The murder of Charlie Kirk will have far-reaching consequences. They’re already coming into focus. A universe of disinformation and conspiracy theories is one of them.
Regardless of the truth, the damage is already done.
The Wall Street Journal carelessly reported yesterday that investigators discovered the shooter’s bullets and rifle were engraved “with expressions of transgender and antifascist ideology.” An obviously suspicious, and convenient detail, given Kirk’s political ideologies. While the claim has not been fully retracted the publication did note: “the bulletin may not accurately reflect the messages on the ammunition” and urged caution against reaching conclusions.
Unfortunately, the article was engaged with millions of times, and the right wing media ecosystem erupted into a predictable frenzy. Joey Marrino, a far right influencer, posted on X: “If the person who killed Charlie Kirk was a transgender, there can be no mercy for that species any longer.” He has 639k followers.
It’s not hard to follow the undercurrent of where this is leading.
Kirk is already being martyred by pundits and politicians alike, a canonization that will inadvertently provide a permission structure for reciprocal violence, while at the same time accelerate the authoritarian project currently underway. It’s worth noting that Washington DC now sits under federal occupation partly because the DOGE staffer “Big Balls” was beat up near Dupont Circle by a 15 year old.
Yesterday alone, two of Virginia’s HBCUs, Virginia State and Hampton University, were forced to close after unspecified threats against their campuses. A short time later, a bomb threat was called into the Democratic National Committee in Washington DC. The same was true for Michigan’s Lt. Governor, Garlin Gilchrist, who also had a bomb threat placed against his family’s home.
It is unlikely this is a coincidence. And as this list continues to grow, it will be harder to separate these incidents from the outcome of Kirk’s murder.
Adding to the tension, President Trump’s remarks on Wednesday night were equally as polarizing: “Those on the radical left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the world’s worst mass murderers and criminals.” He added that this rhetoric was responsible for the “terrorism we’re seeing in our country today.”
Terrorism.
A word loaded with implications at a time when the National Guard and federal agencies are being weaponized against Democratic cities. In the past 48 hours, the president and his allies have already called for a crackdown against political opponents. “My administration will find each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity and to other political violence, including the organizations that fund it and support it.”
By using this framing, a dangerous threshold is being crossed. The implication isn’t that this was a lone gunmen, but someone who was part of an organization that was funded to conduct political violence. In other words, even without knowing the motivation of the shooter, this was some kind of terrorist conspiracy.
Terrorism. Organizations.
This was echoed by Lara Loomer, another conservative influencer, who publicly torpedoed an intelligence briefing scheduled by Virginia Senator Mark Warner, vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, almost two weeks ago. “We must shut these lunatic leftists down,” she said. “The left is a national security threat.”
She has 1.7 million followers.
Terrorism. Organizations. National Security Threat.
Benny Johnson went all in on the idea of martyrdom: “Charlie Kirk is a martyr. And martyrs only become more powerful.” He continued: “For Charlie. American Martyr. Christian Soldier. May we defeat the evil that stole him from us. So help us, God.”
He has 3.8 million followers.
Terrorism. Organizations. National Security Threat. Defeat Evil.
Alex Jones, America’s most persistent conspiracy theorists has already declared, “We’re in a war.” Steve Bannon, repeated those sentiments, saying, “We have to have steely resolve. Charlie Kirk’s a casualty of war. We’re at war in this country.” Jack Posobiec, equally promised, “retribution.”
Alex Jones, Steve Bannon, and Jack Posobiec have a combined 7,664,300 followers.
Terrorism. Organizations. National Security Threat. Defeat Evil. War. Retribution.
The narrative is writing itself, there will be more incitement to political violence. That’s the inevitable outcome of martyrdom. America has been here before in the 1960s and ’70s, but the difference is there’s no longer a deescalation mechanism within our politics. The murder of Charlie Kirk will just provide another justification to weaponize anger and fear without the necessary pressure release.
On the other side, Democrats, rightly, have condemned all political violence and their outpouring of condolences are sincere. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro ordered flags at half-mast until Sunday. California Governor Gavin Newsom has been equally magnanimous. Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger posted to X: “Adam and I are praying for Charlie and his family. Political violence of any kind is unacceptable.”
Some Republicans like Congressman Don Bacon and Senator Thom Tillis are also calling for unity, but they are the exception.
Mainstream media has been much more supine, treating Kirk’s murder as if he were a head of state rather than just a political influencer. On Wednesday, MSNBC fired analyst Matthew Dowd for simply observing Kirk’s brand of politics, “You can’t stop with these sort of awful thoughts you have, and then saying these awful words and not expect awful actions to take place.” There has even a call by Virginia’s Lt. Governor, Winsom Earl-Sears to fire Chesterfield Schools’ dean of students for simply acknowledging the inconsistency in Kirk’s stance on school shootings.
Unironically, the well wishes were not as universal for the deaths of Minnesota House Democrat Melissa Hortman, her husband, and their golden retriever, murdered by a man impersonating a police officer; in fact, conservative influencers openly mocked her death. As they did with the attack on Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul, by a man with a hammer.
Lowering the temperature and deescalating tensions is critically important right now. But it might be too late. Not when one side is intent on martyrdom and refuses to give an inch of reciprocity, even as Democrats and mainstream media extend an excessive amount of grace to Kirk and his family.
Terrorism. Organizations. National Security Threat. Defeat Evil. War. Retribution.
This has become a zero-sum game where only one side is actually playing the game.
We’re heading into a dark period in America. Kirk should still be alive; all political violence is abhorrent. But we shouldn’t be forced to mourn Charlie Kirk because of the demands of right wing media influencers who are enabling an authoritarian project, while simultaneously calling for war against its own citizens. Accepting the martyrdom of a man who built a career peddling extremist views on race, gender, immigrants, science, along with being an election denier, simply because those views have been mainstreamed is exactly why we’re in this position.
Instead, we should mourn political violence. We should mourn the unnecessary death of another individual who, like so many others, died from easy access to guns. But more importantly, we should mourn for America—for what we’re becoming, where we’re headed, and the lengths we will go to tear ourselves apart.
