‘This Is War’: Right Blames Left for Charlie Kirk Death

What was meant to be a moment of silence for Kirk on the floor of the House of Representatives on Wednesday evening soon gave way to flashes of a vitriolic political divide that would escalate in the aftermath of the 31-year-old’s death.

As the moment of silence passed the 30-second mark, Colorado Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert called for a spoken prayer for Kirk, who at the time was reportedly in critical condition, saying, “I believe silent prayers get silent results.” The request was met with boos from some Democrats who pointed out that a Colorado school shooting on the same day had not received the same ceremony.

Florida Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, shouted above the commotion from across the room, “You all caused this,” to which one Democrat could be heard responding, “Pass some gun laws!”

“When a politician tries to blame words for an action, they need to look at their action and their record,” New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez told reporters outside the Capitol. “The assassination of Charlie Kirk risks an uncorking of political chaos and violence that we cannot risk in America.”

Read More: The Killing of Charlie Kirk and the Political Violence Haunting America

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have condemned the killing of Kirk and political violence more broadly, but while many Democrats have highlighted the lack of gun control measures in the U.S., a number of figures on the right, including President Donald Trump, have insisted that the left is to blame. 

In an address about Kirk’s death, Trump claimed that “radical left” rhetoric of comparing “wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the world’s worst mass murderers and criminals” is “directly…