Charlie Kirk warned of political violence before fatal shooting at Utah event

Conservative leader Charlie Kirk previously warned that “assassination culture” was spreading on the left and that this amounted to a “ticking time bomb” before he was shot and killed at a campus event Wednesday in Utah.

“Assassination culture is spreading on the left. Forty-eight percent of liberals say it would be at least somewhat justified to murder Elon Musk. Fifty-five percent said the same about Donald Trump,” Kirk wrote in a post on April 7, 2025.

The young husband and father of two included a link to an exclusive Fox News Digital article covering a poll from the Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI). 

The study found that a national shift around political violence occurred after Luigi Mangione’s alleged premeditated murder of a United Healthcare executive in New York City last year.

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“What was formerly taboo culturally has become acceptable, we are seeing a clear shift – glorification, increased attempts and changing norms – all converging into what we define as ‘assassination culture,” Joel Finkelstein, the lead author of the report, told Fox News Digital.

Kirk, 31, was fatally shot during an event at Utah Valley University as part of his “American Comeback Tour.” Kirk was struck in the neck while answering a question from an audience member. He was rushed to a hospital but was pronounced dead Wednesday afternoon, sparking an outpouring of grief from across the nation.

Former Utah Republican congressman Jason Chaffetz, who attended the event with his family, told Fox News that Kirk was answering a question about mass shooters when he was shot. 

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The Turning Point USA co-founder had warned that the left was primed for a “maximally violent response” to any political setback, and said it was the natural result of “left-wing protest culture.” He lamented that activists in California were naming ballot measures after Mangione.

“The left is being whipped into a violent frenzy. Any setback, whether losing an election or losing a court case, justifies a maximally violent response. This is the natural outgrowth of left-wing protest culture tolerating violence and mayhem for years on end. The cowardice of local prosecutors and school officials have turned the left into a ticking time bomb,” Kirk wrote.

Kirk’s murder is the latest example of a wave of political violence that has targeted prominent conservatives and business people. 

President Donald Trump was the victim of two assassination attempts during the 2024 presidential election, one very nearly fatal. At a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on July 13, 2024, Trump was hit in the ear after gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire on him and the crowd. Crooks killed one of Trump’s supporters, Corey Comperatore, and wounded two others.

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Mangione, 27, is facing murder and terrorism charges after he allegedly gunned down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson as he left a Manhattan hotel last December. Mangione was allegedly motivated by animus toward the healthcare industry. Some far-left social media users lionized Mangione as a folk hero after he was charged in the killing.

Israeli Embassy workers Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, 26, were murdered after leaving an event at the Capital Jewish Museum in May. Their alleged killer Elias Rodriguez, 31, was heard shouting “Free Palestine” before being taken into custody. Rodriguez allegedly shot Milgrim multiple times in the back as she attempted to crawl away. 

Alleged gunman Shane Devon Tamura, 27, opened fire inside a midtown Manhattan building in July that housed the NFL headquarters and financial firm Blackstone. He allegedly killed four people, including Blackstone executive Wesley LePatner and a New York cop.