Another stunning outbreak of political violence. Another aftermath filled with more hatred and rhetoric from both sides following conservative activist Charlie Kirk's murder Wednesday on a Utah college campus.
Charlie Kirk is being honored on the campus of Carnegie Mellon University and other colleges across the county a day after he was shot and killed during an event at
Republican students at Carnegie Mellon University have used a long-standing tradition for exercising free speech by painting the campus fence by honoring Charlie Kirk.
The fence is painted in black with white lettering and the message on one side reads, “Say no to political violence.”
The other side says reads “rest in peace Charlie Kirk.”
One CMU student tells KDKA Radio, “whether you agree with Charlie Kirk or not, I don’t think anybody should be killed for their beliefs in America. I think that’s what America is solely built on.”
University protocols allow the fence to be painted daily from midnight to sunrise.
It's coming as a shock for Americans, and also in Minnesota, including across several collegiate campuses where his Turning Point USA organization has chapters.
Christopher Flemming is a senior at St. Olaf Collage in Northfield, and the president of the university's Turning Point USA chapter.
"To see someone you know, that like, I could see myself emulating or trying to be like, to see him die in that way, it's really scary," Flemming told WCCO-TV.
The murder hits close to home for Minnesota's political figures
Meanwhile the family of Minnesota State Senator John Hoffman released a statement following Kirk's murder. Hoffman and his wife were the targets of alleged political assassin Vance Boelter, who shot them in their home and also shot and killed former Minnesota Speaker of the House Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark.
"America is broken and political violence endangers our lives and democracy," says the statement from Hoffman. "The assassination of Charlie Kirk today is only the latest act that our country cannot continue to accept. Our leaders of both parties must not only tone down their own rhetoric, but they must begin to call out extreme, aggressive and violent dialog that foments these attacks on our republic and freedom. We also call on leaders of both parties to take immediate action to prevent gun violence. Our prayers are with the Kirk family, our state and our country."
Kirk's death also drawing reaction from other Minnesota Republicans and Democrats,
Minnesota Senator Julia Coleman (R- Waconia) told WCCO-TV that she worked for Kirk after college and that he was a mentor to her.
"People knew Charlie the pundit and Charlie the political activist," says Coleman. "I knew Charlie the man of faith."