There’s no silver lining to Charlie Kirk’s assassination, that goes without saying. But his violent death was the culmination of left-wing violence that was allowed to grow unfettered for years. The horrific sight of his murder, the toll it took on his family, the movement, and even the country, should have been a watershed moment. It should have marked the last incident of political violence in America forever — or at least for a long time. America should have grown more united, more peaceful, and less deadly and violent after Kirk’s assassination.
But none of that has happened and sadly left-wing violence is still a threat to this country.
Kirk was murdered on September 10 at a Utah college campus by a left-winger obsessed with transgender ideology. In the immediate aftermath, a YouGov survey conducted from September 10-12 asked respondent whether they think “it is ever justified for citizens to resort to violence in order to achieve political goals?” Twenty-five percent of respondents who identified as “very liberal” said it can be justified, while 17% of self-identified liberals said it was justified. Just nine percent of people who identify as either conservative or very conservative said it was justified.
Another snap poll taken the day after Kirk’s murder asked whether it’s OK for someone to be happy when a public figure they oppose is dead. As The Hill reported, “Liberals were again more likely to say it’s usually or always acceptable to be happy about a public figure’s death, with 16 percent holding this position, including 24 percent of ‘very liberal’ respondents and 10 percent who said they identify as liberal but not very liberal.”
And that the left doesn’t mind political violence was only confirmed when a few weeks after Kirk’s assassination, a 41-year-old man was arrested on bomb charges in late 2025 after he showed up to a Mass that Supreme Court justices traditionally attend to mark the beginning of the term.
Just a few weeks after that Virginia Democrats made clear that political violence is of no concern to them.
Jay Jones defeated incumbent Attorney General Jason Miyares by roughly 6 percentage points after it was revealed he fantasized about murdering former Republican colleague Todd Gilbert and having Gilbert’s children die in their mother’s arms.
As The Federalist’s Breccan Thies wrote in these pages, “everyday Democrats” like “neighbors, your friends, your coworkers — are embracing their political movement’s penchant for violence.”
Fast forward a month and four leftist extremists were arrested for allegedly planning a series of New Year’s Eve bombings and an ambush on ICE officers in Los Angeles. Then this past April President Donald Trump was the victim of yet another assassination attempt when 31-year-old California resident Cole Allen managed to rush past a Secret Service checkpoint while armed with a shotgun, a handgun, and multiple knives. He charged toward the ballroom at the Washington Hilton Hotel, where Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance, and other members of the cabinet were attending the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in April. Allen was ultimately subdued by law enforcement.
And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Democrat Elliot Forhan, who ran on killing his opponents, promising to “legally” kill Trump if he were elected as Ohio’s attorney general. While he was defeated in the May primary, running openly on a platform of killing your opponents is only possible when your party has created a culture in which political violence is justified or permissible.
As we reflect on Kirk’s legacy and absence today, we must also reflect on the reality we face: left-wing violence is still very real and still very dangerous.
