NBC Poll Shows Majority of Democrats Say Political Rhetoric Contributed to Charlie Kirk Assassination

A new national survey released Monday by NBC News found that a majority of Democrats believe extreme political rhetoric played a significant role in the Sept. 10 assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, as reported by The Independent Journal Review.

The poll showed that 54% of Democratic respondents agreed that “extreme political rhetoric used by some in the media and by political leaders was an important contributor” to the killing.

The findings also showed broad agreement across party lines. According to the survey, 73% of Republicans and 53% of independents said the same.

Another 28% of all respondents said they “feel more this [Kirk’s assassination] is an incident caused by a disturbed person.” The poll showed that 4% of those surveyed believed both factors contributed.

Utah County Attorney Jeffrey Gray’s office alleged in September that 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, the man charged with assassinating Kirk, had carved phrases including “hey fascist! CATCH!” into bullet casings.

Prosecutors also said Robinson had a transgender boyfriend.

The NBC poll results were released shortly after separate polling from Public First showed a portion of Americans expressed conditional approval of political violence.

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The Nov. 3 poll reported that 24% of U.S. voters believe there are circumstances in which political violence could be justified, while 64% said it is never acceptable. Politico first reported those findings earlier this month.

Hunter Biden commented on Kirk’s killing during a Nov. 6 appearance on the “Wide Awake Podcast,” where he questioned whether the motive was tied directly to political beliefs.

“He wasn’t necessarily shot for his beliefs. He was shot because he was one of the loudest people speaking out there … I don’t know whether Charlie Kirk was shot because of what he believed or whether he was shot by a disaffected white male, an incel that had ready access to a high caliber rifle and the capacity to be able to shoot a kill shot from over 200 yards from a prone from a roof and somehow disassembled the rifle before he got off the roof without it being able to [be] seen on video.”

Kirk was killed on Sept. 10 while speaking at an outdoor event. Robinson was arrested shortly after and charged with aggravated murder.

NBC News said its poll surveyed 1,000 registered voters between Oct. 24 and Oct. 28 using phone interviews and an online questionnaire sent via text message. The margin of error for the poll is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

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