What are the consequences of freedom of speech, and are people responsible for its outcomes? This question has been sparked by the recent events of the Charlie Kirk assassination. Many people felt impacted by Kirk’s death, whether or not they supported his political beliefs; both supporters and skeptics have had to grapple with the fact that a man was killed for his beliefs.
On September 12th, 2025, Charlie Kirk was assassinated. Kirk was an American right-wing political activist, entrepreneur, and media personality. He co-founded Turning Point USA in 2012 and was popular on media platforms, such as TikTok, for debating political views with college students.
The shooting occurred while Kirk was on the American Comeback Tour, a speaking and debating series planned by Turning Point USA. While on tour, Kirk took his first stop at the campus of Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. Kirk spoke at an event on campus, addressing political questions college students were asking him. While answering a question about gun violence, Kirk was shot.
Before the shooting, many students at St.Stephen’s and St.Agnes School had heard of Charlie Kirk and knew of his political views because of his large online presence and following. An anonymous source said, “I didn’t necessarily follow him on any socials, but I definitely kept up with what he was saying because I like to see what people are saying on all sides of the political spectrum, and I thought his view represented what a lot of people think.”
The video of Charlie Kirk’s death was soon posted on various social media platforms. When students were asked if they saw the video of Kirk being shot, an anonymous source responded by saying, “I was so sad…seeing him get killed…It was terrible, honestly.” Clementine Bourgeois 26’added “My friend sent the video and I just didn’t believe it. I watched it and it was awful, my heart dropped.”
Due to Kirk’s large platform and the graphic video of his death, the shooting was a shock to many. One anonymous supporter said that he was “most impacted by hearing people share and celebrate his death.”
Even those who disagreed with his political views agreed that the death of any human is a tragedy. Another anonymous source said that she felt that “He was an awful, horrible human being. And his messages spread hate, but that doesn’t mean he deserved to die, and that doesn’t mean he deserved to get killed. And I feel like that was kind of the opinion of myself and a lot of people around me.”
After the announcement of Kirk’s death, many people posted on social media about it. Mary Johnston, 29, stated, “A lot of my friends and I posted ‘Pray for Charlie Kirk’ on our Instagram stories.”
While Clementine said, “I did not post about him, because I thought more attention needed to be brought to the school shooting that happened that same day. Right. I mean, if you’re going to post about one, you have to post about the other, so I didn’t post at all. I know a lot of people at school posted about him, but I did not personally.”
When a political voice such as Charlie Kirk dies, it is hard for people to take the politics out of the death and remember that it was not just a Republican media personality who died, but also a father and a husband.
When asked how Kirk’s death made her feel, Clementine voiced, “ No one deserves to be shot for their views, and I can’t stand behind what I believe in and say that I’m happy he’s dead. Because I’d be a hypocrite…You can’t say, no gun violence, but then be okay with it happening to him.”
