As of this writing, the person who shot and killed Charlie Kirk, the founder of the highly influential conservative organization Turning Point USA, on Wednesday during his “America Comeback Tour” at Utah Valley University, is still at large; their motivation a mystery. While numerous studies over the past 10-15 years have shown that the extreme right is responsible for most political murders and attempted murders in this country, it didn’t take long for the right to weaponize Kirk’s murder.
While the weapon, a high-powered bolt-action rifle, has been recovered, the hunt for the shooter goes on. Law enforcement officials also announced this morning that they believe they have video of the suspect, and that they have tracked his movements before and after the shooting.
As veteran investigative reporter David Weir noted on his Substack this morning: “It’s likely only a matter of time before they apprehend him. Then, and only then will a motive possibly be discovered, assuming the suspect survives his arrest.”
Weaponizing Kirk’s Murder
It didn’t take long for the president and some on the far right to weaponize Kirk’s shocking murder. President Trump and a cohort of right-wing politicians and influencers are claiming Democrats have “blood on their hands.” Some are calling for mass arrests of Democrats and leftists.
Trump railed only against “radical left-wing political violence”; Elon Musk claimed, “The Left is the party of murder”; Silicon Valley’s Shaun Maguire said “the Left lectured us for the last decade about the dangers of violence from the Right” but “the danger was actually on the Left.”
(Whatever happened to “thoughts and prayers” being the right’s first response? And their usual response after a horrific shooting: “it’s too soon to inject politics into shootings”?)
Political Violence: The Facts Point to America’s Right
At these moments, which hopefully will not be an inflection point for more political violence, it is important to look at some facts.
While there have been incidents of leftist violence, studies have consistently shown that the vast majority of extremist-related murders were committed by the far-right.
At the Zeteo Substack Medhi Hasan pointed out a series of recent right-wing violent actions:
* The man who targeted and killed Democratic state lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark in their home in Minnesota in June was a Trump supporter.
* The man charged with the attempted assassination of Pennsylvania’s Democratic governor Josh Shapiro in April was a Trump supporter.
* The man convicted of orchestrating a series of shootings at the homes of four Democratic elected officials in New Mexico in 2022 was a Trump supporter.
* The man who tried to kidnap then Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosiand assaulted her husband Paul in 2022 was a Trump supporter.
* The men who wanted to hang Mike Pence on Jan 6, 2021, were Trump supporters.
* The man who killed the son of Obama-appointed District Judge Esther Salas in 2020 was a Trump supporter.
* The men who were convicted of trying to kidnap Michigan’s Democratic governor Gretchen Whitmer in 2020 were Trump supporters.
* The man who sent pipe bombs to the homes of Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, and other top Democrats in 2018 was a Trump supporter.
* The man who killed left-wing activist Heather Heyer after driving his car into a crowd of counter-protesters in Charlottesville in 2017 was a Trump supporter.
The post Trump & Conservative Supporters Weaponizing Kirk’s Murder: Dems “Have Blood on Their Hands” first appeared on Dissident Voice.This post was originally published on Dissident Voice.