On Wednesday, September 10, conservative activist and influencer Charlie Kirk was fatally shot at Utah Valley University. Kirk founded Turning Point USA, an organization that rallied young conservatives, and was known for his popular videos debating students on college campuses. He espoused controversial views on topics ranging from gender to race that some have denounced as hateful. Kirk’s assassination marked another tragic act of American political violence, following attacks including the assassination of Minnesota state representative Melissa Hortman last June and the attempted assassinations of President Donald Trump and Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro in July 2024 and April 2025, respectively. Tens of thousands attended Kirk’s memorial service in Arizona, including Trump and Vice President JD Vance, according to The New York Times.

In the shooting’s aftermath, employees from companies including MSNBC, United Airlines, and The Washington Post have been sanctioned or fired for comments or posts supposedly supporting or condoning the assassination. After facing pressure from the Trump administration, ABC suspended Jimmy Kimmel’s show for comments he made about the assassination but later reinstated him and his show. Overall, as of Sept. 26, more than 145 people had been disciplined or fired, according to The New York Times.

Social media played a key role in the documentation and publicity of the assassination. Graphic footage of Kirk’s death went viral, and some Lakesiders viewed the footage or posted about the assassination on social media.

Tatler gathered students’ thoughts on Kirk’s assassination, his impact on young people, Turning Point USA, and more. Below are some of the student-written responses.

On Kirk’s assassination 

“Regardless of my feelings about Charlie Kirk’s politics, political violence is degrading to the fiber of any liberal democracy. I’ve also found the popular reaction to it a bit disturbing. I think we’re so desensitized to violence that the distinction between pretended violence (movies, video games, AI) and real-world violence is blurred in our collective conscience. In all of the uproar, I think we’ve been numbed to the gravity of death, and the selfishness of the act that is taking someone else’s life.”

— Sofi S. ’26

“Nobody deserves to die. AND, we can’t gaslight ourselves into remembering him [Charlie Kirk] as someone who nobly promoted conversation or debate when, quite obviously, he instead promoted nearsighted intransigence. It’s also important to note that America’s historical and current numbness to violence has led people to believe that the only ways to perceive actions is to be either in complete support or wishing complete malice against the person who did/said them. Regardless of political status, we should support actions that encourage unity, liberty, and justice for all. Assassination, and many of Charlie Kirk’s beliefs, are a direct contradiction to that philosophy and the Constitution, which shouldn’t be normalized.” — Ana S.M. ’27

On Kirk’s assassin 

“[Tyler] Robinson is just another notable blip in the statistic of youth taking out some of their anger on the world…Robinson could have just as easily become a school shooter, another in the endless series of ill and sick people who take out their rage! If we, as youth can’t make the adults around us and in power understand that there is a fundamental trend of this anomie and rage that something needs to be done about, there will be another Tyler Robinson. There will be another Luigi Mangione. There will be another Thomas Crooks.  There may even be a time when the future leaders from Lakeside are hearing the complaints of their children about the very same youth violence.” — Baran O. ’27

On Kirk’s debates 

“Debate and discussion are the cornerstones of a stable democracy. Charlie Kirk was known as a major advocate of this idea from founding Turning Point USA to his hosted public debates. However, listening more closely to his debates tells a much different story. 

I do not believe that he was trying to foster a productive environment where people across the political spectrum could come and effectively discuss modern political issues, but instead that he created a wide-reaching platform to support conservative ideologies without having to provide legitimate reasoning. His rhetoric was often deeply logically flawed and backed up by incorrect assumptions or facts. He used the setting and phrasing of the questions to promote his own political views instead of having fair debates…He used generalizations, analogies, and incorrect data to make wide sweeping and controversial points in a compelling manner. However, this format of him debating people who weren’t prepared or skilled at debate while posting it to a predominantly younger male audience through a lens that attempted to show that liberals have deeply incorrect ideologies illustrated how his debates were not meant to be fair.

While obviously political assassinations are horrible and Charlie Kirk should never have been killed, the glorification the Trump administration has bestowed upon him posthumously as a face of debate and conversation across the political spectrum, in my opinion, has been a gross distortion of the impact he had.” — This student requested to remain anonymous

On free speech

“…And then, we get to things like Kimmel’s suspension and re-establishment. If we value free speech, I think we should obviously see his suspension for what it is — bad precedent. For content of his nature, no matter your opinion on it, it should be protected. We cannot go through cycles of either oppressing a side we don’t like’s speech then crying when someone we like gets into some trouble. For me, I think Kimmel is an unfunny hack, but his right to be so is worth defending.” — Baran O. ’27

On national reactions 

“The fact that we are not talking about the school shooting on the same day terrifies me.  I am and continue to be terrified. 

I mostly want Americans to look up Matthew Silverstone and the unnamed 14-year-old from Evergreen High and ask ourselves why we have mutually agreed to forget about them.

This is damned bleak.” — Sarah C. ’26

“…Americans are expected to mourn a right wing podcaster for weeks while not acknowledging the deaths of Colorado school children who were murdered on the very same day as Kirk. Violence is violence and murder is murder. When Republicans have constantly rebuked Democrats for trying to use mass shootings as a way to pass gun control as politicizing violence then I cannot in good conscience support the politicizing of Charlie Kirk’s death.” — Robert B. ’26