A teenage student who was injured in the December shooting at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison has been released from American Family Children's Hospital.
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Demonstrators protest the suspension of the "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" show outside the El Capitan Entertainment Centre, where the show is performed, in Los Angeles earlier this month. While Kimmel has returned to the air, dozens of public workers have been fired across the country for comments about the assassination of Charlie Kirk. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
Hours after Charlie Kirk’s assassination, Suzanne Swierc shared two thoughts on her private Facebook page — that the killing of the right-wing activist was wrong, and that his death reflected “the violence, fear and hatred he sowed.”
The post upended her life.
Indiana Republican Attorney General Todd Rokita soon obtained a screenshot of the post by Swierc, an administrator at Ball State University, and added it to an official website naming and shaming educators for their comments about Kirk.
Libs of Tik Tok, a social media account dedicated to mocking liberals, shared her comments with its 4.4 million followers on X. A week after the post, the university fired her.
“The day that my private post was made public without my consent was one of the worst days of my life,” Swierc told reporters this past week. She said she received calls, texts and other harassing messages, including one suggesting she should be killed, that left her terrified.
A wave of firings and investigations has swept through academia and government in the wake of Kirk’s death, as state agencies, colleges and local school districts take action against employees over comments perceived as offensive or inappropriate. Dozens of workers in higher education alone have lost their jobs.
A Texas State University student was expelled after he publicly reenacted Kirk’s assassination; Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and other Republicans had called for the student’s expulsion. Clemson University in South Carolina fired one worker and removed two professors from teaching. The University of Mississippi fired an employee. An Idaho Department of Labor employee was terminated.
The purge is driven in part by Republican elected officials who are encouraging Americans to report co-workers, their children’s teachers and others who make comments seen as crossing the line. They have been egged on by the Trump administration, with Vice President JD Vance urging listeners of Kirk’s podcast to call the employer of anyone “celebrating” his killing.
President Donald Trump has threatened to expand the crackdown beyond Kirk, warning falsely in the Oval Office last week that negative press coverage of him is “really illegal,” despite constitutional protections for freedom of the press.
Trump headlines Arizona memorial service for Charlie Kirk at packed stadium
At Kirk’s memorial service, Trump said, “I hate my opponent.” His choice to lead the Federal Communications Commission threatened ABC over comments about the reaction to Kirk’s death made by the late-night comedian Jimmy Kimmel and the network pulled his show for several days.
Mark Johnson, a First Amendment attorney based in Kansas City, Missouri, who has been practicing law for 45 years, said he had never seen a moment like the current one.
“Not even close,” Johnson said. “What’s been happening in the last month is astonishing.”
In Indiana, Rokita is using his office’s “Eyes on Education” webpage to publicize examples of educators who have made controversial remarks about Kirk. The page, billed as a transparency tool, housed a hodgepodge of submitted complaints about teachers and schools in the past. Now, it also includes 28 Kirk-related submissions as of Thursday afternoon.
Wisconsin Republican U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden threatened to strip an entire town of federal funding after a high school math teacher noted on her personal Facebook page that Kirk had in the past said some gun deaths are worth it to have the Second Amendment. The teacher has been suspended.
Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters, who is leaving his job next month to head up a conservative teachers organization, has launched investigations of school employees in response to tips submitted to Awareity, an online platform that allows parents and others to report concerns. Last week the Oklahoma State Department of Education said it had received 224 reports of “defamatory comments.”
Florida Republican U.S. Rep. Randy Fine has urged people with information about anyone celebrating Kirk’s death who works in government in Florida to contact his office. And South Carolina Republican U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace wants federal funding cut off for any school that fails to fire or discipline staff who “glorify or justify” political violence.
“It’s at a scale never before seen and I think it’s completely unhinged,” Todd Wolfson, president of the American Association of University Professors, said of the rush to fire higher education faculty.
Kirk, who founded the campus conservative activism organization Turning Point USA and was close to Trump, was a hero to many Republicans. They saw a charismatic family man and a Christian unafraid to take his hard-right vision onto liberal college campuses.
But many Democrats and liberals experienced Kirk as a provocateur with a record of incendiary remarks about people of color, immigrants and Islam. While many of Kirk’s opponents have condemned the assassination, some have also emphasized their disagreement with his views or suggested his death arose out of what they saw as his hateful rhetoric.
“I have faculty who are getting fired, who have tenure and are getting fired, for saying things like ‘I condemn political violence but the words that Charlie Kirk used, he sort of reaped what he sowed,’” Wolfson said. “All things told, I may not agree with that statement, but that’s a perfectly reasonable thing for somebody to say. Certainly not something to be fired for.”
MSUN professor on leave as influencers targeted Montanans in wake of Charlie Kirk’s death
Some Republicans have long denounced what they view as past Democratic censorship, including Biden administration efforts to pressure social media companies to censor content during the COVID-19 pandemic. They have also criticized firings and pushed back on perceived political correctness run amok during the height of the #MeToo and Black Lives Matter movements, moments of ascendant progressive influence.
But as the current round of terminations plays out, some conservatives argue public employees who speak out about Kirk are facing the consequences of their actions. Oklahoma state Rep. Gabe Woolley, a Republican, said individuals in a taxpayer-funded role who work with children should be held to a high level of accountability.
“I think the most important factor to consider … is that these people chose to enter the public square on public social media accounts and to mock and celebrate the death of an American patriot who was a Christian martyr who was killed for his faith doing what God called him to do,” Woolley said.
Woolley added that “if you choose to make something public, you should not be shocked or surprised by any type of public pushback.”
Swierc described a relatively restricted Facebook account. It was private and couldn’t be found by searching for her name; only individuals with mutual Facebook friends could request to add her as a friend. She did not list her employer on her profile.
Swierc’s post on Kirk could only be seen by her Facebook friends. At some point, someone — Swierc doesn’t know who — made a screenshot of the post. It was then circulated publicly and ended up on Indiana’s “Eyes on Education” page.
On Sept. 17, Ball State University President Geoffrey Mearns fired Swierc, who had been director of health promotion and advocacy within the Division of Student Affairs. In a letter informing Swierc of her termination, Mearns wrote that many current students had written to the university to express concern and that her post had caused unprecedented disruption.
Swierc filed a federal lawsuit against Mearns on Monday, alleging he violated her First Amendment rights. Swierc, who is represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana, wants a court to order Mearns to expunge her termination from her Ball State University personnel file, along with unspecified damages.
“I do not regret the post I made, and I would not take back what I said,” Swierc said during a virtual news conference organized by the ACLU of Indiana. “I believe that I, along with every person in this country, have First Amendment rights to be able to speak on a number of things.”
Ball State University declined to answer Stateline’s questions, citing the lawsuit. In an unsigned public statement on the day of Swierc’s firing, the university said the post was “inconsistent with the distinctive nature and trust” of Swierc’s leadership position and had caused significant disruption to the university.
Swierc’s lawsuit is one of a growing number of legal challenges to firings and employee discipline over comments about Kirk. On Wednesday, a federal judge ordered the University of South Dakota to reinstate an art professor who had placed on administrative leave after calling Kirk a “Nazi” but later deleted the post and apologized.
Swierc didn’t name Rokita, the attorney general, as a defendant in her lawsuit, but the official has loomed over the situation.
Two days after Kirk’s assassination, Rokita urged his followers on X to submit to him any evidence of educators or school administrators celebrating or rationalizing the killing. He wrote that they must be held accountable and “have no place teaching our students.”
But Rokita has also said the Indiana Attorney General’s Office isn’t investigating individuals submitted to his “Eyes on Education” page — suggesting the effort is mainly intended to generate public pressure against employers. Each example on the page lists contact information for the school’s leadership and in some instances information about the next local school board meeting.
“For a government official, especially of that caliber, to be creating a database and doing this has an incredibly chilling effect on speech,” said Ashkhen Kazaryan, a senior legal fellow at The Future of Free Speech, a nonpartisan think tank located at Vanderbilt University that promotes the values of free speech and free expression.
Rokita didn’t agree to an interview. “Our goal is to provide transparency, equipping parents with the information they need to make informed decisions about their children’s education,” Rokita said in a news release.
On Monday, Rokita sent a six-page letter to school superintendents and public university administrators, providing guidance on the legal authority to fire and discipline teachers for speech related to Kirk. The letter suggested that speech occurring on social media is a factor that weighs in favor of the authority to fire an employee because it carries the risk of being amplified and disrupting school operations.
Rokita also analyzed comments about Kirk by a U.S. history teacher in Indiana who had said the assassinated activist can “suck it” and referred to comments made by Kirk in 2023 that some gun deaths every year are the cost of Second Amendment rights. The district’s employer had chosen not to terminate the teacher, but Rokita laid out a legal justification for firing the employee.
He concluded the letter by writing that many schools would be within their legal authority to fire teachers “who have similarly contributed to the divisive and, for many, painful eruption of controversial discourse on social media and elsewhere concerning Charlie Kirk.”
Joseph Mastrosimone, an employment law professor at Washburn University, said private employers have broad discretion to fire workers over speech. But the government is different, he said, with the First Amendment providing at least some level of protection to employees.
Decades of court cases have established the core principle that if a public employee is speaking in their capacity as a citizen on a matter of public concern, then the government can only take action if the speech causes significant disruption to the delivery of the public service and that disruption outweighs the employee’s interest in the speech, he said.
Mastrosimone said if a teacher’s message made in his or her own time is causing community outrage and pandemonium, “that’s probably going to count as some disruption.”
“And there might be sufficient disruption to outweigh whatever interest the employee has in the speech,” Mastrosimone said. But the closer the teacher’s message is to core political speech — such as voicing support for a candidate for office — the more the scales tip in favor of the employee being able to speak without fear of discipline.
“It is certainly a matter of public concern, what’s going on here with the Charlie Kirk assassination. The interests are probably pretty high, I would think,” Mastrosimone said.
As some Republican officials have called for action against public employees who have made comments about Kirk, they have often drawn a line at what they see as celebrating or glorifying his assassination. Walters, the outgoing Oklahoma state superintendent, has gone further and is investigating districts for “refusing to honor his memory.”
The Oklahoma State Department of Education last week said in addition to reports on individual teachers, it was investigating 30 reports of schools that didn’t observe a moment of silence. Three reports alleged schools weren’t flying their flags at half-staff.
On Tuesday, Walters announced an official push to start a Turning Point USA chapter in every Oklahoma high school. Later that day, he announced he would resign as superintendent to become CEO of the Teacher Freedom Alliance, a new group that casts itself as a conservative alternative to teachers’ unions.
Walters’ Turning Point effort comes after Oklahoma state Sen. Shane Jett, a Republican, filed three pieces of legislation to honor Kirk, including one that would establish “Charlie Kirk Free Speech Day” and another requiring public colleges and universities to develop a “Charlie Kirk Memorial Plaza” on their campuses.
Walters and Jett didn’t respond to interview requests.
“Charlie Kirk inspired a generation to love America, to speak boldly, and to never shy away from debate. Our kids must get involved and active,” Walters said in a news release on Tuesday. “We will fight back against the liberal propaganda, pushed by the radical left, and the teachers unions. Our fight starts now.”
Stateline reporter Jonathan Shorman can be reached at jshorman@stateline.org.
This story was originally produced by Stateline, which is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network which includes Wisconsin Examiner, and is supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity.
Erika Kirk joins U.S. President Donald Trump onstage during the memorial service for her late husband, conservative political activist Charlie Kirk, at State Farm Stadium on Sept. 21, 2025 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and several Cabinet officials spoke at a five-hour memorial ceremony Sunday in Arizona for the late conservative political activist Charlie Kirk, whom Republicans are mourning as a friend and crediting as a force behind Trump’s second presidency.
Trump told a packed stadium, “America loved Charlie Kirk.”
“It is agonizing and unthinkable to say goodbye to a patriot whose heart still had so much to give,” Trump said.
The president described the suspected gunman who authorities say targeted Kirk as a “radicalized, cold-blooded monster.”
Trump praised Kirk and said it was the activist’s influence that helped him choose Vance as vice president. Interspersed in his comments about Kirk, Trump aimed insults at what he described as “radical left lunatics,” promoted his anti-crime campaign and teased a forthcoming announcement from the administration regarding autism.
Vance spoke about his friendship with Kirk and attributed the electorate’s swing to conservatism to Kirk’s outreach, saying Kirk “changed the course of American history.”
Vance joined Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi in recent days calling for consequences for Americans who criticized Kirk following his death. During his remarks at the memorial, Vance said he saw “the very worst parts of humanity” in comments and social media posts.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recounted meeting Kirk a decade ago when “he was building a movement.”
“I still have this sticker (that reads) ‘Big Government Sucks,’” Hegseth said, recalling an early campaign slogan for Turning Point USA, the organization Kirk co-founded in 2012.
Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff for policy, said those devoted to Kirk will “defeat the forces of darkness and evil.”
“You thought you could kill Charlie Kirk. You made him immortal,” Miller said.
Kirk’s wife Erika Kirk confirmed she will now sit at the helm of Turning Point USA as the nonprofit’s CEO after several speakers who heralded the organization’s future alluded to the change.
In an emotional speech, she told those in attendance that she has forgiven the suspected shooter.
“I forgive him because it was what Christ did. It is what Charlie would do, the answer to hate is not hate,” Erika Kirk said.
During his remarks, Trump jokingly apologized to Erika because he said he “can’t stand” his opponents.
Kirk “did not hate his opponents. He wanted the best for them. That’s where I disagreed with him. I hate my opponents and don’t want the best for them. I’m sorry, Erika,” Trump said.
The memorial service began at 11 a.m. Mountain time at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, which seats upwards of 60,000.
A large painting of Kirk, who was fatally shot 11 days ago at age 31, was displayed on stage. Large LED screens played videos and displayed photos of the activist, who was very influential among Republicans and conservatives.
A seven-piece band backed Christian singer Chris Tomlin as Trump administration officials walked onto the floor of the stadium. Cameras captured the entrances of Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. All delivered speeches.
Billionaire Elon Musk, a major donor to Trump’s 2024 campaign and the former leader of Trump’s government efficiency project, entered the stadium to cheers, according to CNN. Cameras caught Trump and Musk shaking hands and apparently speaking while seated together prior to Trump’s remarks.
Current and former U.S. senators and representatives were among members of the audience, including former Florida U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz.
A U.S. military color guard displayed flags during the national anthem.
The memorial service was livestreamed and is available on C-SPAN.
Journalists outside the stadium reported thousands of people lining up early hoping to attend the ceremony.
Kirk was fatally shot by a suspected lone gunman on Sept. 10 while he was speaking at Utah Valley University, according to authorities, who are seeking the death penalty. NBC reported Saturday that law enforcement officials have not found any link between Kirk’s shooting and left-wing groups.
Utah native Tyler Robinson, 22, is charged on seven counts, including aggravated murder, violent offense in the presence of a child and witness tampering.
Authorities say Robinson sent text messages about “hatred” to his roommate following the shooting. Charging documents say Robinson’s parents recounted their son’s recent interest in LGBTQ rights and that he had started to “lean more to the left.”
Speakers praised Kirk’s work and at numerous points during the ceremony referred to him as a “martyr” for the conservative movement and Christianity.
Far-right YouTube commentator Benny Johnson referred to Kirk’s “revival spirit” and influence in spreading a Christian worldview.
“Charlie Kirk is a martyr in the true Christian tradition. You take out a tyrant, his power goes away. You cut down a martyr, his power grows,” Johnson said.
Johnson called out Trump administration officials in the crowd as “rulers of our land.”
“May we pray that our rulers here, rightfully instituted and given power by our God, wield the sword for the terror of evil men in our nation, in Charlie’s memory. I want to live in a country where the evil are terrified, and where the good and the faithful and the moral people of our nation can live in peace, debate in peace, disagree in peace and start families in peace.”
GOP Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida said she owed her political career to Kirk, who hired her to do outreach to young Hispanic voters.
“These were the sparks that lit the path for me on the eve of my departure to medical school to decide to change course and join TP USA, where I could help Charlie battle the socialist indoctrination on college campuses,” Luna said.
The U.S. House passed a resolution Friday honoring Kirk, supported by all Republicans and 95 Democrats.
It is notable for a sitting president, vice president and multiple Cabinet members to deliver remarks at a memorial service for a private citizen. Trump ordered flags lowered after Kirk’s death.
Trump spoke, along with Republican congressional leaders, at the U.S. Capitol in 2018 at a memorial for the late evangelist Billy Graham, who had relationships with U.S. presidents going back decades, with Graham lying in honor in the Capitol Rotunda. Trump ordered flags at half-staff.
President Barack Obama delivered the eulogy for the nine victims of the racially motivated mass shooting at the Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. Notably, Obama spontaneously sang “Amazing Grace.” Obama did not order flags lowered following the massacre.
Kirk was born in 1993 in the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights.
He co-founded Turning Point USA aiming to mobilize conservative youth and young adults on high school and college campuses.
Kirk toured campuses across the U.S. speaking on contemporary hard-right topics, including anti-LGBTQ positions and encouraging young women to retreat from careers and return to the home.
Among the organization’s projects was the “Professor Watchlist” that published the names of professors across the country in searchable format by categories including “anti-Christian views,” “feminism,” “climate alarmist” and “racial ideology,” according to its web page.
Kirk hosted “The Charlie Kirk Show,” a successful daily radio show and podcast. Devoting an entire episode in July to the Jeffrey Epstein case, Kirk was among those in Trump’s voter base to urge the president to release more information about the federal investigation into the late financier and convicted sex offender.
Kirk’s work garnered attention beyond the United States. Rev. Rob McCoy, Kirk’s pastor, recounted a recent trip to South Korea
“Charlie looked at politics as an on-ramp to Jesus,” McCoy told the crowd.
Turning Point USA Inc., which has been tax exempt since 2014, reported $84.9 million in revenue in 2024, according to the organization’s publicly available 990 tax forms published on ProPublica’s Nonprofit Explorer.
Eleven Democratic senators, including Wisconsin's Tammy Baldwin, have written Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr, shown here at an event in Sioux Falls, South Dakota in July. The senators' letter criticizes Carr for his comments about taking action against ABC Television in response to Jimmy Kimmel's comments about the killing of Charlie Kirk. (Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight)
Democratic senators including Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin) have written to the chair of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to criticize the agency’s chairman’s attacks on late night TV host Jimmy Kimmel.
ABC television, part of Disney, suspended Kimmel’s show indefinitely Wednesday after criticism of the comedian’s remarks that FCC Chair Brendan Carr made on a right-wing podcast.
On his program, “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” Monday and Tuesday, Kimmel made several comments about last week’s shooting of Charlie Kirk, including the statement that “many in MAGA land are working very hard to capitalize on the murder of Charlie Kirk.”
The Associated Press reported the suspension was announced after a group of ABC affiliates said they would not air Kimmel’s program and after Carr suggested on the Benny Johnson podcast Wednesday that the FCC was considering taking action against the network.
In a letter Thursday, 11 Democratic senators, including Baldwin, told Carr, “You proceeded to threaten that the FCC ‘can do this the easy way or the hard way,’ and telegraphed that ‘there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead’ unless ABC affiliates ‘find ways to change conduct and take action, frankly, on Kimmel . . .’”
“It is not simply unacceptable for the FCC Chairman to threaten a media organization because he does not like the content of its programming — it violates the First Amendment that you claim to champion,” the senators wrote.
“The FCC’s role in overseeing the public airwaves does not give it the power to act as a roving press censor, targeting broadcasters based on their political commentary,” they added. “But under your leadership, the FCC is being weaponized to do precisely that.”
The letter calls Carr’s statements “a betrayal of the FCC’s mission,” suggesting that he was trying to police speech and “force broadcasters to adopt political viewpoints that you favor,” and “requiring them to act in ‘Trump’s interest’” rather than in the public interest, as called for in the Federal Communications Act.
The letter notes that Nextar — which operates 23 ABC affiliates according to the AP and has a merger pending before the FCC — announced it would take Kimmel’s show off the air. Disney then announced it was suspending Kimmel’s show indefinitely.
“This is precisely what government censorship looks like,” the senators wrote.
Carr’s comments were an about-face from a 2022 post on X, when he defended late-night comedians and political satirists and “rightly rejected government censorship as a threat to our First Amendment protections,” the senators wrote. “But as FCC Chairman, you now have apparently forgotten these principles.”
The letter demands that by Sept. 25, Carr answer three questions in writing: about the FCC’s public interest standard and its definitions of political bias; whether the agency has communicated with Disney, ABC or their affiliates about Kimmel and his show; and what he meant by “the hard way” and “the easy way” in his podcast remarks.
The letter was led by Sen. Edward Markey (D-Massachusetts). In addition to Baldwin it was signed by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-Washington), Ben Ray Lujan (D-New Mexico), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Delaware), John Hickenlooper (D-Colorado), Gary Peters (D-Michigan), Jacky Rosen (D-Nevada), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota).
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Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray announces charges against Tyler James Robinson, 22, including aggravated murder, a capital offense, in the death of conservative commentator and activist Charlie Kirk. The charges were announced during a news conference at the Utah County Health & Justice Building in Provo, Utah on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)
Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray announced that his office has filed charges against 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, accused of shooting and killing conservative influencer Charlie Kirk during a crowded outdoor speaking event last week.
Gray called Kirk’s death “an American tragedy” at a news conference in Provo on Tuesday, calling the shooting an offense against the state of Utah. He also expressed his concern for all those who were in the crowd at Utah Valley University and witnessed the attack.
Robinson has been charged with multiple crimes, including one count of aggravated murder, which is a capital felony. If convicted, Robinson could face the death penalty — a sentence that Gray said he plans to pursue.
“I do not take this decision lightly, and it is a decision I have made independently as county attorney based solely on the available evidence and circumstances and nature of the crime,” Gray said.
Robinson is facing several penalty enhancements if convicted, including a “victim targeting” penalty that prosecutors are seeking because “Robinson intentionally selected Charlie Kirk because of (Robinson’s) belief or perception regarding Charlie Kirk’s political expression,” according to charging documents.
Prosecutors also charged Robinson with two counts of obstruction of justice, second-degree felonies, and two counts of tampering with a witness, third-degree felonies. Robinson is accused of attempting to hide the rifle he allegedly used to shoot Kirk, disposing of his clothes and trying to encourage his roommate to “stay silent” if questioned by police, the charges say.
Robinson is being held at the Utah County Jail without bail. He made his first court appearance at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, joining the virtual call with attorneys and Fourth District Judge Tony Graf from a jail cell.
During the court appearance, Robinson only spoke once to state his name, sitting still and expressionless. While the judge read the charges that had been filed against him, Robinson at times nodded his head slightly, remaining stone-faced.
The judge, after reviewing Robinson’s declaration of financial status, deemed him indigent, and he provisionally appointed a public defender to represent him in a case that could make Robinson the next inmate on Utah’s death row.
Charging documents say police interviewed Robinson’s roommate, who told police about messages from Robinson. Officials haven’t named the roommate, who Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said “has been very cooperative with authorities.”
On Sept. 10, the roommate received a text message from Robinson that said, “drop what you are doing, look under my keyboard.”
“The roommate looked under the keyboard and found a note that stated, ‘I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk, and I’m going to take it,’” the charging documents state.
After reading the note, the roommate responded in a text message: “What?????????????? You’re joking, right????”
Robinson replied that he would be stuck in Orem, Utah, for a while because he needed to retrieve his rifle, the documents state.
When the roommate asked Robinson why he shot Kirk, charging documents say Robinson responded, “I had enough of his hatred. Some hate can’t be negotiated out.”
As the exchange went on, Robinson also said he had been planning to shoot Kirk for over a week, discussed engraving the bullets, talked about changing his clothes, and told his roommate to delete the text messages and not talk to media or police, according to the charging documents.
The charges also describe Washington County Sheriff’s Office investigators’ interviews with Robinson’s parents, who both saw photos law enforcement officials released of the suspected shooter during their 33-hour manhunt for Kirk’s killer.
The day after the shooting, Sep. 11, Robinson’s mother saw the photos and “thought the shooter looked like her son.”
“Robinson’s mother called her son and asked him where he was,” charging documents say. “He said he was home sick and that he had also been at home sick on September 10th. Robinson’s mother expressed concern to her husband that the suspected shooter looked like Robinson. Robinson’s father agreed.”
Robinson’s mother also told police that “over the last year or so, Robinson had become more political and had started to lean more to the left.”
The charges also say that in one conversation with his parents before the shooting, Robinson mentioned that Kirk was expected to hold an event at Utah Valley University, “which Robinson said was a ‘stupid venue’ for the event.”
Robinson’s father told investigators that he also believed that the rifle that police suspected the shooter used matched a rifle that was given to his son as a gift. Based on Robinson’s text messages with his roommate included in the charging documents, that gun once belonged to his grandfather.
Robinson’s father contacted his son and asked him to send a photo of the rifle, according to the charges.
“Robinson did not respond. However, Robinson’s father spoke on the phone with Robinson,” the charges say. “Robinson implied that he planned to take his own life. Robinson’s parents were able to convince him to meet at their home.”
While talking with his parents, charges say, “Robinson implied that he was the shooter and stated that he couldn’t go to jail and just wanted to end it.”
“When asked why he did it, Robinson explained there is too much evil and the guy (Charlie Kirk) spreads too much hate,” charging documents say. “They talked about Robinson turning himself in and convinced Robinson to speak with a family friend who is a retired deputy sheriff. At Robinson’s father’s request, the family friend met with Robinson and his parents and convinced Robinson to turn himself in.”
On Sept. 11, Robinson went to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office in southern Utah with his parents and the family friend.
This story was originally produced by Utah News Dispatch, which is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network which includes Wisconsin Examiner, and is supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity.
Law enforcement officials asked the public for help identifying a college-age man who they said is a person of interest in the death of Charlie Kirk. (Photos courtesy of FBI)
A suspect in Charlie Kirk’s fatal shooting is in custody, federal and state officials announced Friday morning.
Law enforcement arrested Tyler Robinson, a 22-year-old Washington County resident. He was booked into the Utah County Jail for investigation of aggravated murder and felony discharge of a firearm, both first-degree felonies, and obstruction of justice, a second-degree felony.
“We got him,” Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said in a news conference Friday morning.
Aggravated murder is a capital crime in Utah, reserved for particularly heinous murders involving torture, sex crimes and assassinations, and if sentenced, Robinson could be executed. Cox said twice this week that prosecutors will be pursuing the death penalty. Robinson is currently being held without bail.
Kirk, a widely known and often polarizing conservative activist known for debating students on college campuses, was shot and killed during a Turning Point USA public speaking event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday, unleashing a search that involved more than 20 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. The FBI also offered a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to the shooter.
According to a probable cause affidavit filed by investigators, one of Robinson’s family members reached out to a family friend on Thursday evening — that family friend contacted the Washington County Sheriff’s Office “with information that Robinson had confessed to them or implied that he had committed the incident.”
Investigators at the FBI and Utah Valley University reviewed surveillance footage from the university and identified Robinson arriving on campus in a gray Dodge Challenger at about 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday.
Robinson was also seen in surveillance footage wearing a “Converse/Chuck Taylor” shoe, according to the affidavit. When investigators encountered him in person early Friday morning, they note in court documents that Robinson “was observed in consistent clothing with the surveillance images.”
A family member who talked with investigators said Robinson had become more political in recent years and that prior to Wednesday, he had mentioned Kirk’s visit to Utah Valley University. He has no prior criminal history, according to court documents.
Court documents also detail a recent family dinner prior to the Sept. 10 shooting, where Robinson “mentioned Charlie Kirk was coming to UVU. They talked about why they didn’t like him and the viewpoints he had. The family member also stated Kirk was full of hate and spreading hate. The family member also confirmed Robinson had a grey Dodge Challenger.”
Robinson was not currently a student at Utah Valley University. He is a third-year student in the electrical apprenticeship program at Dixie Technical College, the Utah Board of Higher Education confirmed.
Law enforcement also spoke with Robinson’s roommate, who shared Discord messages from Robinson “stating a need to retrieve a rifle from a drop point, leaving the rifle in a bush, messages related to visually watching the area where a rifle was left, and a message referring to having left the rifle wrapped in a towel.”
The gun, Cox said, was a Mauser .30-06 bolt-action rifle, a gun capable of shooting long distances, often used for hunting deer or elk.
Messages reviewed by law enforcement also referred to engraving bullets. Cox said inscriptions found on the shell casings included messages like “Hey fascist! Catch!” and “bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao” and “if you read this, you are gay LMAO.”
The governor said he didn’t have information about whether Robinson suffered from a mental illness.
Charging documents may be filed early next week, Cox said.
“This is a very sad day for, again, for our country, a terrible day for the state of Utah, but I’m grateful that at this moment, we have an opportunity to bring closure to this very dark chapter in our nation’s history,” Cox said.
The FBI is still pursuing the over 7,000 leads that it had received as of Friday morning, FBI Director Kash Patel said during the news conference.
Patel, who traveled to Utah during the investigation, thanked the governor and the local law enforcement agencies for resolving the case.
Forensic evidence has been analyzed in different FBI labs across the country, and state and local authorities will continue to process evidence, Patel said.
“In less than 36 hours, 33 to be precise, thanks to the full weight of the federal government and leading out with the partners here in the state of Utah and Gov. Cox, the suspect was apprehended in a historic time period,” Patel said.
Earlier on Friday morning, President Donald Trump said a suspect was in custody.
“I think, with a high degree of certainty, we have him,” he said on Fox News.
Cox, who has championed a campaign to combat polarization, argued this incident was about the “political assassination of Charlie Kirk,” he said.
“But it is also much bigger than an attack on an individual. It is an attack on all of us. It is an attack on the American experiment. It is an attack on our ideals. This cuts to the very foundation of who we are, of who we have been and who we could be in better times,” Cox said.
The fatal attack on Kirk may make it harder for people to feel like they can speak freely, the governor said. And, without a safe way to discuss opposing views, the country won’t be able to solve issues, “including the violence problems that people are worried about.”
“To my young friends out there, you are inheriting a country where politics feels like rage. It feels like rage is the only option,” Cox said. “But through those words, we have a reminder that we can choose a different path. Your generation has an opportunity to build a culture that is very different than what we are suffering through right now.”
Whether this is a turning point for the best or worst, is yet to be seen, Cox said. But, after gory videos of Kirk’s shooting became widespread, he also called social media “a cancer on our society” and encouraged people to “log off, turn off, touch grass, hug a family member, go out and do good in your community.”
This story was originally produced by Utah News Dispatch, which is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network which includes Wisconsin Examiner, and is supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity.
The Cole family and their attorney's talk to press outside the federal courthouse. (Photo by Isiah Holmes/Wisconsin Examiner)
For the second time, a federal trial in the 2020 shooting death of Alvin Cole by then-Wauwatosa police officer Joseph Mensah ended in a hung jury on Thursday. Deliberations began shortly after 5 p.m. on Wednesday, going until around 8 p.m. Jurors returned Thursday morning, and deliberated for a total of nearly 10 hours, more than doubling the amount of time deliberations lasted during the first trial, before deciding that they were hopelessly deadlocked. Plaintiff attorneys asked the jury for a total of $9 million ($5 million in compensatory damages, and $4 million in punitive damages), a figure far lower than the $22 million they asked for last time.
Following the trial, Mensah attorney Joseph Wirth said “it’s still proven a difficult case for the jury to reach a conclusion.” Wirth and his partner, attorney Jasmyne Baynard, declined to talk about settlement discussions with the media, but said they plan to talk to the jurors. “We have felt strongly about the merits of this case,” said Baynard. “I’ve felt strongly about my representation of Joseph Mensah and every other police officer that I represent. Feel strongly about his actions in this situation, and we’re going to go forward under that belief.”
Cole family attorneys Kimberly Motley and Nate Cade said that while they wanted a different outcome, “We are pleased that it was a hung jury.” Motley stressed that “it’s important for the public to be aware that Joseph Mensah killed three people in five years as a Wauwatosa police officer, that’s really important, and that this jury did not believe what he was saying. Now we have a jury that came back — and they were hung — but they deliberated longer, they had more evidence, and the evidence is just not good for him.” Motley said that Mensah’s story “doesn’t make sense.”
During deliberations, jurors asked for transcripts of interviews of officers on the scene of the Cole shooting conducted by the Milwaukee Area Investigative Team (MAIT), a request initially denied by Judge Adelman, due to questions about whether the interviews had been admitted as evidence. Later, Adelman reversed his decision and allowed the jury to see MAIT interviews of officers David Shamsi and Evan Olson. The two officers gave contradicting statements to MAIT investigators in 2020 about whether Cole moved or pointed his gun shortly before Mensah fired. Jurors also asked for Mensah’s deposition testimony, in which plaintiff attorneys say Mensah implied that when he fired on Cole, he was only concerned about his own safety. On the stand this week, Mensah said that he fired to protect himself and everyone else around Mayfair Mall.
Throughout the trial, defense attorneys argued that the unrecorded officer interviews by MAIT were little more than hearsay, and attempted to limit the jury’s access to them. Besides arguing that MAIT reports are hearsay in the second trial, defense attorneys noted in the first trial that officers are not under oath when they talk to investigators after a police shooting. The debates in court raised questions about the policies and practices that MAIT relies on when investigating officer-involved deaths, which also inform whether prosecutors will charge officers with crimes after killing civilians.
Baynard said that “I don’t think that we’re in a position to comment on MAIT’s investigation, and truly that was not really an issue in this case to be decided, so no, I don’t have any issues.” Baynard added that, “I have seen plenty of MAIT investigations, I have seen plenty of investigations done by the [state Division of Criminal Investigation], I think they did a fine investigation here. I think that sometimes people forget that officers in these situations are afforded the exact same rights as anybody else would be afforded, and beyond that I’m not really interested in commenting on MAIT’s protocol.”
Cade stressed that the MAIT statements “are not heresy, ’cause they’re the statements.” Calling the heresy argument “nonsense”, Cade said that the problem with MAIT “is that they allow the officers to make decisions about it being recorded.” While Cade accepts that Mensah himself may have Fifth Amendment rights in such a case he said “the other officers don’t”. By contrast, civilian witnesses are recorded far more often than officers after police shootings. “Why do they bend over backwards for officers who are not even directly involved in terms of shooting,” asked Cade. “That’s a handicap. They said that MAIT was supposed to be designed to give the public confidence. How can you have confidence if you’re not going to tape officer’s conversations, so we know exactly what they said?”
Wirth said that Mensah “is absolutely disappointed that we weren’t able to obtain a verdict today,” adding that Mensah is no longer in law enforcement, “and it weighs heavily on him.” Wirth said “it’s a very important case to the Cole family, it’s a very important case to Joseph Mensah.”
On Wednesday defense attorneys called Joshua Boye, a video editor and graphic designer who reviewed squad car video from the Cole shooting. Boye testified that he had been paid by defense attorneys to edit the video as they directed by modifying audio, adjusting color and contrast, and adding a “spotlight” around Cole as he ran.
During cross examination, plaintiff attorneys drew attention to a timestamp in Boye’s video which does not appear in the raw version, leading plaintiff attorneys to question whether Boye had been given an altered version by defense attorneys. Later on, when this issue was raised again, Judge Adelman said that he hadn’t seen anything to suggest that the video had been tampered with. Boye repeatedly said that any edits he made to the video were done “at the direction of attorneys.”
Wauwatosa officer Evan Olson, who was one of the officers who responded to Mayfair Mall the night that Cole was killed, testified as uniformed Wauwatosa officers flowed into the courtroom to sit around Mensah’s wife, as they had during each day of the trial. A Wauwatosa PD spokesperson said in a statement to Wisconsin Examiner that “some officers chose to attend the trial in uniform to show their support for a former colleague, which is not uncommon in high-profile cases. Their attendance was voluntary and did not impact patrol staffing or the department’s ability to respond to calls of service.”
Cole’s family, as well as the parents of Jay Anderson Jr., Mensah’s second fatal shooting in 2016, also attended every day of the trial. Motley and Cade took issue with the presence of uniformed Wauwatosa officers. “This isn’t the city of Wauwatosa,” said Motley, “so I was kind of concerned about what was happening in the city of Wauwatosa with all these police officers that came in uniform to sit in court for hours and hours, for a person who no longer works for Wauwatosa as a police officer, and is no longer a Wauwatosa officer period. So I think that the taxpayers should demand why that happened.”
Cade called the uniformed officers’ presence intimidating for the jury. “We aren’t allowed to say anything about the thin blue line and backing the blue, but it was obvious,” he said. During the first trial plaintiff attorneys were told that the Cole family was not allowed to wear any clothing with messages about Alvin.
Olson testified that he arrived at Mayfair Mall responding to a report about disorderly conduct involving a gun. After arriving, Olson immediately encountered at least two teens who were part of Cole’s group, and ordered them to the ground. Off in the distance, he could see Cole running from officers and mall security, before hearing a single shot. Olson testified to seeing Cole “in what I would say is a low ready position,” similar to a stance taken in football. He said that Cole pointed a firearm at him, making him move out of the way of what he thought would be more gunfire, and prepare to shoot himself. Olson called Cole a “lethal threat”, and said that after Mensah fired, Cole went from the football-like position to lying prone on the ground. Plaintiff attorneys argued that Olson was seeing Cole in the act of falling. Olson kicked the gun from Cole’s hand and assisted in CPR.
Olson, Mensah and Shamsi gave contradicting statements, opening the door for the trial. Both Olson and Mensah said that the gun was pointed in their directions, but they were positioned on opposite sides of the parking lot. Shamsi, who was the closest officer to Cole, testified that Cole and the gun didn’t move after Cole fell. Olson said he didn’t think other officers who didn’t see the gun move were lying. Every officer testified that foot pursuits are dangerous, unpredictable situations especially when guns are involved.
When Olson left the stand, he took a seat in the gallery near Mensah’s wife and the other Wauwatosa officers. Olson, like the rest of the officers, was uniformed every day of the trial. On Thursday, when the jury continued deliberations, Olson and a Wauwatosa police sergeant came to court in civilian clothes.
Sarah Hopkins, a civilian witness, claimed to have been outside the Cheesecake Factory restaurant when she saw Cole being chased by mall security. Hopkins said that Cole stopped running at one point, making her think that he was surrendering, but then that he turned and pointed a gun at the officers. Hopkins said that Cole “was like fumbling around” and that “all of a sudden we hear rapid shots.” Plaintiff attorneys questioned the fact that Hopkins described Cole doing a motion which no one else described seeing. Davion Beard, a former Mayfair Mall security guard, initially helped to locate the group of teens, and participated in the foot chase. Beard, who ran track, testified to essentially being the closest person to Cole with just a foot or two separating them. When the first shot was fired, Beard said he dropped to the ground, with Shamsi not far behind him, and that he didn’t see Cole crawl, turn his body, or point a gun.
Testimony concluded with Mensah’s attorneys calling Michael Knetzger, a certified instructor in Defense and Arrest Tactics (DAAT) and former Green Bay police officer. Knetzger repeatedly implied that the jurors should put themselves in Mensah’s mindset at the moment of the shooting. When cross examined, plaintiff attorneys drew attention to Knetzger’s lack of “real world experience” dealing with shootings and homicides, and that his doctorate and degrees had come from online universities including one that marketed itself as the nation’s “most affordable online Christian University.”
During closing arguments Cade reminded the jury that Cole was a kid who made stupid decisions like many young people, including his own sons who Cade called “knuckleheads.” Cade stressed that “for Joseph Mensah to be right, everybody else has to be wrong,” referring to the testimony from multiple officers, Beard, and other witnesses that Cole had not turned toward Mensah or moved after he fell to the ground. Cade said that Olson testified to support his friend Mensah, and that Mensah himself had incentive to change his story.
Attorney Baynard, representing the defense, said that Cole made “catastrophically dangerous” decisions which went beyond the sort of mistakes people make when they’re young. Baynard said that “police are not required to gamble with their lives”, and that while Cole’s death was tragic, “we are in court today because of his actions.” Baynard said that “Cole was in control of the situation” and that “he was driving the bus”, saying in her closing argument that “I’m not sure how many more opportunities he should have been given to comply.” Baynard described the turning motion Cole allegedly made as “a quick shift,” and made claims about prior witness testimony which Cade later refuted.
The Cole family said they are undeterred by Thursday’s hung jury. “We’re a strong united family,” said Tracy Cole, Alvin’s mother. Despite the hung jury, Cole said that she is encouraged because “somebody sees that my son was killed for no reason,” and that she believed her son was killed as he attempted to surrender.
“We are going to fight you Joseph, we ain’t gave up Joseph,” she added. “And my lawyers ain’t gave up.”
Motley echoed the sentiment. “It’s a good result,” she said of the hung jury, “and we’re going to keep fighting…because this is an important case.”
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Derrick Van Orden at an online press conference last year discussing crimes committed in his hometown by a Venezuelan immigrant. Van Orden's social media posts following the assassination of Charlie Kirk blame Democrat and journalists and predict 'civil war.'| (Screenshot via Zoom)
Fruitless thoughts and prayers. Familiar calls for de-escalating toxic partisanship. Promises to do something about the teen mental health crisis, violent video games, the epidemic of alienation and hopelessness. By now we are all accustomed to the ritual reactions to routine incidents of horrific gun violence that plague our country like no other wealthy nation on Earth, where firearms are the leading cause of death for children.
But if the usual, feckless responses to gun violence are maddening in a country that can’t get its act together to pass even marginal, commonsense gun safety measures, the reaction of Wisconsin U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden to the hideous assassination of rightwing provocateur Charlie Kirk this week was downright reprehensible.
As soon as the news broke that Kirk was shot while on stage at Utah Valley University, Van Orden began a stream of increasingly unhinged social media posts blaming Democrats and the media for the murder and declaring “the gloves are off.”
“The leftwing political violence must stop now,” Van Orden tweeted. In another post he wrote, “The left and their policies are leading America into a civil war. And they want it. Just like the democrat party wanted our 1st civil war.”
Contrast that with the statements from other Wisconsin politicians.
Wisconsin U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin said, “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.”
Van Orden’s fellow Wisconsin Republican, U.S. Rep. Tony Wied said, “There is absolutely zero place for political violence in our country.”
“Violence against anyone because of their political beliefs is wrong. Violence against others is wrong,” Gov. Tony Evers said. “Violence is never the answer for resolving our differences or disagreements. Wisconsin joins in praying for Charlie Kirk and the Utah Valley community and first responders.”
None of those statements mollified Van Orden, who told reporters in the U.S. Capitol that “every one of you” is responsible for Kirk’s death.
Reposting a news clip of Democratic Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries, who called for the nation to de-escalate political violence and come together, Van Orden wrote, “Too late. You have sown the wind.”
“I am not sure they understand what they have done,” Van Orden ranted. “They missed in Butler, but it is on now.”
Never mind that in Butler, Pennsylvania, the would-be assassin who targeted President Donald Trump was a registered Republican. Or that, as Van Orden spewed accusations against Democrats and journalists, the identity of the shooter who targeted Charlie Kirk was still unknown. When a reporter pointed that out to Van Orden, he replied, “You know what? Knock it off.”
Actually, it’s Van Orden who needs to knock it off.
Seizing on political violence to try to stoke more political violence is as dangerous as it is disgusting.
Far from recognizing the human tragedy for all of us as our country descends into this nightmare, Van Orden capitalizes on murder, whether the victims are liberals or conservatives, imposing the same crude narrative about a war with violent leftists every time.
After the horrible double murder of Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark, Van Orden falsely characterized the suspected shooter, a right-wing religious fanatic whose list of intended targets included Democrats and abortion providers, as an anti-Trump protester who “decided to murder and attempt to murder some politicians that were not far Left enough for them.”
He seems to revel in the prospect of more violence. Unfortunately, his tone is matched by Trump, who issued his own threatening statement, politicizing the attack and claiming that it is part of a pattern of leftwing attacks on conservatives. “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.”
Of course, it is Trump who has a long history of inviting political violence against Democrats and members of the press. Van Orden is copying him by escalating that rhetoric in Wisconsin.
Online, Van Orden’s belligerent posts got mixed reviews. Some people demanded that he explain what he means when he says “the gloves are off,” condemning him for encouraging hooliganism. “So you plan on using this to start Civil War II?” one person posted. “You don’t think things through before you say them.
You people fantasize about killing your fellow Americans like it’s a full-time job.”
Others celebrated his statements. “No other way to fix it at this point,” one of Van Orden’s followers replied to his post. “We need a 2-3 day national purge. We do business with whatever is left of the left.” Appended to the comment was a GIF celebrating Kyle Rittenhouse for shooting Black Lives Matter protesters in Kenosha.
It’s unlikely that Van Orden, who has been unwilling to face his own constituents at an in-person town hall will actually lead the violent attacks against his fellow Americans he fantasizes about online. But feeding that violent fantasy is clearly inspiring for some people. And that’s exactly why it’s got to stop.
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President Donald Trump speaks during a Sept. 11th observance event in the courtyard of the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2025, the 24th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks that claimed the lives of nearly 3,000 people. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump honored slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk as he remembered the victims of Sept. 11 during a ceremony Thursday in Virginia, and announced he would posthumously award the popular figure the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Kirk, the late co-founder and head of the political advocacy organization Turning Point USA, was fatally shot Wednesday while speaking on a college campus in Utah.
Trump described the attack as a “heinous assassination” and told a crowd gathered at the Pentagon that Kirk, 31, was “a giant of his generation, a champion of liberty and an inspiration to millions and millions of people.”
“We miss him greatly. Yet I have no doubt that Charlie’s voice and the courage he put into the hearts of countless people, especially young people, will live on,” Trump said.
Trump said the ceremony to posthumously award Kirk the highest civilian honor has not yet been scheduled but that he expects “a very big crowd.”
In recalling the deadliest attack on the United States, Trump said the “entire world came crashing down” for loved ones of the 2,977 victims.
“In the quarter of a century since those acts of mass murder, 9/11 family members have felt the weight of missed birthdays and empty bedrooms, journals left unfinished and dreams left unfulfilled,” Trump said. “To every member that still feels a void every day of your lives, the First Lady and I unite with you in sorrow and today, as one nation, we renew our sacred vow that we will never forget September 11, 2001.”
The president delivered remarks following Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who praised Kirk as a “good and faithful servant.”
Hegseth said when faced with the tragic memory of 9/11 he finds hope in the “future of our great nation,” and invoked Kirk.
“The young soldiers who take the oath give me hope. The young cops who wear the badge give me hope. The young firefighters who answer the call give me hope. The young agents who patrol our border give me hope. The life, example, and even death of Christ-follower and American patriot Charlie Kirk give me hope, sheer courage, no matter the arena,” Hegseth said.
Vice President JD Vance, who had been scheduled to attend the 24th observance of 9/11 at Ground Zero in New York City, changed his travel plans to visit with Kirk’s family in Utah and fly with his casket to Arizona on Air Force Two, according to multiple media reports.
Trump did not cancel a scheduled visit to a New York Yankees game Thursday night as part of a 9/11 commemoration.
Vance issued a lengthy statement on social media Wednesday night sharing the story of his friendship with Kirk, including an acknowledgement they were both skeptical of Trump in 2016 before joining the president’s political agenda.
“So much of the success we’ve had in this administration traces directly to Charlie’s ability to organize and convene. He didn’t just help us win in 2024, he helped us staff the entire government,” Vance wrote.
Kirk’s advocacy organization worked with Trump’s 2024 campaign to mobilize young voters in the November election.
On Wednesday, Kirk was on the first of a 15-stop “American Comeback Tour” that was scheduled next week for events at Colorado State University.
The zealous political figure was known for his outreach and events on college campuses. According to Turning Point USA, the organization has started over 1,000 chapters in high schools and 800 on college campuses across the U.S.
Kirk’s killing is the latest in a string of politically motivated violence in recent years.
A man fatally shot former Minnesota Speaker of the House Melissa Hortman, a Democrat, and her husband in June. The alleged gunman, Vance Boelter, also shot and injured Democratic state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife. Boelter had in his possession several weapons and a list of several Minnesota and federal lawmakers, including some of their home addresses, according to authorities.
During last year’s presidential campaign, a 20-year-old gunman attempted to assassinate Trump during an event in Pennsylvania. Just over two months later, another man attempted to shoot Trump at his golf course in Florida.
In 2022, a man wielding a hammer and zip ties broke into then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s home and fractured the skull of Paul Pelosi, the Democratic leader’s husband.
On Jan. 6, 2021, thousands of people stormed the U.S. Capitol to stop the certification of the 2020 presidential election results. At least seven people died during or shortly after the attack and approximately 140 police officers were injured by the rioters.
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.
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.
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 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.”
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.
This story was originally produced by Utah News Dispatch, which is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network which includes Wisconsin Examiner, and is supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity.
Gov. Tim Walz speaks after the end of the special session in June Tuesday, June 10, 2025 at the Minnesota State Capitol. (Photo by Nicole Neri/Minnesota Reformer)
Gov. Tim Walz made it clear he intends to run for an unprecedented third, four-year term in front of a group of a 100 or so Democratic donors Tuesday, according to two people who were there.
In his speech at the Iron Ranger bar in St. Paul, Walz said something to the effect of “you’re all here making contributions, and you probably know I’m not going to run off to Mexico with your money, so look out for an announcement,” according to a source who attended the fundraiser and whose account was confirmed by another person there.
“He made it clear he is moving in that direction,” said a person in attendance.
The Reformer spoke to four people who were at the fundraiser or who have spoken to Walz about his plans in recent days. They were granted anonymity because they were not authorized by their employers to speak publicly.
Walz has also told several people privately but definitively that he will run again, and he will make a campaign announcement next week.
A Walz spokesman declined to comment.
A DFL source who was at the event said Walz was thrown off by the June killing of Rep. Melissa Hortman, who was a friend and governing partner. But the recent mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church, where schoolchildren were gathered for a celebratory Mass, “lit a fire in him” because he wants to provide leadership during another vulnerable moment in Minnesota history.
Despite the advantages of incumbency, a robust fundraising operation and his own natural political skills, winning a third term won’t be easy.
Walz would have to defend a lengthy record, during which he’s governed during some of the state’s worst crises: The pandemic and resulting academic declines; the murder of George Floyd and the uprising and rioting that followed; a spike in crime that has since subsided; emerging fiscal instability; and, finally, the political violence that took the life of Hortman and her husband Mark and badly wounded state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife Yvette.
Another crisis has been state government’s own making: A wave of fraud in public programs is sure to be a centerpiece of the Republican campaign against him.
Rep. Kristin Robbins, a Republican candidate for governor from Maple Grove and currently chair of the Minnesota House’s fraud prevention committee, said Walz has allowed rampant fraud in his own agencies.
“A third Walz term would be a disaster, and I’m stepping up to make sure that doesn’t happen,” Robbins said in a statement to the Reformer. “I am committed to stopping the fraud, restoring fiscal responsibility and bringing back common-sense leadership so the state works for Minnesotans, not against them.”
Scott Jensen, the 2022 GOP nominee for governor, and Kendall Qualls, an army veteran and health care executive, are also running as GOP candidates. In a statement, Qualls said, “Walz’s first two terms as governor have been nothing but a failure.”
Recent polling suggests that Walz remains popular with Minnesotans, but they are less pleased with the idea of him running for a third term. A June KSTP poll found that only 43% of Minnesotans surveyed say he should run again.
Despite Walz’s challenges, he has also enjoyed the highest of highs: A surprisingly easy 2022 reelection and a Democratic-Farmer-Labor trifecta that resulted in a bevy of legislative victories, from free school meals to drivers licenses for undocumented people, legal marijuana to huge investments in transportation and housing. He parlayed that record and a few high-profile national media appearances to emerge as Kamala Harris’ surprising pick to be her vice presidential nominee.
A national media and public speaking tour earlier this year fueled speculation about a 2028 presidential run, but he’s already said he won’t run if he wins a third term.
The last time Minnesota voters were faced with a governor seeking a third term, they rejected Iron Range Democrat Gov. Rudy Perpich in 1990.
This story was originally produced by Minnesota Reformer, which is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network which includes Wisconsin Examiner, and is supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity.
Michele Gay, co-founder of Safe and Sound Schools and mother to a student who was killed in the 2014 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, is attending the Transporting Students with Disabilities and Special Needs (TSD) Conference in November to talk about safety for all students in all educational settings, including the school bus.
At her TSD keynote on Friday, Nov. 9, Gay will discuss “Developmentally Appropriate Safety Education” and how schools can develop safety curriculum and training that supports and accommodates the unique needs of students and staff of all ages, abilities and educational levels. During her keynote, Gay looks to empower student transportation professionals to provide the appropriate kinds of training that will ensure student safety.
She will discuss how transportation can prepare staff to quickly and safely handle situations on or near the school bus, while keeping the physical and psychological safety of the students as the focal goal. As a very visible sign of students’ presence, the school bus can often be a target, and Gay looks to equip student transporters to protect the “rolling classroom” and the students onboard.
Gay began her work in the educational field as an elementary school teacher at the age of 21. She became a mom of three. She described one daughter, Josephine Grace or “Joey” as she was affectionally called, as “especially special” with many unique traits that came along with an autism diagnosis. Gay said she lived the day-to-day experiences of supporting a child with visual impairment, apraxia of speech, fine and gross motor skills. She shared that her daughter always made the most of life and that her goal as a mother and educator was to help her daughter navigate the world with those unique challenges.
Gay was a guest on the School Transportation Podcast, where she shared more about the reason why behind her work for student safety. Listen to the full episode here.
After the devastating shooting Dec. 12, 2014, and Joey’s murder along with that of 19 other 6- and 7-year-old students and six adult school staff members, Gay and her family was faced with the heartbreaking reality of the dangers that students encounter. She then founded Safe and Sound Schools, a national non-profit school safety advocacy and resource center, alongside Alissa Parker, who lost her daughter Emilie in the Sandy Hook shooting. Since then, Gay has been sharing how communities can create a comprehensive and sustainable approach to safety.
An experienced and educated advocate, Gay has a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction. She has addressed national audiences through media outlets, schools, law enforcement agencies and more. She continues to be a leading advocate for student safety, inspired by Josephine and all children like her.
Save $100 on main conference registration with the Early Bird Discount, available through Oct.4. The TSD Conference will be held Nov. 6 through Nov. 11 at Embassy Suites Dallas-Frisco Hotel and Convention Center Visit tsdconference.com to register and view the conference agenda, which includes four keynotes and dozens of educational sessions all focused on transportation of students with special needs.
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Related: TSD Conference Topics Plan to Cover Unique Aspects of Transporting Students
The post Mother of Sandy Hook Victim Brings Student Safety Message to TSD appeared first on School Transportation News.
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