Charlie Kirk mourned in South Dakota
Bipartisan calls for civility follow murder of conservative activist gunned down Wednesday while speaking at Utah college
The shockwaves that followed the nationwide broadcast of a high-profile political influencer’s killing again brought bipartisan condemnation of political violence to South Dakota on Wednesday.
For the second time since President Donald Trump returned to the White House, political leaders on both sides of the aisle in the Mount Rushmore State are calling for reflection and calm following another politically-motivated murder — this time the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
“Charlie’s kids are 3 and 1. My own are two and nine months,” said Ian Fury, a Capitol staffer in Gov. Larry Rhoden’s office who joined tens of thousands nationwide on social media to mourn the death of the 31-year-old Turning Point USA founder.
Kirk was killed in Utah on Wednesday during a speaking engagement.
“He was married to a godly, Christian woman. He worked to advance freedom and conservative principles. And he was only 3 months younger than me,” said Fury, who also served as spokesman for former Gov. Kristi Noem, and was among a chorus of condolences from Republican and Democratic leaders offering sympathies to Kirk’s family.
Kirk rose to national prominence by advocating conservative ideologies on college campuses across the globe.
The Utah Valley University tragedy in the central Utah city of Orem, reported as an assassination, comes less than three months after Minnesota State Rep. Melissa Hortman was killed in a politically motivated attack that also took the life of her husband — marking the second such killing in the Midwest in under 90 days.
Video footage capturing the moment Kirk took a bullet to the neck while at a tented table shows the father of two begin profusely bleeding before toppling backward.
Kirk was rushed from the scene and pronounced dead a short time later.
Deemed politically motivated, that shooting also brought calls for civility and elevated discourse in U.S. politics.
“There is no place in our country for political violence. Period, full stop,” U.S. Senate Majority Leader and Murdo native John Thune remarked from the chambers of the U.S. Senate Wednesday, moments after learning Kirk died from a gunshot wound to the neck.
South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden also offered sympathies in a release ordering flags in South Dakota to be flown at half-staff in Kirk’s honor until the evening of Sunday, Sept. 14.
The passing of Kirk, a known ally of President Donald Trump revered in Republican circles, had opponents to conservative ideologies disavowing politically motivated violence too.
“Humanity is in the people we don't like. Humanity is in the people who do bad things. Humanity is in the people who don't look or sound like us,” Rep. Erik Muckey, a Sioux Falls Democrat, said as he urged conservatives and progressives alike to reflect on their role in the country’s political discourse and to seek understanding of those they’re in disagreement with rather than vilify their political opponents. “Humanity is in the people we don't associate with.”
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Thoughts and prayers