Charlie Kirk's death shakes still-reeling Minnesota Capitol
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A memorial to Charlie Kirk outside a Utah hospital. Photo: Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images
Conservative influencer Charlie Kirk's assassination in Utah has shocked many in Minnesota, which is still reeling after a tragic summer.
"America is broken, and political violence endangers our lives and democracy," read a statement from the family of state Sen. John Hoffman (DFL-Champlin), who survived the politically motivated attack that killed former House Speaker Melissa Hortman in June.
The big picture: Kirk's death is the latest in a string of violent political attacks, including two assassination attempts against President Trump.
- In Minnesota, it also comes against the backdrop of the deadly Annunciation school shooting, which has spurred Gov. Tim Walz to weigh calling a special legislative session to consider new restrictions on guns.
Between the lines: Kirk's supporters saw him as a tireless advocate for conservative students who felt marginalized on progressive campuses. After decades of the youth vote trending left, his efforts have been widely credited for marshaling a wave of Gen Z support for MAGA politics.
- Kirk's critics called him a right-wing provocateur, saying his rhetoric was at times anti-Muslim, sexist and transphobic.
Zoom in: Several Minnesota lawmakers have ties to Kirk or his group, Turning Point USA.
State Sen. Julia Coleman (R-Chanhassen) got her start working for Kirk a decade ago, when Turning Point was still operating "out of his parents' garage."
- "All he really wanted to do was be a dad," Coleman told KARE 11, "so my heart's breaking mostly for his wife and small children."
State Rep. Elliott Engen (R-Lino Lakes), who founded Hamline University's Turning Point chapter, has credited another Kirk acolyte with inspiring his first run for the Legislature at age 22.
- "The only reason I'm here today is because of Charlie Kirk's work," Engen told the Star Tribune.
- While Engen criticized Turning Point in 2023 as straying from its original focus on issues like free markets, he also told Axios in a statement Thursday that he has always supported the group's work "promoting real conversation" on campuses.
What they're saying: Elected Minnesota Republicans and Democrats are setting aside differences over Kirk's stances and condemning his killing.
- "Our leaders of both parties must not only tone down their own rhetoric, but they must begin to call out extreme, aggressive and violent dialog that foments these attacks on our republic and freedom," read the Hoffman family's statement, which also called for "immediate action to prevent gun violence."
- "The problem we're facing now is that speech is being portrayed as violence and it's being met with actual physical violence, and that is never OK," Engen said.
The bottom line: "This nation has survived assassinations of activists and elected officials before — and we've come out stronger before," Coleman said in a video message. "I know we can do it again."
Editor's note: This story has been updated with a statement from Engen.