Charlie Kirk, who was recently killed while giving a speech in Utah, was one of many far-right figures who have tried to shape US political life in recent years. A close ally of Donald Trump, Kirk was described by Trump as a “patriot” and as being particularly loved by young people in the immediate aftermath of his murder. Among other things, Kirk organised events at universities in an effort to attract students to the “values” of gun ownership, racism, and religious fanaticism.
Who was Kirk?
Kirk was the founder of Turning Point USA, a far-right organisation that claims to have 250,000 student members and 450 full- or part-time employees. The organisation asserts that:
“America is the greatest country to ever exist”
and that
“Free enterprise capitalism is the most moral proven economic system in the world.”
Kirk argued:
“I think it’s worth to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God-given rights. That is a prudent deal. It is rational.”
He supported the “great replacement theory,” a far-right conspiracy claiming there is an organised plan to replace the white population of the West with immigrants. Specifically, he said:
“The great replacement strategy, which is well under way every single day in our southern border, is a strategy to replace white rural America with something different.”
He opposed abortion rights, declared that women should be submissive to their husbands, and argued that:
“We need to have a Nuremberg-style trial for every gender-affirming clinic doctor. We need it immediately.”
Who murdered him?
Clearly, Kirk was an opponent of the Left and of social movements. But does that mean we should rejoice at his murder?
From the outset, his friends and allies on the US far right made it clear how they intended to exploit his death. Trump argued that Kirk’s killer should be given the death penalty and openly denounced the “radical left,” which, according to him, targets “wonderful Americans like Charlie” and is ultimately responsible for the violence and hatred in US society. Using Kirk as a pretext, they are once again trying to turn reality on its head.
At the time of writing the motives of the alleged assassin, Tyler Robinson, are unclear. He has, based on the information available so far, no connection to the Left. The evidence made public points to influences from far-right online gaming culture, while his family comes from a conservative background and supports MAGA (Make America Great Again, Trump’s movement).
The US establishment will, of course, do everything it can to turn Kirk into a martyr and to target the Left, social movements, immigrants and, ultimately, anyone who disagrees with dominant policies—regardless of the truth.
Public statements on social media celebrating Kirk’s murder, such as “one fascist less,” will be used by those seeking to distort reality and promote the far right. Make no mistake: Kirk’s murder will turn him into a hero for the far right, and that means more supporters, more recruits, and more fascists.
The fact that Charlie Kirk—a defender of violence and guns—was killed with a firearm by someone who may even belong to the same ideological camp is, of course, deeply ironic. However, the murder of a far-right extremist has never helped to combat the far right, whatever the circumstances. Just as the murder of a banker does not destroy a bank or redistribute its profits to society, and the murder of a corrupt politician does not end corruption, so too the murder of Kirk will not stop the far right.
Ultimately, Kirk will not be mourned by anyone who is democratic or progressive. But his “ideas” can only be defeated politically, through a mass anti-racist, anti-fascist labour movement of the Left.
