In an escalation of political violence that Democrats have long contributed to, the reaction from the left to Charlie Kirk’s assassination has been nothing short of shocking. This response only fortifies the left’s need for the values Charlie Kirk stood for: God, family, and country.

Kirk, the co-founder of Turning Point USA, was answering students’ questions at Utah Valley University when a shot rang out around 12:10 p.m., as The Dallas Express reported at the time. He was taken to a local hospital and died hours later, leaving behind a legacy of faith, family, and freedom.

The FBI has launched a nationwide manhunt for a person of interest and has asked the public to share any information about the photographed suspect to its tip line.

Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom condemned the assassination, calling it “disgusting, vile, and reprehensible.” But weeks prior, he apparently incited violence against conservatives – like many other Democrats.

“We’re fighting fire with fire, and we’re going to punch these sons of b*tches in the mouth,” Newsom said at the time.

Leftists have been using this violent rhetoric playbook to encourage attacks against their opponents for years.

Glorifying Bloodshed

Immediately after Kirk’s assassination, Democrats began encouraging violence.

When U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson held a moment of silence in Congress for Kirk, Democratic representatives yelled and heckled. “The House will be in order,” Johnson demanded.

 

Left-wing media outlets also joined in, apparently blaming Kirk for his own murder.

“You can’t stop with these awful thoughts you have and then saying these awful words, and then not expect awful actions to take place,” said MSNBC analyst Matthew Dowd on air.

 

Dowd also speculated the shooting could have been “a supporter shooting a gun off in celebration.” The outlet later issued an apology and fired Dowd.

A headline from The New Republic initially called Kirk a “MAGA Troll” after the shooting. It later changed the wording to call him a “MAGA Pundit.”

While TMZ was covering Kirk’s assassination, applause and laughter broke out in the background. “Trump just posted that Charlie Kirk is dead,” the anchor said – while laughs rang out in the newsroom. The outlet later claimed staff were laughing about a “high speed chase.”

Leftists took to social media, celebrating Kirk’s assassination on platforms Reddit and Bluesky.

The Dallas Express obtained several of these posts:

“REST IN PISS,” one post reads.

Leftists celebrated similarly on Bluesky, in posts obtained by The Dallas Express. 

“Is he dead yet?” one user posted.

“Grimmys waiting,” another wrote, with a picture of the Grim Reaper.

This sort of violent rhetoric ran rampant across the platform. 

 

The leftists’ violent rhetoric also spilled over to other social media platforms:

Some Democrats on Facebook called to “Practice, practice.. let’s get the Felon next time,” apparently referencing President Donald Trump.

Targeting Trump

After a would-be assassin shot Trump during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July 2024, members of left-wing media outlets quickly dismissed it.

“Trump taken away after loud noises at rally,” read a headline from The Washington Post at the time.

“Secret Service rushes Trump off stage after he falls at rally,” read another headline from CNN. 

“Nothing justifies an assassination bid – but did Trump play a part in changing the rules of engagement?” Sky News wrote at the time. 

 

Within days, Democrats returned to comparing Trump to Adolf Hitler, as The Federalist reported at the time. This followed eight years of claiming Trump was an existential threat.

Within months, a second would-be assassin camped out on Trump’s golf course – but Secret Service warded him off, and later captured him, as The Dallas Express reported at the time. The suspect had exclusively donated to Democrats since 2019.

Executing the United Healthcare CEO

In December, Luigi Mangione allegedly murdered United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson in an execution-style murder in Manhattan, as The Dallas Express reported at the time.

“These parasites had it coming,” he wrote in a manifesto. “I do apologize for any strife and trauma, but it had to be done.”

Leftists have since taken inspiration from Mangione. As The Dallas Express reported, a communist group hung posters at the University of North Texas depicting Mangione in a jumpsuit, reading “Expropriate The Billionaires.” A spokesperson for the group denied violent intentions.

Prosecutors also argued Mangione inspired a July 28 mass shooting in midtown Manhattan – at the building home to NFL headquarters – which killed four people, as The Dallas Express previously reported. His attorneys denied any connection.

Killing Minnesota Legislators

In June, Vance Boelter allegedly assassinated Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband and wounded state Sen.  John Hoffman and his wife, as The Dallas Express reported at the time.

Boelter was a former appointee of Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, and left “No Kings” flyers in his car – apparently referencing national left-wing mobilizations the same day. He claimed Walz wanted him to commit the shootings.

His motives are ultimately still unclear, though the assassinations followed a long trend of leftists normalizing violence.

Ambushing ICE

Walz compared ICE to the “modern-day Gestapo” in May. In response, the Department of Homeland Security warned this could incite violence, calling the comments “sickening.”

Then in July, a group of armed Antifa militants ambushed an ICE facility near Fort Worth – shooting a police officer in the neck, as The Dallas Express reported at the time. 

Several of the suspects were “transgender,” and they were involved in a Dallas-Fort Worth area Antifa group. As The Dallas Express also reported, the alleged shooter of the police officer, Benjamin Song, trained radical leftists in firearms and combat in 2022. He later confirmed anti-Trump motives spurred the attack.

This followed weeks of violent anti-ICE riots in Los Angeles, where suspects vandalized federal buildings and targeted federal agents, as The Dallas Express reported. The violence even spread to Dallas.

Targeting Kids in Church

Just last month, “transgender” terror continued as a shooter killed two young students and injured 17 others during Catholic mass in Minneapolis, as The Dallas Express reported at the time. 

The shooter, age 23, was a male who “identified” as a female. The Dallas Express obtained court documents showing his mother signed off on a name change to reflect his new “gender identity” while he was still a minor.

Video posted prior to the attack apparently showed the shooter’s manifesto and weapons with anti-Trump and anti-Christian messages, like “Kill Donald Trump,” and “Where is Your God?”

This followed media outlets like Newsweek claiming Christians use the Bible to “dehumanize transgender people,” and Rolling Stone claiming Trump’s budget bill “erases trans people.”

Growing Violence

The same month as the Minneapolis church shooting, repeat felon Decarlos Brown slashed the throat of innocent young woman Iryna Zarutska on a light rail in Charlotte, North Carolina, as The Dallas Express reported at the time. Bystanders simply stood by and watched her bleed out.

The New York Post published the gruesome surveillance footage on September 7. As The Dallas Express reported, this sparked calls for tough-on-crime policies from Republican leaders across America. Meanwhile, most major media outlets ignored the story – and Charlotte’s Democratic mayor asked viewers to refrain from sharing the footage.

On September 10 – just days later, while social media was still in an uproar – an assassin shot and killed Kirk in Utah. In his final post on X, Kirk called to fix the conditions that led to Zarutska’s murder: “If we want things to change, it’s 100% necessary to politicize the senseless murder of Iryna Zarutska because it was politics that allowed a savage monster with 14 priors to be free on the streets to kill her.”

In a separate incident, another assailant targeted Evergreen High School just outside of Denver, wounding two fellow students before shooting himself, according to The Denver Post. The shooter died of his injuries, and one student remains in critical condition.

This spring, Kirk denounced leftists’ growing “assassination culture,” blaming it on a protest culture that has tolerated violence for years. 

“The left is being whipped into a violent frenzy. Any setback, whether losing an election or losing a court case, justifies a maximally violent response,” Kirk wrote. “The cowardice of local prosecutors and school officials have turned the left into a ticking time bomb.”