Some right-wing commentators are declaring “war” following the shooting death of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk.
The 31-year-old was killed on Wednesday at a public speaking event at Utah Valley State University, the first of 15 scheduled stops on his American Comeback Tour. The motive for the shooting is unclear, since no suspect has been arrested.
That didn’t stop conspiracy theorist Alex Jones from pinning the blame on “The Democrat deep state.”
“The left has been saying, ‘put a bullseye on Trump, put a bullseye on his supporters.’ They’ve been calling for violence,” Jones said in a video taken in his car, even as the suspect’s political affiliations aren’t currently known. “They’re going to attack.”
Jones later posted a lengthy clip from his show with the caption, “Emergency Warning! The Democrat Deep State Killed Charlie Kirk In A Desperate Attempt To Shut Down Populist Free Speech And Conservative / Nationalist Voting Recruitment On College Campuses.”
Former Trump White House adviser Steve Bannon had a similar reaction on his show, War Room.
“We have to have steely resolve. Charlie Kirk is a casualty of war. We are at war in this country. We are,” Bannon said.
Fox News host Jesse Watters, meanwhile, claimed that Kirk’s death would be avenged.
“Trump gets hit in the ear, Charlie [Kirk] gets shot dead,” he said on The Five.
“Think about it… it’s happening. You’ve got trans shooters, you’ve got riots in L.A. They are at war with us. Whether we want to accept it or not, they are at war with us. And what are we going to do about it? How much political violence are we going to tolerate? And that’s the question we are going to have to ask ourselves.”
“We are sick. We are sad. We are angry. And we are resolute,” he added. “And we are going to avenge Charlie’s death in the way that Charlie wanted to be avenged.”
Later in the show, co-host Greg Gutfeld said Kirk’s death would not discourage others from pursuing his goals.
“If you thought that you were going to shut a movement down, you’re going to get a rude awakening,” he said. “You woke us the f–k up.”
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