Left-wing social media fanatics have celebrated influencer Charlie Kirk’s murder – with some comparing him to Adolf Hitler and even suggesting he ‘deserved’ his fate.
Mr Kirk, the chief executive and co-founder of the conservative youth organisation Turning Point USA, was shot dead at an event at a Utah college yesterday.
The killing of Donald Trump’s ally is the latest example of political violence in the US spanning a range of political ideologies and affecting both major political parties.
But left-leaning ideologues made light of it, with one writing: ‘I’m not saying Charlie Kirk deserved to be shot, but I think enablers to pedophiles should be shot, too.’
Some TikTokers also reacted casually to Mr Kirk’s death, with one mock crying while a dramatic song played, with the caption: ‘Charlie Kirk got s**t? Awwww.’ Another liberal posted: ‘Hitler giving Charlie Kirk a tour in hell’, adding a GIF from a TV show.
Another called Mr Kirk ‘a f***ing Nazi. And you know what kind of Nazi is the best Nazi? A dead one. Thank God that s***stain of a person is no longer in this world’.
Others mocked Mr Kirk’s steadfast commitment to open debate and exchange of ideas: ‘Why didn’t Charlie Kirk just debate the bullet? he would have easily deflected.’
Many unearthed clips of Mr Kirk defending incidents of gun violence as ‘unfortunately’ worth maintaining the 2nd Amendment of the US Constitution.
One wrote: ‘I don’t know I think getting killed by your favorite thing in the world is sweet. It a nice gesture.’
Another said: ‘If he doesn’t make it at least he died with the love of his life, school shootings.’
‘Hollow Point USA,’ said another, parodying the organization Mr Kirk devoted his life to.
On BlueSky, where many liberals have fled X to evade Elon Musk, one wrote: ‘And now we sit back and watch Republicans ignore the school shooting today while loudly mourning Charlie Kirk.’
Another said: ‘This wouldn’t have happened if Charlie Kirk had been armed.’
The celebration of the left on social media mirrors that of liberals in the media and even in elected office.
As news of the shooting broke, MSNBC sparked outrage for its on-air comments, describing Kirk as ‘divisive’ and ‘polarizing’.
Political analyst Matthew Dowd went on to suggest that the gunshot could have been fired by one of Kirk’s supporters.
‘[W]e don’t know any of the full details of this yet,’ Mr Dowd said.
‘We don’t know if this is a supporter shooting their gun off in celebration or… So we have no idea about this.’
In another controversial moment, some Democrat Congress members rejected the opportunity to say a prayer for Mr Kirk.
Speaker Mike Johnson held a moment of silence for Mr Kirk on the chamber floor as questions swirled about whether the father of two was alive.
Following the somber moment of silence, Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., called out to Johnson to hold a moment of prayer for the late media company founder.
Some Democrats, clearly against the request for prayer, began cheering in unison ‘No!’
The conservative commentator, 31, was hit by a single bullet while speaking to a crowd at the public university in Orem yesterday afternoon.
The father-of-two, known for his fierce MAGA views and thrilling debates with college kids across the country, collapsed immediately after being hit by the gunfire.
Kirk was answering a question about mass shootings mere seconds before he was struck. He was rushed to hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.
The killer is still on the loose, with a major manhunt by the FBI and Utah police underway.
Mr Kirk leaves behind his wife Erika Frantzve, with whom he had a three-year-old daughter and a son, 16 months. The couple celebrated their fourth wedding anniversary in May.
President Donald Trump led the tributes for the late political commentator. ‘The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead,’ Trump wrote on Truth Social.
‘He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!’
The President has ordered all American flags to be lowered to half-staff until Sunday evening at 6pm EST in honor of Mr Kirk.
Chaos erupted around 20 minutes into Mr Kirk’s ‘American Comeback’ event, with videos showing hundreds of screaming students running for safety.
The MAGA star, wearing a white t-shirt, was sitting inside a tented gazebo taking questions from attendees.
In the moments before the shot rang out, Mr Kirk was asked how many mass shooters there had been over the past 10 years.
‘Counting or not counting gang violence?’ the commentator said, before lowering his microphone.
He was shot less than a second later.
Screams were heard across the crowd of young people as those closest to Kirk rushed to his aid.
UVU officials said the shot was fired from the top of the Losee Center, about 200 yards away from where Kirk was sitting on the college campus.
Eerie footage showed someone on a rooftop just moments before conservative influencer Mr Kirk was shot dead.
They initially took an elderly man into custody who turned out not to be the shooter, police said.
Later, a ‘person of interest’ was said to be in custody in connection with Kirk’s shooting, Utah Governor Spencer Cox announced.
However, they too were later released, FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed.
‘The subject in custody has been released after an interrogation by law enforcement. Our investigation continues and we will continue to release information in interest of transparency,’ Mr Patel said in a statement.
Sophie Anderson, 45, was standing 100 feet from the stage when the shooting happened.
As chaos ensued, she told the Daily Mail that she almost got trampled as she ran off into the food court, where she hid in a closet.
‘The second it happened, I knew it was a gunshot,’ said Ms Anderson, who was joined at the event by her boss Phil Lyman, a former Utah state representative who was handing out hats on stage with Mr Kirk just five minutes earlier.
‘He was shot in the neck and just fell over and he was just a fountain of blood,’ she said. ‘They carried him off. All these kids are just falling apart and bawling.’
