Politicians and activists cancel events after Charlie Kirk killing

Driving the news: GOP leadership is working with the Sergeant at Arms on potential security upgrades, multiple sources told Axios.

• Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) told reporters Thursday morning that leadership is expediting a planned review of member security.
• "We have got to protect people running for public office or nobody will," Johnson said.

Here's what to know about event cancellations this week:

Lawmakers cancel events

State of play: At least two members of Congress canceled events following Kirk's assassination.

• Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) postponed a Raleigh rally set for Sunday, citing both respect for Kirk and security concerns. She told Axios she had another event planned in a different part of the state as well.
• Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) canceled a planned event at a college campus on Thursday.

Some state politicians are also changing their plans or facing pressure to.

• California Gov. Gavin Newsom's team confirmed to Axios that an event scheduled for Thursday to promote his redistricting measure has been rescheduled for next week.
• Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) said Thursday that he was cancelling an upcoming town hall event in Las Vegas.
• Utah Democratic leaders have urged state lawmakers to cancel any public events this weekend after receiving "angry and menacing voicemails," The New York Times reported.

What they're saying: "From the moment I was elected, I have felt that I accept a certain level of risk in doing this job," Ocasio-Cortez told reporters on Thursday.

• She added, however, that security protocols for lawmakers are "for a bygone time. … They're not designed for a digital threat environment era."

Ben Shapiro college event, book signings scrapped

A previously scheduled event with Ben Shapiro, co-founder of The Daily Wire, a conservative media company, was cancelled after the shooting.

• Shapiro had been scheduled to appear Wednesday night at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, but the Reagan Foundation announced the program's cancellation on social media.

Melissa Giller, chief marketing officer at the Reagan Foundation, told Axios the organization chose to cancel the event "after hearing the news of the shooting out of respect and consideration for Charlie Kirk and the Kirk family."

• "It just didn't seem appropriate to hold a celebratory book event in light of what was happening," Giller said, adding that the Shapiro event would be rescheduled.
• "We have upcoming events in the next month with Eric Trump and Bret Baier and we are still internally discussing how our event protocols may need to change going forward."

Brent Scher, The Daily Wire's editor-in-chief, on X said that Shapiro cancelled two book signings "out of respect for Charlie Kirk, not security concerns," which Shapiro reposted.

• He added that Shapiro "still plans to attend college campuses this year."
• "We will never stop standing up for what America is and what she should be," Shapiro posted on X.

Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional rescheduling plans.