Today, Sept. 10, 2025, conservative influencer Charlie Kirk was shot in the neck during an event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. According to reports, the incident occurred during one of his speaking engagements on The American Comeback Tour. The suspect is in custody, and the university has closed its campus for now while the investigation continues.
Now, let me be clear: I am not a fan of Charlie Kirk. In fact, I’ll go further—I strongly dislike him and almost everything he stands for. He represents a strain of politics that I find divisive, harmful, and often rooted in bad faith. That being said, violence is not the answer. Not here. Not anywhere.
Political violence, no matter who it is directed at, undermines everything we claim to value in a democracy. We might cheer in the moment when someone we oppose gets hurt, but the long-term effect is always more division, more fear, and more justification for the other side to escalate. It sets a precedent that disagreements should be settled not with words, but with weapons. That is a road we should never want to go down.
I can hate Charlie Kirk’s ideas without wanting him physically harmed. I can want him off the stage, but only through debate, protest, or simply refusing to engage with his message. Resorting to violence doesn’t prove moral superiority—it makes things worse for everyone.
This shooting should be condemned outright, regardless of your politics. You don’t have to like Charlie Kirk, I certainly don’t, but we all should want to live in a country where violence is not how we resolve political disagreements. Because once that becomes the norm, nobody is safe.