When a Swedish right-wing member of the European Parliament called on Thursday for the legislative body to take a “moment of prayer and reflection” to honor Charlie Kirk, the American political activist who was killed the day before, the request was swiftly denied.
At a plenary session on Thursday, the Parliament member, Charlie Weimers, yielded his time after making remarks about Mr. Kirk and asked others in the chamber to join him for the moment of silence. But Roberta Metsola, the Parliament’s president, interjected quickly and denied his request, citing protocol.
“Mr. Weimers, we discussed this, and you know that the president has denied the request for a minute of silence,” she said.
Many members of the Parliament soon began banging on their desks and shouting in protest.
“Dear colleagues, I am happy to explain it again,” Ms. Metsola said in response to the uproar. “The decision to hold a minute of silence is a prerogative of the president.”
Parliamentary rules dictate that moments of silence must be requested by political groups at the opening of a session. The moment of silence must also be announced by the president at the opening of the plenary session.
Mr. Kirk, who was fatally shot during an event at a Utah college on Wednesday, was a right-wing activist who had deep political ties in the United States, including to President Trump. He was considered a leading voice among hard-line conservatives activists.
In the U.S. House of Representatives, Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday interrupted a series of votes and asked members to rise for “a moment of prayer for Charlie Kirk and his family.” The entire House obliged, but lawmakers resorted to a screaming match soon after.
On Thursday, many political leaders across Europe mourned Mr. Kirk as a martyr.
“The murder of Charlie Kirk is a tragedy, and a sign of the utter desperation and cowardice of those who could not defeat him in argument,” Boris Johnson, the former prime minister of Britain, posted on social media.
Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary called Mr. Kirk “a true defender of faith and freedom.”
The Europe of Sovereign Nations Group, a far-right political group, moved to nominate Mr. Kirk for the Sakharov Prize, a tribute for human rights work.
Talya Minsberg is a Times reporter covering breaking and developing news.
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