, homophonic and deeply offensive. He was a huge advocate for gun ownership and was prepared to accept many many deaths of children and young people going about their day at school in service of that right.

His assassination is shocking and horrific. It sounds like the police and university were woefully underprepared (six police officers?!) and didn’t anticipate the risk to a high profile and controversial speaker. It is in fact an unsurprising event in the kind of America that Trump and the MAGA/QAnon faithful have carved out.

I hate revisionist bullshit when anyone dies. I can recognise the tragedy of the loss of a husband and father whilst at the same time not reducing the man to martyr status.

I read an account yesterday from a black female academic who was put on digital a hate list by Kirk which encouraged his followers to harass and intimidate those he didn’t agree with. We shouldn’t use the fact that he was a father or a husband or popular with Trump to create new narrative for the things he said and did.

@orangeblosssom what is the point you're trying to make here?

Charlie Kirk was an evangelical Christian which meant he believed that life begins at conception and abortion is murder. If he believed that then logically it applies in all circumstances including for a 10 year old child. He disagreed with affirmative action and thought it put unqualified people in positions they shouldn't be in. And he believed that giving gender-confused children surgery and hormones is child abuse.

With the exception of the latter, I disagree strongly with his opinions. He also put them forward in an (often grossly) offensive way. But so what? People with offensive opinions are targets for violence now?

The only way we move forward in this mess is to listen to why people have the opinions they do and debate them in good faith. By pulling out a bunch of inflammatory quotes you're just doing exactly what the people you disagree with are doing.

So just to be clear, you want anyone with these views assassinated?

A truly ridiculous question.

but Trump and Trumpers are constantly calling for imprisonment or death for people with whom they disagree. Which is what I fundamentally disagree with and is exactly why a lot of us (I believe) are different to them. No one should rejoice in the death of CK because gun violence is never acceptable. It makes me sad that some people seem to now be okay with it when it suits them. Sadly, some people feel the need to laugh and joke or even celebrate this murder and that, I believe, is coming from a place of hatred rather than empathy. And I know CK made comments about empathy but the whole
point is that I disagreed with his view. So of course I feel empathy for him and for poor family who watched it happen. Not to mention all those people who watched it too.

Debate is so important and, as you said, we shouldn’t support anyone who silences people. Otherwise we are exactly the same as them.

Now it's been 24 hours, and, once again, the FBI/Police are reduced to begging for help from the public.
Yes - I find it a blend of shocking and disturbing that they’re asking for help - it seems unbelievable that they would ‘lose’ him. They don’t know if he’s still in the state or who he is. To me, it all gets more strange but I’m avoiding the various conspiracy theories at all costs.

Who are the left? How many of them do you think are snipers?

@PinkBobby One of my Friends hunts, DH hasn’t ever but was a good sniper target practice only when younger, I asked both of them and they said someone that was a really decent shot would not have shot him in the neck if a choice it’s usually head or chest. There is a thing called bullet drop that is calculated and other stuff sorry can’t remember what it’s called. Both reckon not a professional hit.

You either believe in free speech or you don’t, the celebrations are awful, I had not heard of him, he didn’t deserve to be assassinated. Well I have heard of him now and he is now a martyr to some.

Why is it ridiculous?

"I think it's worth to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God-given rights."
This time, he was the collateral damage, not the innocent school kids he appeared willing to sacrifice. The issue is as always that anyone can walk into a supermarket in the US and buy a gun.

"I think it's worth to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God-given rights."
This time, he was the collateral damage, not the innocent school kids he appeared willing to sacrifice.

While you might disagree with him, this is a valid opinion. We all agree that it is worth the cost of having some road deaths every single year so that we can have the right to drive.

Whether or not he still agrees with this now we'll, of course, never know. But I suspect he was well aware of the danger he was putting himself in.

I hate to be defending this guy but we'll all get so much further if we actually try and understand the other side of the argument rather than just villainise it.

This was a sniper not someone who just walked into a supermarket and bought a gun.

23/01/2024 - Diversity hire is a concern to some (if not yours) and I (also) want my pilot (of any race / colour / sex) to be qualified as a PILOT, not given the job / shoehorned in because they are black or some other trait not based on skill.
08/12/2022 - not sure of your point, it's question, and the answer is probably "Yes, you will get better looked after than a marine"
19/05/2023 - Is it true ? You will probably deny it, I'm sure - doesn't make it wrong. I'm sure the crime stats will help.
03/01/2024 - Affirmative action CAN result in incompetents being given jobs above their ability, incompetent white people still get such jobs of course, but not through affirmative action, the key point is affirmative action.
13/07/203 - I think you need to look at those people and their actions with an open mind, Joy Reid has been sacked since this date - try a bit of research into them.

If you don't have an open mind you will always see confirmation bias, your points are talking points but not gotchas