Description: Charlie Kirk, the leader of the youth MAGA movement and the founder of the organization, Turning Point Action was assassinated while attending a rally at the Utah Valley University. The shooting happened as Kirk held a public debate on several subjects with attendees in the University campus conducted by a suspect who, according to law enforcement authorities, is still at large. The FBI and other law enforcement agencies spearheaded the efforts for apprehending the suspect as two individuals were arrested briefly after the fatal shooting but were immediately released due to lack of evidence connecting them to the assassination. Kirk was one of the leading conservative public speakers in the US and managed to bridge political, racial and cultural gaps as he led public discussions challenging peers from different backgrounds. President Trump addressed the nation following Kirk’s assassination and expressed his deepest condolences to his family while praising him for managing to engage the American youth into the US political system.
Impact: The assassination of Charlie Kirk once again raises crucial issues ailing the American society, such as gun violence and control, political persecution, freedom of speech and decreased civil protection mechanisms. The severity of these issues has led to substantial increase in political violence in the US, following the two unsuccessful assassination attempts on US President Trump, the murder of two Minnesota lawmakers earlier this year and the killing of Israeli embassy staffers. The wide spectrum of political, cultural and ethnical differences in the US combined with loose legislature raises the question of the necessities regarding constitutional changes regarding the use of weapons. The US domestic security architecture is also strained combating Trump’s anti – immigration crackdown, while the reduction of intelligence capacities is putting additional pressure on the institutions tackling domestic radicalization and politically inspired assassinations. Kirk’s assassination might also prompt the Trump administration to increase the National Guard deployment across the country, as a method to enhance public safety that’s proven to have been negatively perceived by the public and delivered limited results. The threat of similar tragic events would increase as there are no indications or evident political will to constitutionally challenge issues such as gun control and domestic radicalization.