Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) said he is “very confident” in the Capitol police force and noted that many of the incidents that have occurred were not located in Capitol buildings. (Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner).

Wisconsin leaders condemned political violence and said they are continuing to discuss security in the Capitol on Thursday following the assassination of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University.

Kirk, a conservative activist and co-founder of Turning Point USA, was shot and killed Wednesday while speaking at a university event in Orem, Utah. The search is still underway for the shooter.

During a floor session Thursday, the Wisconsin State Assembly held a moment of silence for Kirk as well as one to honor the 24th anniversary of 9/11.

“Mr. Kirk’s family are in our thoughts today,” Senate Minority Leader Dianne Hesselbein (D-Middleton) said at a press conference. “We are still sad about the assassination of Representative Melissa Horton in Minnesota. Political violence and violence is never the answer — whether it’s the arson attack on Gov. Josh Shapiro’s home, the attempt on President Trump’s life or the university and college shootings that are happening all across our nation. Violence is never the answer.”

Hesselbein also acknowledged the shooting at Evergreen High School in Colorado that happened Wednesday afternoon.

“This was another senseless act of political violence unfortunately against Charlie Kirk, and I want to express my deepest condolences to his loved ones,” Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer (D-Racine) said. “We all condemn political violence in the strongest possible terms. No one should fear for their lives because of their jobs.”

Security and safety concerns have been at the forefront of lawmakers’ minds this year, especially after the assassination of Minnesota Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband. The names of several Wisconsin politicians were found on a list of targets belonging to the Minnesota shooting suspect.

“Given the recent rise in political violence, of course, this is top of mind for many of our colleagues, and of course, the staff who work in the Capitol as well as the press, the guests, the children that come through this building on Capitol visits,” Neubauer said. “It’s an ongoing conversation, and we hope to continue that with our Republican colleagues, who of course control the safety in our chambers, as well as the other entities in the Capitol.” 

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) said he is “very confident” in the Capitol police force and noted that many of the incidents that have occurred were not located in Capitol buildings. 

“When you look at Minnesota, it was in their homes. If you look at what happened yesterday to Charlie Kirk, it was in a public venue on campus, so the idea that we’re somehow going to fortify a single building to make people feel safer when the reality is that most of the violence that has occurred has not been inside of the buildings, but outside of people’s home.

In a video Wednesday evening, President Donald Trump condemned the assassination and listed acts of violence that have occurred against right-leaning figures, including the attempt on his own life last year, but neglected to mention the murder of the Hortmans. He blamed the incidents on “radical left political violence.” 

“For years, those on the radical left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the world’s worst mass murderers and criminals. This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that we’re seeing in our country today, and it must stop right now,” Trump said. “My administration will find each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity, and to other political violence.”

Asked about Trump only recognizing violence against conservatives, Vos said he didn’t see the comments. But Vos said he knows that in Trump’s “heart” he believes that “assassination is 100% of the time wrong.”

“When Melissa Hortman, who was clearly a liberal Democrat, I didn’t hear anybody on the right celebrating the fact that she was assassinated. It was awful, and that’s what it should be,” Vos said, adding that he condemned anyone celebrating Kirk’s death.

During the moment of silence, Vos said Kirk was a man “who represented free speech” and “was silenced in the most horrific way possible.” He said that the country is “rapidly deteriorating” as “many see the other party as their mortal enemies out to destroy the country, not just good-hearted political rivals that we should be.”

Wisconsin’s congressional delegation and other state leaders also condemned political violence on Wednesday, though one Republican has taken the route of blaming others for the violence. 

Wisconsin U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin said that “there is no two ways about this: political violence has no place in America. I am keeping Charlie and his family in my thoughts in this truly horrifying moment.”

U.S. Rep. Tony Wied called Kirk “a true American Patriot” and said “his legacy will live on for generations to come.” 

“There is absolutely zero place for political violence in our country,” Wied said. 

“Violence against anyone because of their political beliefs is wrong. Violence against others is wrong.  Violence is never the answer for resolving our differences or disagreements,” Gov. Tony Evers said. “Wisconsin joins in praying for Charlie Kirk and the Utah Valley community and first responders.”

U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden, who represents Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District, has been posting consistently since news broke about the assassination, blaming reporters and Democrats for the violence. 

“The left and their policies are leading America into a civil war. And they want it,” Van Orden wrote in one post. In another, he said reporters and Democrats were “directly culpable.” 

Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Devin Remiker said in a statement that Van Orden was encouraging violence. 

“His terrifying statements, which are inviting civil war and encouraging violence against Democrats and the media, are being completely ignored by Republicans in Wisconsin and in D.C.. They have a responsibility to tell Derrick Van Orden to stop pouring gasoline on an open flame, and I implore them to do so immediately,” Remiker said.

Remiker had already condemned the violence in a statement Wednesday, saying, “this sort of violence will continue until all of us, regardless of party, condemn these sorts of heinous actions.”

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Founder and executive director of Turning Point USA Charlie Kirk speaks at the opening of the Turning Point Action conference on July 15, 2023 in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Conservative activist Charlie Kirk has died after he was shot at an event at Utah Valley University in Orem on Wednesday. 

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said in a news conference Wednesday afternoon that a person of interest was in custody, but that he could not elaborate. Soon after, at 6 p.m., FBI Director Kash Patel posted on X that the “subject in custody had been released after an interrogation by law enforcement.” 

Officials suspect that the shooter shot Kirk from a rooftop as he spoke at an outdoor event on the college campus, but they had little additional information other than that the person appeared to be wearing dark clothing. They said the investigation is ongoing. 

“We are actively looking for anyone and everyone who has any possible information related to the shooter,” Cox said. 

Cox called the shooting a “political assassination” and called for anyone who had celebrated Kirk’s death to “look in the mirror.”

“The investigation is ongoing, but I want to make it crystal clear right now to whoever did this, we will find you, we will try you, and we will hold you accountable to the furthest extent of the law,” Cox said. “And I just want to remind people that we still have the death penalty here.”

The suspected shooter was dressed in all dark clothing, but other than that, officials couldn’t provide much detail Wednesday. Utah Department of Public Safety Commissioner Beau Mason said the “only information we have on the suspect, the possible shooter, is taken from closed circuit TV here on campus.”

Mason said that footage is currently being analyzed. Asked whether the suspect on the security camera footage and the person of interest they have in custody match, Mason said, “that’s what we’re trying to decipher right now.” 

Officials also said there is no information that suggests there was a second person involved in the shooting. One shot was fired, Kirk was the only victim and police confirmed it was a targeted attack.

Videos circulating on social media show students scattering after a popping sound is heard, Kirk appears to be impacted by something, and begins bleeding from his neck. Witnesses say he was answering a question about mass shootings in the moment he was shot. 

In a statement, Utah Valley University confirmed Kirk had been shot at about 12:20 p.m. while speaking to the crowd. 

Mason later told reporters that Kirk had been shot in the neck. He was then taken by a private vehicle to Timpanogos Regional Hospital where he was pronounced dead. 

The Utah Department of Public Safety and the FBI will be “co-leading this criminal investigation to find this killer,” Mason said. 

Campus was closed down following the shooting, with the university later announcing the closure will remain in place until Sept. 15. For hours after the shot rang out, dozens of police vehicles and some armored vehicles swarmed the university campus and blocked off roadways. SWAT teams and military personnel carrying long guns — some with K-9s — could be seen searching buildings. 

Several students told Utah News Dispatch they were told to wait outside, unable to retrieve their belongings from classrooms or access their dorms, until after law enforcement completed their searches. 

Adelaide Condie, an 18-year-old Utah Valley University student, was standing on a trash can trying to see Kirk as he answered a question about gun violence when he was hit.

“All of a sudden he got shot … It looked like it was to the chest from where I was, but people are saying it was to the neck … then he went down,” said Condie as she was leaving campus. “Everyone started running, then we all got on lockdown.” 

The university initially reported a suspect was in custody, but officers determined he didn’t match the shooter’s description. Law enforcement officials identified him as George Zinn, a local political gadfly known for his disruptive behavior. While not suspected in the shooting, Mason said Zinn was booked into Utah County Jail for investigation of obstruction of justice.

‘A police chief’s nightmare’

There wasn’t a heavy police presence or extensive security measures in place for Wednesday’s event. Deseret News reporter Emma Pitts, who was on scene when the shooting happened, told the outlet that students weren’t scanned and bags weren’t checked when they entered the outdoor venue.

When asked about the event’s security, Utah Valley University Police Chief Jeff Long first told reporters that what happened was “a police chief’s nightmare.” 

“We’re a small police department. We have a very large campus. We have over 40,000 students. We love our students. We love our visitors. And we’re devastated by what happened today,” he said. 

The chief said Wednesday’s event took place at an “open venue” outdoors, with more than 3,000 people estimated in attendance. He said six officers staffed the event, along with some officers in “plain clothes” in the crowd. He added that UVU police also partnered with Kirk’s security team. 

“We train for these things. You think you have things covered, and these things, unfortunately, they happen,” Long said. “You try to get your bases covered, and unfortunately today we didn’t.”

Utah Valley University says on its website that it complies with state law regarding weapons on campus, which restricts people from possessing a dangerous weapon, firearm, or sawed-off gun on campus except under certain circumstances. However, the university allows concealed weapons to be carried by legal permit holders. 

Shooting follows No Kings protest shooting, national political violence

The shooting on the college campus in Orem, about 45 minutes south of Salt Lake City, follows violence this summer in Utah and beyond. In July, shots rang out as more than 10,000 people marched in Salt Lake City as part of the “No Kings” protest of the Trump administration and its policies.

A self-described “volunteer peacekeeper” fired with a handgun after seeing a man with an AR-15-style rifle, winging him in the side and striking a protester in the head as he walked by. Arthur “Afa” Ah Loo, a fashion designer and fixture of the Polynesian community in Utah, died from the wound.

On the same day in Minnesota, House Democratic leader Melissa Hortman was assassinated in her home, along with her husband, Mark Hortman. Police say the accused gunman, Vance Boelter, disguised himself as a police officer. Boelter is also charged with shooting Democratic Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, both of whom survived, in their Champlin home. 

Kirk’s visit to Utah drew criticism; his killing invoked condemnation, sadness 

Kirk is a founder of Turning Point USA, an organization that advocates for conservative politics in educational institutions, and a close ally of President Donald Trump. He is a widely known internet personality who takes his signature “prove me wrong” debates to college campuses.

His Utah visit wasn’t without controversy. In a Change.org petition, students at Utah State University, where Kirk was scheduled to make a second appearance in the state on Sept. 30, said Kirk’s polarizing rhetoric is at odds with the inclusive atmosphere they want to preserve on campus. The petition had more than 6,800 signatures.

Matt Bailey, a UVU student who was in class when the shooting happened, told Utah News Dispatch as he was leaving campus that “it’s pretty sad that it had to come to this, that someone was willing to do this.” 

“Regardless of what you believe about Charlie Kirk, he does come and just wants to talk to everybody,” he said. 

Another UVU student, John Bryant — a film student who raced to campus from his home in Orem after he heard of the shooting — said while Kirk could be a “pretty polarizing” character, “it’s a whole different story to take out an act of violence against (him).”

“Personally, I don’t agree with his views, but violence is not the way to make change,” Bryant said. “That’s not going to change him, because now he’s gone. … Violence is not the answer.” 

Trump orders flags lowered

The president was among the first to announce Kirk’s death.

“The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “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!”

Trump ordered U.S. flags throughout the country to be lowered in the wake of Kirk’s killing, describing him as “a truly Great American Patriot” on Truth Social. 

Cox echoed that order, requiring U.S. and Utah flags to be flown at half staff at all state facilities in acknowledgement of Kirk until Sunday.

In a statement posted to social media, Cox said he had spoken on the phone with Trump about Kirk’s death and is now working with the FBI and state law enforcement to “bring to justice the individual responsible for this tragedy.”

“Abby and I are heartbroken. We are praying for Charlie’s wife, daughter, and son,” Cox said.

In an earlier statement, Cox warned those involved in the shooting would be held accountable and that “violence has no place in our public life,” he wrote.

Before it was announced that Kirk had died in the shooting, dozens of congressional Republicans on Capitol Hill offered prayers for Kirk, with whom many GOP members have personal relationships.

U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform Chairman James Comer, a Kentucky Republican, paused the panel’s consideration of a bill and held a moment of silence after Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene informed the committee of the shooting.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said in a statement the news of Kirk’s death is “utterly devastating.”

“Charlie was a close friend and confidant. He will be sorely missed by so many. Every political leader must loudly and clearly decry this violence,” Johnson said. “Our prayers go out to his wife and young children. May he rest in peace.”

Utah News Dispatch editor McKenzie Romero and States Newsroom reporter Jacob Fischler contributed to this story.