On 10 Sep 2025, in a targeted assassination, Charlie Kirk was gunned down with a bullet to the throat by an assassin, firing a bolt-action rifle from a rooftop approximately 200 yards away. Charlie was addressing a crowd at a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University. He leaves behind a wife and two children, all of whom were in the crowd when he was killed.

The response from the mainstream media was appalling. While Charlie was still clinging to life, or at least, had not been officially declared dead, the pundits were already doing their best to find reasons why the shooting was “no big deal” at best, or “justified” at worst. MSNBC was probably the biggest opportunistic offender, with statements ranging from “you can’t stop with these awful thoughts you have and then saying these awful words and then not expect awful actions to take place,” implicitly approving of the killing, to the absurd speculation that the shooting “could have been a supporter shooting their gun off in celebration.” Like that is a thing at a Turning Point USA event or any Conservative speech or gathering.

Awful thoughts. What “awful thoughts?” MSNBC assumes we know, since they offered no examples of what these “awful thoughts” might be, just that they were “awful” and apparently taking a bullet to the throat from an unknown assailant served him right.

As for the “shooting their gun off in celebration,” what celebration? He was giving a speech: It’s hard to get into the head of someone, particularly someone who would respond, on air, to an awful tragedy like this with such a comment, but perhaps their thinking went somewhat along these lines:

Well, they are Conservatives, and we know Conservatives “love guns” so everyone in the crowd must have one. And we know that crowds in other countries do things like shoot their guns off in the air in celebration for whatever, so, since Conservatives are all kind of dumb, authoritarian, and fascists, that might just be what happened here. Makes sense to me so I will just run with it on air.

Or then again, perhaps they are just incompetent at their highly paid job, and just throw out mindless comments, biased by their political beliefs, to fill expensive air time. Not an unusual human trait, but also not one you want to see from someone being paid to bring you the “news”.

Had this been a mass shooting at a public school, the media would have immediately swung into action, blaming guns, Conservatives, President Trump, and anything else that might further the narrative. In this case, they seem to feel the victim, not the shooter was the one at fault. If he had only kept his views to himself, and his mouth shut, and gone along with the left, then he wouldn’t be dead now and his wife wouldn’t be a grieving widow with two fatherless kids. As to the gun debate, their take seems to be that this is a gleeful “gotcha” moment. “You people like guns? Well, how do you like this? Maybe now you will agree to some 'common sense gun laws.'”

Because nothing makes more sense when it may be "open season" on political conservatives, than agreeing to disarm yourself. I don't think many on the right will find the argument persuasive.

The politically biased left-leaning press can’t blame the gunman. They never can. Even in school shootings, it is the gun, not the wielder, that is at fault. He was just pushed past his limit, and while the individual media mouthpiece might not have personally pulled the trigger themselves (they hate guns, remember), that someone else might is perfectly reasonable and understandable. In fact, they not only don’t have a problem with it, they applaud it. As gross and disgusting as this may be, once the shooter is identified and apprehended, I fully expect dozens of GoFundMe pages to be established in his honor.

Think I am crazy? This actually happened with Decarlos Dejuan Brown Jr, the man who stabbed Iryna Zarutska to death on a commuter train in Charlotte last month. GoFundMe eventually took down the pages, stating that they were in violation of Terms of Service. That they were set up in the first place and that people contributed to them is massively troubling.

It is also interesting to note that the media is referring to the incident as a “political assassination”. In quotes. Meaning that they recognize that the term is being used by those of us on the right, but they disagree with the term. It wasn’t political in their minds; the shooter simply didn’t like Kirk, his message, or anything about him.

Was it political? I would say so. My assessment is that it was done, not just to kill Charlie Kirk, but to send a message to others in the conservative movement. The shell casings found inside the rifle magazine are reported to have been engraved with transgender and antifascist messages, which would lend credence to that assessment.

On the other hand, at this point, we don’t really know if the rifle found, and the shell casings are really the ones used to commit the crime, or if they were planted there to mislead. Things have become so confusing since we have found out that we are in the middle of an information war, and can trust very little of what we see or hear. A lot of questions are being raised on social media. For example, was Kirk wearing body armor? This seems like something that could be put to rest quite easily, but there is a lot of discussion here. Did the shot actually strike him in the throat, or did it his body armor and deflect or spall upward into the throat? Is the wound an exit wound rather than an entry wound, indicating a shot from somewhere else. As for the rifle, it has been noted that the optic in the picture is mounted too far back, indicating either a rather small individual firing it, a person who is inexperienced with rifle optics mounting it (and therefore now sporting a rather large bruise where to recoil launched the optic into his eye), or that this is not actually the murder weapon, but a plant, designed to mislead.

There are always armchair pundits on social media putting out their own "take" and conspiracy on everything. However, there are many highly qualified individuals out there as well, in areas where their expertise has a bearing on this shooting. Former military, cops, snipers, intel analysts, ballistics experts, gun experts, you name it. These days there is a lot of video footage, from multiple angles, as well and a lot of tools out there to perform the appropriate analysis. Of course, there is also AI capable of generating realistic video, so once again, there is doubt.

For those of us on the right, it clearly is an act of terrorism, as defined by law, and if the perp is captured, he should be charged and tried in Federal Court on that basis. If threatening to kill Charlie Kirk at a public venue is considered “making a terroristic threat,” and it is, then certainly actually committing the deed can be defined in no other way.

What remains to be seen is if this is a one-off, or if it is the start of open season on high-profile Conservative personalities. Has the left moved from cancel-culture, to permanent “cancellation” of those they disagree with? Have they decided the only way to eliminate speech that they disapprove of is to permanently eliminate those giving voice to that speech? We shall see, I guess. I know a lot of people on the right are thinking “if they can kill Charlie Kirk for the thoughts and beliefs he has, since I have the same or similar beliefs, what keeps them from killing me as well?” This is a very good question and it deserves careful consideration.

This could be a “Turning Point” in the downward spiral we seem to be undergoing in the culture wars here in the United States; a move on the left toward more active measures. It could be a “Turning Point”, where those on the center-right decide that enough is enough. Certainly, it should give one pause. Have we moved from being a country where we discuss and debate our differences in open forum, each trying to convince the other of their position, to a country where one side has decided that the best strategy is to simply eliminate those with opposing views?

This has been a staple in every leftist revolution so far. You simply eliminate the opposition. This has the “advantage” of getting rid of your most vocal opponents and at the same time, cowing the masses into accepting your dominion. If you really want to promote “fundamental transformation” of a constitutional republic, this is the ultimate tool of choice. We may be entering into that endgame.

Or this may just be an isolated incident; an incident that throws more fuel on the fire certainly, but perhaps not actual civil war just yet. What it should be, for those on the right, is a wake-up call. The left is not interested in discussion or dialogue. They actively hate you. If you died, they would not shed a tear – indeed, they might just throw a party. They have an agenda that is diametrically opposed to yours. They have no love for the United States, the US Constitution, our history, our founders, our ideals, or anything else of that nature. They are not swayable by facts and figures. They will lie, cheat, steal, and kill to achieve their objectives. You as an individual are not even a statistic to them.

What does this mean to you as an individual? What should you do? Watch yourself. Practice situational awareness. Make plans where ever you go; if this happened, what would you do? If that happened, what would you do? Prepare for civil unrest. Have a supply of food and water. Have a plan to shelter in place in your home for a week, a month, or longer if needed. Have a plan for what happens if sheltering in your home becomes untenable. Have a plan for what you do if the electricity is interrupted for a few hours; a day, a week; a month; a longer time, or indefinitely. A good way to do this is to develop a plan, then shut off the electricity in your house and see how your plan works. Try it for a few hours, then a day, maybe a weekend. This will uncover a lot of things you never thought of. Guaranteed, it will be inconvenient as all get-out.

Be mindful that we have an election coming up in November 2026, and of course, primaries before that. Elections matter, and not just in Presidential years. They matter up and down the ballot. Your local elections are as or more important than the national level. Who are going to be your judges? Who is going to be your district attorney? Who will be your next mayor, city council person, State representative and Senator? Your federal level Representative and Senator? It’s an off-year election and many people fail to show up and vote. Don’t let that be you. Make your voice heard.

For many, the assassination of Charlie Kirk, and the resulting media and left-wing response will be an eye-opening experience. Charlie was certainly one of the “good guys” on the right. He was humble, respectful, and always willing to engage in debate. He was very effective with changing minds on college campuses; not among those on the hard left who would never agree with him, but those in the “soft center-left” who were parroting slogans but really hadn’t given it much thought. It is easy to label someone you don’t know a “fascist.”

The right is in the shocked and grieving stage now. We are praying for the family, and praying that the perp gets arrested. Many are no doubt hoping he goes down in a hail of bullets, or has the grace to simply off himself. What I am concerned about now is the anger stage. Many are already there. As more information on the shooter becomes available, many more are going to get there. Once again, “enough is enough, and too much is too much”.

A lot is going to depend on how this ends, and what happens next. Charlie would be the first to attempt to de-escalate the situation, but Charlie is dead. Let’s just hope and pray that Charlie isn’t just the first name on a list of Conservative influencers that this individual and/or others like him have decided to permanently “cancel.”

We can hope, but as we in the military say, “hope is not a strategy.” Safeguard yourselves and your families. Trust in God. Be prepared. Stand up for what is right and let your voice be heard!

FINAL NOTE: Since I wrote this, a suspect has been captured in conjunction with the shooting. He has been booked into the Utah County Jail, awaiting charges that include aggravated murder, felony discharge of a weapon causing serious bodily injury, and obstruction of justice. There will likely be more charges at the Federal level. He has no prior criminal history. He is a student at Dixie Technical College in St. George, Utah. He has reportedly stated in conversation his opinion of Kirk as one who was “full of hate and spreading hate.” I am sure there will be much more to come.