Charlie Kirk’s death prompts shock, grief across Gen Z ideological lines in the US
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People react as they gather outside the mortuary where the body of slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk was delivered on Sept 11.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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WASHINGTON – Graphic videos that swept across social media of Mr Charlie Kirk’s shooting
Mr Kirk, 31, co-founder of the conservative political advocacy group Turning Point USA and a staunch ally of President Donald Trump, was shot at long range during a campus event in Orem, Utah on Sept 10. The suspect remains at large, and the motive for the killing is unknown.
Young conservatives mourned one of their own, a figure who was a constant, reaffirming presence on social media and television. And some young liberals who spoke to Reuters on Sept 11 also expressed regret at witnessing Mr Kirk become a victim of gun violence.
“Regardless of who he is and what his beliefs are, nobody should die like that and be assassinated. He does have First Amendment rights to free speech,” said Ms Ama Baffour, a 20-year-old student at Howard University, a historically Black institution in Washington, D.C.
Gen Z and live-streaming
Grief over Mr Kirk’s death was not universal among Gen Z – or other age groups.
Some liberals online expressed little sympathy for Mr Kirk, given his history of support for gun rights and his sometimes inflammatory statements about women and transgender people.
But Ms Baffour described herself as “heartbroken” by Mr Kirk’s killing even though she said she did not agree with his political views.
Americans in their 20s often hear about news events through podcasts and live-streamed video rather than television, said Dr Tim Weninger, a University of Notre Dame professor who studies social media algorithms.
Mr Trump credited Mr Kirk with mobilising younger voters and voters of colour in support of his winning 2024 election campaign. Mr Kirk had more than 5 million followers on X and hosted a popular podcast and radio program, The Charlie Kirk Show.
He also amassed millions of followers on TikTok. Some 39 per cent of adults under 30 regularly get their news on the video platform, according to a Pew Research Centre survey in 2024.
Mr Kirk captured attention by posting short, unpolished videos of his debates with college students, making him appear “very real” to his followers, Dr Weninger said.
Awareness of Mr Kirk’s shooting spread faster than past news events because observers filmed videos from multiple angles and posted them on video-based platforms, said Dr Josephine Lukito, a University of Texas at Austin professor who studies political communication and social media.
Another Howard student, Mr Evander Thomas, 21, who often watched Mr Kirk on his TikTok feed though he disagreed with his politics, said he found out about his death when a friend shared a video on a group chat. He watched it within 30 minutes of the shooting, he said.
“No matter what your political views are, nobody should ever have to die for it,” Mr Thomas said. “It’s not like these people are evil. Charlie Kirk didn’t do anything for him to lose his life.”
Campus memorials
Mr Manu Anpalagan, president of the Yale College Republicans, said he admired Mr Kirk’s commitment to open debate with his political opposites, even if he did not condone all his views.
Mr Anpalagan co-wrote an op-ed in the Yale Daily News with his Democratic counterpart denouncing the shooting.
“I think both sides each really need to work on being more respectful, being more civil in their conversations and in their debates,” Mr Anpalagan said.
In an October 2024 Reuters/Ipsos poll, the vast majority of respondents aged 18-29 disagreed with the statement “it is acceptable for someone in my political party to commit violence to achieve a political goal”. Only 6 per cent endorsed the statement.
On college campuses across the country, students memorialised the slain activist. At the University of Oklahoma, students assembled a memorial with flowers and pictures of Mr Kirk. At Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, the chapter of Turning Point USA planned a vigil.
Mr Josh Michael, a senior at Oklahoma State University, was in class when he saw messages in his fraternity group chat saying Mr Kirk had been shot. After they learnt Mr Kirk had died, he and his friends hung a sign saying “Pray 4 the Kirks” on their fraternity house.
“Everyone was just distraught,” he said by phone.
Young Republicans and Democrats unite
There were some signs that the incident had brought young partisans together.
Within hours of Mr Kirk’s death, the Connecticut Young Republicans and Young Democrats of Connecticut issued a joint statement calling the shooting “unacceptable”.
Mr Alan Cunningham, the 25-year-old president of the Young Democrats, said he immediately viewed Mr Kirk’s killing as a “volatile moment” for the country and cold-called his Republican counterpart, who immediately agreed to speak in one voice.
“It’s 100 per cent fair to say that he was an incredibly impactful person for young people, young politicos especially, which is why I thought it was all the more important for us both to put our voices out there,” Mr Cunningham told Reuters.
Mr Patrick Burland, president of the Young Republicans, said Mr Kirk was the catalyst for many in the Gen Z generation to become interested in politics. “There are so many people I know that only became involved because they saw his conversations either online or on their campus,” he said.
Mr Burland, 25, did not hesitate when his Democratic counterpart suggested a joint statement.
“When they took a shot at Charlie, they’re almost taking a shot at the very idea of open debate and free expression,” he said. “This is something that no one on either side is going to stand for. I think what we’ll see is cooler heads prevail and a more positive message break through.”
Mr Thomas, the Howard student, was more pessimistic. He likened the rage among conservatives over Mr Kirk’s death to the anger felt on the left when a Minneapolis police officer murdered George Floyd in 2020.
“I don’t think this will ever stop,” he said. REUTERS
