Earlier this year Kennedy began his first term in the U.S. House where he represents Utah’s 3rd Congressional District, which covers Park City, Wasatch County, Utah County and the eastern portion of the state.
The congressman said he was horrified to learn of Charlie Kirk’s murder at Utah Valley University in Orem Wednesday, which has garnered international attention.
“All of us should be shocked and dismayed at any political assassination of this nature,” Kennedy said Sept. 12. “The fact that Charlie was killed, but then left a wife and two young children, and that thousands of people witnessed it… I think consequences continue to ripple out from that terrible event.”
Utahn Tyler Robinson, 22, was arrested late Thursday for allegedly shooting and killing Kirk as the podcaster debated college students in the university’s central plaza.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said Robinson had reportedly become “more political” leading up to the event. The governor said several messages were written on bullet casings recovered from the rifle that authorities believe was used in the attack, including, “Hey, fascist! Catch!”
Kennedy echoed Cox’s concerns about the harm of social media platforms, where graphic videos of Kirk’s murder were widespread instantly following the shooting. The congressman said he was told about elementary school students who were exposed to the videos.
“I just find this kind of evil to be reprehensible, and I’m determined not to let violence silence our people,” Kennedy told KPCW. “Freedom of speech, which Charlie Kirk embodied, is something that we should all fight for, but this event is horrific on multiple levels. And the fact that a fourth grader would have it on his phone and show it to other fourth graders is just one other reflection of this that I just found out about in the past 12 hours and thought — this is even worse than I thought.”
Kennedy called the accused killer the “embodiment of evil.”
“At what point does a person come to the conclusion that they should engage in politics in such a violent and horrific fashion? It’s entirely alien to me to think about what it would take for somebody to get like that,” he said.
Kennedy has never met Kirk, but said his willingness “to engage in vigorous debate without any sort of violent rhetoric” was inspiring.
Along with playing a role in Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign, the 31-year-old was known for creating Turning Point USA, a nonprofit that advocates for conservative politics in high schools and college campuses nationwide.
At a time of increased political polarization, Kennedy said Americans should embrace discussing complicated topics, rather than resorting to violence.
“I like politics and I like religion," he said. "Those are the two things you never talk about at a party, otherwise people get angry. And I just think we need to talk about those more, not less. When we’re willing to engage with people, we can actually understand each other better. And with that understanding, maybe have a different sense of how we should approach resolving these conflicts that invariably we have.”
According to the Associated Press, Robinson was arrested on suspicion of aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily harm and obstruction of justice. He is being held without bail at the Utah County jail.
Kennedy and Senator Mike Lee have introduced a resolution in Congress condemning the assassination and honoring Kirk's legacy.
