The Assassination of Charlie Kirk ‪W/Jon Root‬ & Brad Geary

Summary

Apologia Radio – The Assassination of Charlie Kirk (w/ Jon Root & Brad Geary)

Date: September 11, 2025
Host: Jeff Durbin
Guests: Jon Root (Turning Point USA contributor), Captain Brad Geary (retired military, security expert)

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Overview & Purpose

This episode is a somber and urgent reflection on the recent public assassination of conservative figure Charlie Kirk while speaking at a Utah college. Host Jeff Durbin is joined by close colleagues Jon Root and Captain Brad Geary to process the tragedy, honor Kirk’s life and witness, examine issues of violence, public discourse, and security, and offer pastoral counsel for navigating the culture’s escalating tensions in a faithful, gospel-driven way.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Immediate Reactions and Personal Impact

• Jeff Durbin begins with the reading of Romans 12:14-21, emphasizing Christian responses to evil: “Bless those who persecute you…do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (02:25)

• The loss of Charlie Kirk is described as shocking and harrowing. Both Root and Geary share stories of their connection to Kirk and the impact he’s had on their personal faith and public witness.

  “Charlie gave me an amazing opportunity…he is known as a bold Christ follower…that’s the best way you can ever be remembered.” — Jon Root (05:34–07:44)

  “It feels like losing a family member…He challenged people towards civil discourse…one of the most brilliant minds of this generation.” — Capt. Brad Geary (13:09)

2. Kirk’s Legacy & Final Words

• Clips are played of Kirk’s own testimony on how he wished to be remembered:

  “I want to be remembered for courage, for my faith. That would be the most important thing.” — [Charlie Kirk, video] (11:44)

• His last public statement before the shooting is lauded for its focus on Christ:

  “Jesus Christ was a real person. He lived a perfect life. He was crucified, died, and rose on the third day.” — [Charlie Kirk, video] (12:29)

• The universality of Kirk’s impact is noted, with sympathies poured in from across political and religious spectrums (including alleged support from athletes Justin Jefferson, Josh Allen, and James Hetfield of Metallica—though unconfirmed).

3. Security, Culture, and Violence

• The team examines how such an incident was even possible:

  • Open campus, unrestricted access, lack of metal detectors, logistical limitations of non-presidential security teams (24:27–26:28).
  • High-level insights from Geary on the difficulties of securing “fishbowl” environments (public quads): “You’re on the defensive…And you have finite resources…for all the things you cover, the enemy only needs to get lucky once.” (28:39, 31:31)
  • The importance of the “high ground” and practical constraints (32:03).

• The cultural critique: a society awash in passive bystanders, digital voyeurs, and risk-averse “armchair quarterbacks” who do not intervene in moments of crisis:

  “So many people in our culture, especially men, have just…they're cowards. They’d rather have it on video for TikTok…” — Jeff Durbin (36:46)

4. Justice vs. Retaliation

• Biblical basis and governance:

  • All agree that justice must be swift and public, with clear support for the death penalty in cases of premeditated murder (39:10–41:48).
  • Yet, there's an explicit rejection of mob violence or vengeance.

  “I’m actually all in favor of going back to public executions…That’s how it used to be, and that’s how it should be…You have a chance to get right with the Lord before we take your life.” — Jeff Durbin (39:53–40:54)

5. Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On faith and legacy:

  "The best testimony—the best way you can ever be remembered." — Jon Root (07:44)

• “He sowed words. If we stand on anything as Americans, words should never be responded to with violence.” — Capt. Brad Geary (13:09)

• “This isn’t a time to shrink away…It’s just a new type of warfare…apply it to spiritual warfare.” — Capt. Brad Geary (18:52)

• Trump’s statement:

  “Charlie was a giant of his generation, a champion of liberty…I’m pleased to announce I will award Charlie Kirk posthumously the Presidential Medal of Freedom.” — Donald Trump (20:32)

• On resisting escalation:

  “Don’t take the bait…We have a righteous reason to be angry, but we should not repay evil with evil.” — Jeff Durbin (44:56)

• “Fake tough guys online…They want to talk big…But I guarantee you, you go through a few of the drills Brad’s gone through—you’re no longer a tough guy.” — Jon Root (45:39–46:19)

6. Culture of Depravity and Public Response

• The hosts condemn those celebrating the murder—especially high-profile media personalities who justified or downplayed the violence (“maybe a supporter was shooting for joy”—MSNBC, 49:28) and the disturbing emergence of “fake alphas” on both sides using the tragedy to incite violence or self-aggrandize.

• They emphasize, again, that Kirk’s “civil discourse” legacy is antithetical to this mob mentality (47:21).

• Clips are played of people admitting their support for Kirk’s assassination. The hosts urge Christians not to mirror the left’s bloodlust.

• Geary’s call: “We should not tolerate language that says words are violence. Words are necessary; civil discourse is necessary. Words do not justify violence.” (64:01)

7. Encouragement in the Gospel & Revival

• Durbin encourages listeners to pray not for retaliation but for revival and gospel impact out of tragedy.
• There is tangible evidence that Kirk’s testimony is stirring spiritual reflection among listeners, including some professing interest in going to church (66:18).

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Timeline of Important Segments

| Timestamp | Segment/Highlight | |-----------|--------------------------------------------------------------| | 02:25 | Romans 12 exhortation; show's heavy purpose | | 05:34 | Jon Root recounts personal/family impact of Charlie Kirk | | 07:44 | Kirk’s stated wish to be remembered as courageous in faith | | 12:29 | Kirk’s final public words (gospel declaration) | | 13:09 | Brad Geary on the loss: “feels like losing a family member” | | 20:32 | Trump’s formal public eulogy & Presidential Medal of Freedom | | 24:27–32:36| Discussion of security protocols and vulnerabilities | | 39:10–41:48| Debate on the death penalty and biblical limits | | 44:56 | Counsel: “Don’t take the bait” (resisting mob violence) | | 47:49 | Geary: “To use his name to justify violence is hijacking his movement.” | | 49:28 | MSNBC’s controversial coverage example | | 55:01 | The murderous culture and bloodlust in modern society | | 64:01 | Geary on the misuse of “words are violence” rhetoric | | 66:38 | Gospel legacy: listeners expressing desire to know Jesus |

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Tone & Language

• The speakers are candid, grieving, and sober—reflecting a mix of personal loss, anger at unlawful violence, love for the gospel, and deep pastoral concern.
• There are moments of gallows humor, but mostly the tone is earnest, exhortative, and direct.
• The show is grounded in scripture, appeals to justice, and consistently circles back to the Christian imperative to overcome evil by doing good.

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Closing Takeaways

• Charlie Kirk’s remembered legacy: Courage and public witness for Christ supersede political advocacy.
• Reject mob justice: True followers of Christ are called to seek justice within the rule of law, without mirroring the culture of violence.
• Spiritual warfare: The greatest enemy is not flesh and blood but spiritual—be emboldened for gospel witness, not physical retaliation.
• Don’t take the bait: Avoid escalating violence and rhetoric; press for civil discourse and gospel clarity.
• Pray for revival: Out of tragedy, there is an opening for repentance, personal transformation, and national renewal.
• Pray for the family: Special focus on interceding for Kirk’s wife, Erica, and their children.

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For more, listen to the full episode and check out continuing content from Apologia Radio.

Transcript

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[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Non Rockabotus must stop. I don't want to rock the boat. I want to sink it.

[John Root]

Are you gonna bark all day, little doggy, or are you gonna bite?

[Captain Brad Geary]

Delusional.

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[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

She hung up on me.

[John Root]

What?

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

What? Desperate times call for faithful men and.

[Captain Brad Geary]

Not for careful men. The careful men come later and write the biographies of the faithful men, lauding them for their courage.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Go into all the world and make disciples. Not go into the world and make buddies, not to make brosephs.

[John Root]

Right.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Don't go in the world. Make homies. Right. Disciples.

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I got a bit of a jiggle neck. That's a joke, Pastor.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

When we have the real message of truth, we cannot let somebody say they're speaking truth when they're not.

[Captain Brad Geary]

Take an amazing journey to a place.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

That will blow your mind and move your mind so you will never be the same again. Bless those who persecute you. Bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice. Weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all, if possible, so far as it depends on you. Live peaceably with all, beloved. Never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord to the contrary. If your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him something to drink, for by so doing, you will heat burning coals on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Welcome to Apologia Radio, everyone. That is from Romans, chapter 12, verses 14 through 21. Gonna have a heavy, heavy show today. Certainly not one I was wanting to have. Was actually going to be talking about the subway murder situation in Charlotte and took a back seat to the loss of Charlie Kirk yesterday and really grateful to have a couple of my good friends on with me today. I wish it was under better circumstances, but I'm grateful to have them nonetheless. But I'll go ahead and introduce John Root to my left. What's going on, brother?

[John Root]

Good to see you. Obviously, under these circumstances, not how we want to see each other, but thank you for having me.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Yeah, of course. And then on Zoom, I got Captain Brad Geary, now retired. Captain Brad Geary.

[Captain Brad Geary]

Yeah, that's right. Yeah. Man, heavy day. Heavy day for us all, for sure.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Yeah. Well, let's just. I don't. First, I want to, of course, thank our sponsor, Dominion Wealth. You saw them at the beginning there, the ad we played. And we're so grateful for Josiah. And you can check out. Check them out at Reform Money. You can get a free complimentary consultation with them. I highly recommend it, but I'm just going to get right into. There's no reason to be too cute and. And be silly or anything like that, because it's a heavy, heavy, serious topic. And so. You mean, obviously, if you. Everyone knows. I don't. I don't need to go into too much detail. Charlie Kirk was assassinated yesterday in Utah while speaking into college. And I'll just say, if you haven't seen the close up of it, I don't recommend it. It's not something I'll probably never get out of my head. And I'm. We're not gonna play any of that stuff today. This is. We're honor. Charlie. I'm not doing anything like that today. But. Yeah, if you haven't, I say I seriously don't do it. I. I saw somebody shared it and they said somebody said I shouldn't watch this, but I went ahead and watched it. I wish. I wish I hadn't. And so like an idiot, I went and watched it and said the same thing. And so it's, it's hard to see for sure. But let's, I'm just gonna, I'll turn to John first. I'll let you, you know, tell everyone how you knew Charlie and John knew him well and worked for him and, and we'll just, we'll just start there. And I got some clips I want to play to honor him as well.

[John Root]

But yeah, first and foremost, I owe a lot to Charlie. And I think millions of Americans owe a lot to Charlie and even like millions of Christians, I worked for Turning Point USA for two and a half years. I was a contributor there. And after I got canceled, that's where I landed. And Charlie gave me an amazing opportunity to speak about. Simple way to put it, just more the conservative side of sports. The side of sports you're not getting from espn. I covered when Roe v. Wade was overturned, was doing work there, covered the Leah Thomas story. And all that was thanks to Charlie. I wouldn't be able to be a full time content creator without Charlie. And I think should definitely start with, you know, thoughts and prayers for Erica and the kids. I mean, it's just, I know just going back to that video I had, I still have some friends that work at Turning Point. Found out about the shooting before a lot of the stuff dropped on social media. And you know, I think just talking to Jeff a second ago, my first thought is Charlie's okay. This is hopefully just another, just, we dodged a bullet literally with Trump. Hopefully same thing happened with Charlie because you just see Charlie as a titan. He's out in the open, completely unafraid, happy to have civil discourse and he's got a great security team around him and he's just been unafraid. There's no way we're losing Charlie. And then I know I said on Jason Whitlock show this morning, at first I said, I wish I never saw that video. But I think there's an aspect of me that I like seeing that video hopefully will always be ingrained in my mind and everybody's mind to know that there's evil out there. There are people that legitimately their father is Satan and they hate us.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

But.

[John Root]

They hated Christ first. And I think more than anything. So I kind of wrapped this up because it's not about my relationship with Charlie. It's about what his family's going through, what he did, his life, his legacy. He is known for a bowl as a bold Christ follower. Yeah, people watch Fox News, everybody Coming on is saying that.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Yeah.

[John Root]

And then Charlie said a few months ago, how do you want to be remembered? Green, bold for my faith. That's what he said. And I think that's, that's the best testimony in the best way you can ever be remembered.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Was that the video you shared?

[John Root]

I ended up sharing that.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

I think that was. Let me pull that up here while I'm doing that. I have a bunch of stuff here I was going to try to play. Yeah. I mean, it's crazy. Like, I didn't, it's funny. Not funny, but my wife and I were talking about it and my 10 year old was like, who are you talking about? Because she, you know, and my wife's like, well, Charlie Kirk, he was killed. And my 10 year old's like, oh, I watch this stuff all the time. And I had no idea. My 10 year old's watching his debates and stuff. And I was like, so cool. And so, you know. But then I was like, don't watch anything if you see those videos come up.

[John Root]

I mean there's so much awful stuff online. But also too, you've really got to see over the last 24 hours the impact that Charlie Kirk had.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Yeah.

[John Root]

From people from every side of the aisle, every single religion. Most Americans that have somewhat of an understanding of politics, politicians, political talking heads, they knew about Charlie and he made an impact on people and it's, it's amazing to hear the stories and I think just rejoicing in heaven that, you know, it's a race well run and the impact he made hopefully continues to make an impact for years to come.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

By the way, you probably, you probably talked to, you saw Justin Jefferson immediately. Do you see that?

[John Root]

I heard about the Justin Jefferson thing. And then for people that aren't familiar, he's a wide receiver for the Minnesota Vikings. And then there was reports that Josh Allen donated. I haven't heard any confirmation.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Okay.

[John Root]

That that stuff is true. That's, that's a big reason, like for anybody that follows me, like I, I cover sports. I haven't seen any confirmation that Justin Jefferson said he's gonna pay for like schooling or funeral stuff. And I haven't heard anything confirmation about Josh Allen. It would be a great story though.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

I even heard Metallica might have something. Hadfield, James Hetfield. But anyways, that's what's, that's what's been a challenge the last two days. Right. There's just stuff everywhere and you're like, like even yesterday when I was watching like praying and stuff and I'm Like I'm not believing anything until I got like credible confirmation on stuff, you know. And like obviously we have. I have friends that work at tp. You do as well. And so when I had confirmation from them that he passed in that.

[John Root]

And then also to just like I got to bring up. You mentioned the video. And it should. It's. There's an aspect of X where we are being subjected to really awful stuff like what happened in North Carolina, what just happened to Charlie. And at the same time there's people trying to grow a following and actually make money off those videos, which is sickening.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Yeah.

[John Root]

You're not just sharing information. You're trying to do this for clicks and clout. And I hope these people repent of the way they've shared this stuff irreverently. That that's not just for information sake, you know, this is, this is for your. Your own good. And I. That stuff should frustrate many, many people, especially his family that hopefully has been able to avoid any of that. Disgusting.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

I heard that. I heard that his wife and kids saw it happen. I don't know if they were there or they're watching on TV or.

[John Root]

I don't have confirmation that they, that they were there. I mean, I. I did hear that potentially they traveled with him, but I. I wouldn't be able to give.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Yeah, it's just. It's just. Yeah. Heartbreaking. Anyways, Gabe, if you want to pull this video up real quick, this is the one that John posted that I think yesterday. He posted this, right? Yeah. That he was talking about. Do you know when this was?

[John Root]

I just said it was a couple months ago, so it wasn't that long ago.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Okay, we'll play this real quick. Oh, I don't have any audio. Oh, that's my fault. Sorry. There.

[Charlie Kirk (via video clips)]

Be sure, you know, like die, everything just goes away. How would you.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

If you could be associated with one.

[Charlie Kirk (via video clips)]

Thing, how would you want to be remembered?

[John Root]

I want to be.

[Charlie Kirk (via video clips)]

I want to be remembered for. For courage, for my faith. That would be the most important thing. Most important thing is my faith. I die, everything just goes away.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Yeah. I mean, that's powerful. So here I'm going to real quick and I'll have you chime in, Brad, in a second. So this other video I want to play from my understanding, this was right before he was shot. And this is basically his last words and it's gonna go right in line with. And John hasn't seen this, so it's. It's powerful. If I can get the audio oh, sorry. Try this again. Too many different working parts here.

[Charlie Kirk (via video clips)]

First Corinthians 5 and 15. So that's all pretty amazing evidence. Not just intra biblical evidence but, but extra biblical evidence that Jesus Christ was a real person. He lived a perfect life. He was crucified, died and rose on the third day. And he is Lord and God overall. First Corinthians 5.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

I mean, how crazy is that? It's almost prophetic, right? The video we did a couple months ago and then that to happen, just. And so grateful for that. I mean, this is going to go. Obviously the gospel will go forth around the world because of this and so we're grateful for that. And Brad, I'll just bring you in real quick and hear your thoughts and on all this and just go from there.

[Captain Brad Geary]

Yeah, man, it's just been such a heavy day. My whole family has been talking about how it feels very much like we lost when we lost so many of our teammates over the years downrange. It feels even more than that, like a family member. We've been eating and it just, this one really cut to the soul in a lot of ways. It's hard to describe, it's hard to describe what, what an impact this man had on so many people using his words, debating. I think he was one of the most brilliant minds of this generation. An underdog, a college dropout, yet a masterful theologian, debater, political scientist who challenged people towards civil discourse. And this has rocked us. Not just because it was an evil act, not just because it was a murder, but I think this was an attack on our fundamental values as Americans. Man, someone said recently he reaped what he sowed. And I threw up in my mouth when I read that because it's like no man, no man, he sewed words. And if we stand on anything as Americans, words should never be responded to with violence. We should all on, on the left and the right be able to agree that this was horrendous. This was an attack on our republic. This was an attack on the principles and the Constitution, the United States of America. It was horrible. We've been, we've been in tears all day. Yeah, I can't stop watching all of his clips, his videos, and it breaks my heart that we'll never hear another sentence from that man's mouth. But to your point, you know, this enemy tried to silence him, but Charlie's voice has been amplified. They already lost. They already lost. But yeah, we're just heartbroken. It's, it's, it's been a really Good day.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Great, great points there. And we'll. We'll get into last second. I want to get in. How do we respond and talk about some of the crazy things people are saying? I'm curious, Brad, just as, you know, as a former operator, as someone trying to transition out of. Out of an operating role into civilian life, like, I gotta imagine, you know, and I texted some of our guys, you know, immediately, like, hey, I'm praying for you guys. I can't imagine what you're thinking right now, you know, like, like, how do you. How do you deal with that? And let me back up and say this to you. One, there's an interview coming very soon that I did with Brad and his wife Amy. Very excited about that. We talked a little bit about this, but Brad's seen probably more death than anyone I know. You know, and like, how do you. One, how does this compare with some of the stuff you've seen over the years? Like, and then two, like, how do you not become jaded to stuff like that? Yeah, and I know heavy questions. Sorry.

[Captain Brad Geary]

No, no, it's okay. It's a good. It's a good question. I think it's an irrelevant, and I think it's a relevant question. I just gotten out of a meeting, actually, where we were talking about the need for civil discourse in the. In the workplace environments and the need to confront our own biases. And so I stepped out of that to see my wife and her sister saying, have you. Have you heard? And like, you immediately, I looked for the videos and we were obviously hoping and praying, but for those that have been downrange, and I got a bunch of Team Guy threads, everyone who saw that shot said, that's, yeah, we've seen a body respond to a shot like that, and it doesn't often end well. And so to the answer to the second part of your question, man, if we lose our revulsion for watching something like that, if we're seeing something like that, then I think we're losing part of our humanity. And so it should never. It should never look benign. It should never not bother us. So.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Yeah, but.

[Captain Brad Geary]

But I can't help it. I have to watch that stuff. I have to see many of us. We have to see that evil and we have to know what we're confronting and the, The. The after effects of such evil. So I, I kind of feel a duty to watch those things and then power through the emotional response, process it, and then. And then try to use that for good. I don't know if that makes sense. Yeah, but it's. It's hard. It's hard, man. You never like to see. It's unnatural, right? It's unnatural. God created us for good in the garden. And so anytime we're. We're confronted with death, it is evidence of the fall of man. It is evidence of our bent nature now. And we should always feel revulsion to that and I think, hope for. For what's to come.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Yeah, I mean, and you. Today's 9 11, right? We can't even. I haven't even. Hadn't even thought about that. But we're dealing with this stuff. And here you. What, you had been a team guy for like a year when 911 hit? Not even.

[Captain Brad Geary]

I was just graduating the program. We were in our final training block.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Yeah, that's right. Okay. Yeah. So, I mean, like, as a, you know, as like a team guy, like something. You see something this, like, I'm sure your first thought is, put me in, coach. Like, let's do this. You know, so there's, you know, there's a lot of guys that are probably thinking that, and there's. We'll get to that in the end. How? We as civilians should not be thinking that way. But, like, how are you. How are you handling the transition? Just curious, how are you handling the transition now, where you're like, I. I'm not. I can't go in now. I'm done. Like, there's no, you know, there's no more going in for me. Like, how do you. How do you handle that thought process?

[Captain Brad Geary]

Yeah, I don't think it. You don't handle it. I think it's. It's just a fight, right? It's a new. There's gas in the tank. And, yeah, the physical fight may be behind us or behind. In my season of life, certainly as a military service member, but. But, dude, watching something like that happen yesterday, it just emboldens me to fight in different ways. And I hope that's what people take from this. Not fear, not trepidation, but it just solidifies the need to be bold in speaking truth, truth, seasoned with grace. And so the warfighter spirit should be kindled in many people. And I hope it is through this. Through this sacrifice and through the suffering that Charlie's family is certainly going through. This isn't a time to shrink away. This isn't a time to dig in and retreat. No, this is just a new type of warfare. And so just like we fought our fight with the Navy, it's the same principles of physical warfare. You just apply it to spiritual warfare, and that's the best we can do. But yeah, man, this is done nothing but fuel my fire for sure.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

That's. Yeah, I appreciate that. The warfighter spirit. That's just a great way to think about it. Well, I'm going to end the segment here. Did you, did you guys happen to see Trump's speech this morning on this and Charlie? Yeah, I'm going to play that right now because I thought I was. This is so cool and I was really glad to see this here. Gabe, I'm going to go ahead and pull this up, make sure my volume's up here. Okay. This was early this morning. Trump gave the speech.

[Donald Trump (via speech clip)]

Before we begin, let me express the horror and grief so many Americans at the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk have felt. Charlie was a giant of his generation, a champion of liberty and an inspiration to millions and millions of people. Our prayers are with his wonderful wife Eric and his beautiful children. Fantastic people they are. We miss him greatly. Yet I have no doubt that Charlie's voice and the courage he put into the hearts of countless people, especially young people, will live on. I'm pleased to announce that I will soon be awarding Charlie Kirk posthumously the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The date of the ceremony will be announced, and I can only guarantee you one thing, that we will have a very big crowd.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Very, very big. What an awesome gesture by the President. Oh, that's my segment timer there. So it's a good, good place to end there. So we'll. Gabe, if you want to play the. The iron Layer ad and then we'll come right back and we'll switch the conversation here.

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[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Welcome back everybody to Apology Radio. So I wanted to spend this next segment. This is originally why I brought Brad on to kind of just talk about the security aspect of it. And I want to make it very clear, like there's obviously a lot of work that's got to be put into figuring out how something like this happens, who, if, if anyone's to blame, who is. And I'm not saying anyone is, you know, but it's always a good conversation to look at the security and, and that's the reason why I brought Brad on. And then I'm thankful that John could come on because you've been to these events with Charlie. You probably know some of those security guys that were there and I'm sure they're, you know, crushed right now. Like, you know, so we should definitely be praying for those guys. So like, what is what. Because I did hear, and again, there's no confirmation, but I heard that they weren't, they weren't. Nobody was checking bags, there's no metal detectors, you know, and stuff like that. It's a wide open campus, right? So like how do you even do that, you know? So just curious, I wanted to hear your, your thoughts on what that security typically looks like. And, and just go from there.

[John Root]

And then too. I know Brad, you watching the videos? I'm going to be very interested to hear your take on stuff. And I know these guys. These are great dudes. I'm not going to be able to give you a full breakdown of especially since I haven't been there in a few years. I'm sure they bolstered the security team. But if you watch any of those videos, you got his main security guy. Charlie's main security guy, Dan is usually in all those videos you see of Charlie, just that chiseled jaw, usually got sunglasses on ex military guy, there's somebody that's at the front of the line. There's someone that's pretty close to where the crowd is coming up to where people ask Charlie questions. There's multiple people going around the crowd. I mean, these guys are good ex military and strong Christian men too. So I wouldn't be able to give you a breakdown of how they sweep the area, how any of that stuff works, but Charlie's got some of the best security personnel. And when I. And many people were watching the news, there's all these armchair quarterbacks and it's just like, this guy's not the president.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Right.

[John Root]

This guy doesn't have Secret service with him and snipers at every building and able to check. It's just. That's not the way it works. And in general, I think those guys did the best they possibly could. And especially like Brad, I don't know you. You again, you talk about seeing that video and, and for me, again, like, we're not supposed to see those things, but it look, I mean, they go right into action. Yeah, they're. I mean, you just. Again, it's like. I don't want to get emotional, like I've been talking, but like they're. They're carrying this limp body and they're doing everything they can to protect him before that and. And after that. So. Definitely interested near Brad's thoughts.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Yeah. And I think, because you're right, because, you know, my first thought was, how does something like this happen? You know, and like I'm thinking back to when they tried to shoot Trump, you know, and he's got everybody at his disposal, right? Yeah.

[John Root]

So she trusts politicians. It's like you got.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Yeah.

[John Root]

You got hundreds of people there.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Yeah. And that still happens, you know, and like he doesn't have that. He's just got his security team. So I think, you know, if anything, there's probably. I would say there's maybe more fault if there's fault. You know, maybe unlike the school or whoever was there law enforcement, you know, and I would say more than Charlie's crew for sure. But because they're only limited. They're not carrying sniper rifles.

[John Root]

And as far as I know, there's. There's no barricades with this kind of stuff. He's spoken at gcu like an open quad, just like at Utah Valley and everything. It's just in. Yeah, I. I don't. I mean, I'm sure that, yeah. Obviously makes a job incredibly difficult.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Oh, yeah, I can't imagine so. Here, let Me just play this one video and then I want to get out, bring Brad in here. So let's see. Where was that? I got too many. This is. Okay, so Gabe, I'm gonna pull this video up. This is the one that I saw because I, when I saw a video, there was somebody on a roof, you know, and There was like 20 seconds long. They're like, who's this guy on the roof? You know, like. But there's no perspective when you see that, like how close it is, like where that, you know. And then there's this one that's basically like from behind where Charlie was at and you can see the guy that's going to play. And then you're like, oh, like how do you not see that guy? Like, you know, so here, right, this is, I'll play this real quick. It's 18 seconds. So that was obviously after the shooting. Someone took that video. Okay, so Brad, I, I'm assuming you've pulled security on some high profile clients maybe multiple times? I'm assuming.

[Captain Brad Geary]

Yeah. One or two of these.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

What, who's, who's the most high profile profile person you've had a pull security on that? You can tell us.

[Captain Brad Geary]

It was a, it was a four star general who was coming into a country and so we had to provide security working with embassy folks as he was moving around the city, which was an insecure environment.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Gotcha. And from what I understand, that's like your least, probably your least favorite thing to do, right? You doing security is not fun. It's a super sketchy kind of dangerous situation.

[Captain Brad Geary]

Well, it's tough because you're on the defensive from the start and your posture is very different when you're on defense versus offense. And so it's a place that, I mean, frankly, no, no. Team guys like to put themselves on defense. Yeah, we would much rather be on the offense maneuvering against a known enemy versus, you know, trying to think through all the avenues of approach that an enemy could come at you from. And, and having to guard against really an infinite amount of opportunity that enemy might have. And you're very much limited by what that VIP needs and wants, what's their mission, and that's going to dictate their posture, which presents vulnerabilities. And in a perfect world, someone who's supposed to be defending that person, you're like, there's too many vulnerabilities, we need to cut this down. But if that, if that contradicts with the entire point, why they're there, well then it's really what you're talking about is a balance between risk and effectiveness. And if you're going to be effective for the mission you've set out to do, you're going to end up having to accept a certain amount of risk. And in a defensive posture, that risk could be very large, very infinite.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Yeah. Did you, did you ever have any situations that did get sketchy and went south a little bit, or no.

[Captain Brad Geary]

Is there some pucker factory moments? Always where you like? I don't like the position we're in. We just tossed into some significant low ground. Low ground is never preferable. You know, when there's, when there's a lot of unsecured high ground around you, it puts you in a very precarious spot where if someone was postured to exploit that in that very moment, it's almost impossible to fight your way out and certainly without casualties. And you look at, like I think you said a minute ago, these college campuses, they're all designed with these quads where if you set up shop in that quad, where you're going to be most effective, where you're going to draw the crowd. And I know, I know Charlie really valued the human connection. And I saw a couple he was talking about getting excited to get back out to the campus, to get into the civil debate, to just to have that, that face to face interaction. He was throwing hats minutes before he was assassinated. So to be effective, to capitalize on that human connection, to really talk with people, you're going to have to accept that risk. And that fishbowl environment that most colleges provide is unfortunately, tactically the worst position you can put yourself in. If you have someone like this who's willing to exploit it.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Yeah. So, okay, so to put yourself in the shoes of security at this event, we kind of know the layout. You've looked at it, you've seen the videos. Like what, what's the first thing you're thinking? What's the first thing you're looking at in a situation like that?

[Captain Brad Geary]

Yeah. Before I even say anything, I just want to. It's tough to speculate.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Right, sure, absolutely.

[Captain Brad Geary]

Without knowing who cleared what, without knowing whose responsibilities were what. We should all resist. Armchair quarterback.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Absolutely.

[Captain Brad Geary]

It's like I said, you in a situation like that, you're thinking through every detail, every vulnerability, and there's an infinite amount of vulnerabilities there. And you have finite resources, you have finite amounts of eyes who are scanning the crowd, who are looking for the risks and the vulnerabilities. And really, no matter what you do, the Enemy gets a vote. And for all the infinite things you need to cover, he needs to get lucky once. And that's what happened here. That's really tough odds.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

But.

[Captain Brad Geary]

But, yeah, just having a general baseline understanding of tactics, you look at this and you think, man, the high ground. The high ground. The high ground. The high ground. And it's the same thing that happened to President Trump. The first thing I would secure looking at a place like that would be every single piece of high ground, because that's where people have the best vantage points. That's where it presents the most risk to anyone in the low ground. And it's really, really difficult to defend against unless you take that terrain and you hold it. That's the first thing that pops in my mind. Certainly what they exploited.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And I believe they don't. They're not. They don't have, like, plexiglass or anything in front of Charlie ever. Right.

[John Root]

I've never seen plexiglass. I know, too. There's obviously the aspect of the campus police department. I know they spoke, too. So you got all those dorm rooms and classrooms, like, all that's open compared to the Butler shooting. Like, obviously, like Brad, you'd be able to give a great take on that. Like, those buildings are shut down. You know, that's a great point. This isn't. This is an open campus. Everybody's walking around. If you want to stop by, listen to Charlie for five minutes and go to class or get something to eat. Yeah, it's. It's wide open. And all those buildings there, compared to big politicians like Trump, those. Those buildings are going to get shut down.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Yeah.

[John Root]

It's not the same situation.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Yeah, no, that's. That's a great point. And again, yeah, like Brad was saying, I want to read it. Like, I'm not. I'm not trying to put blame on anyone. This. I just, you know, wanted to get some. Someone with some expertise on, like, you know, how do you approach something like this? And I mean, like, Brad, you see that video I played? Like, what are your thoughts when you see that? And, you know, you see someone around the roof where it's like, man, how did they get that? To me, I see that and I'm like, how did they get that clear of a shot? You know what I mean? Yeah.

[Captain Brad Geary]

I mean, you have to remember, too, someone like you or me sees something like that, immediately, we're probably screaming and yelling and, get him down, get him down. That's a threat. I. I would imagine a normal person who doesn't necessarily know what to look for or even think through. They might assume that looks like a security guard or maybe it's nothing. Maybe it's just a looky with binoculars. I don't know, man. Like, look how many people. I mean, you, you, you talked a minute ago about the, the Charlotte stabbing. Look, how many people just stood by and did. They're. They're paralyzed with fear or uncertainty.

[John Root]

Well, you got a Daniel Penny situation, too. You probably got guys that are like, I just don't even want to insert myself in that situation.

[Captain Brad Geary]

I mean, they'd rather pull out their cell phone and video than actually intercede and help stop and help fix and, and help the problem that they're identifying. That's a, That's a cultural problem for sure, one way or another. So who knows? But. But yeah, I mean, if I was there and I saw that, I would be immediately dialed up. And, and what can we do to fix this right now? Whether it's call 911, screaming at top of your lungs, running toward Charlie, realizing the threat that he's in with that guy, with that angle in that high ground position, you may have seconds. And, and the thing that's. The thing that's important, too, is even if you can't stop him in time to take the shot, if you can inject uncertainty into that man in fear, whoever that trigger man is, you're going to change the variables, and he's no longer going to be as calm or collected. He's going to be more nervous. He's going to recognize that there's a response. You're getting more cameras on him. You're increasing the chance he's going to get caught. And all those things change his ability to shoot effectively. So if anyone sees anything like that, that looks suspicious, the best thing they can do is start making noise, draw attention to it, create fear in the trigger man. And ideally, that would increase the chances that he's going to mess something up, that he's going to make a mistake, that he's going to miss. Anything you can do, anything you can is better than nothing. It's better than pulling out your phone and just watching.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Yeah, I appreciate that. I mean, that's one thing I was going to address, talking about the Charlotte stabbing. And one of our favorite verses around here we use for an abortion now is Proverbs 24:10 12. If you faint the day of adversity, your strength is small. Rescue those who are being taken away to death. Hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter. If you say, behold, we, we did not know this. Does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it? And will he not repay man according to his work? And you're absolutely right. I mean, like I was going to talk about the stabbing, the people that just sat there and did nothing. Like, it's just so much of our, so many people in our culture, especially men, have just, they're cowards. Right. And like you said, they'd rather have it on video and like get views on TikTok than like actually put their lives at risk to help those stumbling to the slaughter.

[John Root]

And we're insanely distracted too.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Oh yeah.

[John Root]

I mean, we think about that all the time. We get on public transportation or like even in the car and we're looking at our phone and I mean, that situation you got, the guy that gets up, walks away. Right, Right away. He knows that something happened.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Yeah.

[John Root]

Coward walks away. That woman that's directly across the aisle doesn't do anything. I think she eventually just gets up and she's down for a minute and 30 seconds, bleeding out. And it's just. Yeah, it's a masculinity problem. It's a culture problem. You don't need to be like, Brad, like we don't need to be like ex military guys. Like there's something we can. Yeah, like any, anybody can do. And it's men that should be leading the charge. Yeah, it's insane.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Exactly. They're faint in the day of adversity. So just real quick, I, I, tactically speaking, Brad, I, I mean, obviously this guy, whoever the shooter is still at large. They saying they got pictures. I've seen that. I've been kind of trying to follow that and hopefully they capture him soon and he gets what he deserves. But it looks like they have the weapon. It looks like it was a Mauser.308 bolt action, assuming that that is the correct gun, which they're saying it is. So just, I mean, I think, I think they were saying it was like a 200 yard shot. A 200 yard shot with that rifle. Pretty easy, right? That's, that shouldn't be like that difficult of a shot.

[Captain Brad Geary]

That's a, that's a pretty large caliber hunting rifle. And you've dialed that in, especially in an area like that with a quad where there's going to be not a lot of wind cutting through there. It's a, it's a, it's a manageable shot. Yeah, yeah, it's a hot caliber. That, that's gonna. It did its damage.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Yeah. Yeah. For sure. Well, yeah. So, I mean, we obviously, we keep praying that they find this guy. And I'm seeing all kinds. Just like with Trump, you know, they're like, oh, here's the guy. And that's definitely the guy. And then like 10 minutes later, like, oh, maybe that's not the guy. You know, I think they arrested like, like two or three people yesterday. And then they're like, oh, just kidding. Even Cash, you know, and Brad said that because Brad's knows Cash really well. Even Cash announced like, we got him, you know, and then it was like, oh, wrong guy. You know, but right now they have a picture, right? There's like. And the stairwell, like, you're going off of that. And so I don't want to get in all the speculative stuff because there's. We could go in a million different directions.

[John Root]

But this comes down to like, we just want justice. Yeah. Like, we didn't get justice with Butler. We don't. We're.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

That's a great point.

[John Root]

Like, hopefully we're going to see justice with North Carolina. And that's where you guys preach on this often. The biblical standard is the standard we should have in situations like this. Life for life and the death penalty. And I'm glad that the governor came out from Utah. Like, I'm glad that we're a death penalty state. And that's 100% people should be held accountable for that. I'm along the lines. I'm sure we're, all of us here is like public execution. Like, it should put the fear of God in people.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Yeah.

[John Root]

You make decisions like this, you will get executed for it. And that is the most justice just standard we can have here. And that's all we're looking for is justice and being held to account for this.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Exactly. Yeah. And I'm actually, I'm all in favor of going back to public executions. I mean, like you said, like, that's like, no one's afraid of it now, you know, and it's. It's funny. Not funny, but like, I, I've. I've had my, My. One of my favorite movies is, well, Rooster Cockburn, but the two different versions, True Grit. And so I, I like, had my kids watch both of them. I hadn't watched the John Wayne one first and then. And then the newer one and. But in both of them. And I, I had forgotten this. Like, they're having, like, the movie starts and they're having a public hanging. Right. And it was so crazy because they're they're getting ready to hang these dudes and they're like singing hymns and the gospel's being preached right before. And I'm like. And my kids are like, what is going on? You know, And I'm like, that's how it used to be and that's how it should be. Like, guess what? Now's the time to repent. Everybody. This is what happens when you, you know, you kill somebody and you have a chance to get right with the Lord before we take your life. Like, that's why I feel like it should be.

[John Root]

But yeah, we shouldn't be funding these people's meals and housing for the rest of their life.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Yeah, exactly. Sex changes and all the other stuff. Any thoughts on that? Brad?

[Captain Brad Geary]

I 100 agree. You know, ideally, everyone in society adheres to our standards and our values at a sense of principle, out of sense of a sacrifice and a collective good. But the reality, as you and I know, is we live in a fallen world where people won't. And so in lieu of that, you have to have social deterrence for this kind of behavior. It cannot be tolerated. And I'm an avid fan of innocent until proven guilty. But if proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt for taking the life of another person in cold blood, 100%. I think the death penalty is a necessary and needed and biblically sound practice for governments to use. And it's an effective deterrent and needs to be used.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Yep, it's exactly. That would be God's prescribed penalty for that for taking of. Intentionally taking of another life. So we'll, we'll transition here into the. This is actually a perfect transition point because I want to get into, you know, where do we go from here? And so Gabe, if you want to play the AMTAC ad, which is a great. Add the talk about with this conversation and then we'll come back on the other side and. And wrap the show up. This video is brought to you by amtech Blades. We are very excited to be partnering with amtech. Bill Rapier, long time Navy Seal, dev, career operator, amazing brother and friend looking for a battle ax to carry on your person to chop some wood. They've got you covered. Looking for a blade to carry on you every day. Also got you covered. Look at this. I gotta check my mail. What do we got going on here? Oh, look how sharp that is. What is this? Oh, 5% off. You can go to amtechblades.com, put apology in the coupon code, get 5% off your order and he will match that and give 5% to end abortion. Now, again, amtechblades.com we're grateful for them. Check them out. All right, everybody, thank you so much. Welcome back. So. So just again, to transition this last segment here, you know, I've just watched a lot of stuff today. I'm seeing all kinds of people saying stuff like, this dude, better hope the cops find them first. Which I understand the sentiment there, you know, and, and so, you know, I want to get into, like, how do we. How do we proceed? Where do we go from here? And one, I want to say, and I'm going to play some videos of people just saying some. Just straight evil things. But to back up a little bit, you know, I was saying a year from a year ago, right before the election, I know a lot of people were like, panicking, like, what if Kamala wins? And I'm like, there's no way that crazy lady is going to win. But I'm like, you know, my thoughts were. And I'm not trying to, like, sound like a prophet or anything. I'm not. But my thoughts were like, I think Trump's going to win. There's no way. He doesn't win. But my fear is that they're going to do everything they can to start a war. Because, you know, I've talked about this in the past. It's. It's Chrysler chaos, right? And so, like, from the liberal perspective, the only way they can win is if they just completely destroy everything and can rebuild because there's too many Christian vestiges. Our laws are rooted in God's law. Like, there's. There's no way they can overcome that unless they just destroy everything and rebuild it in their own. In their own way. And so, you know, I've stolen this from, from Pastor Doug Wilson, but it's like, don't take the bait, right? We cannot take the bait on this because everyone's amped right now, right? I've seen all these people. They want to just fight now. They're mad, and they should be. We should be angry, right? But we. That's why I read the verse at the beginning. I did. Because we should be angry. We have a righteous reason to be angry, but we should not repay evil with evil. And, and, like, we need to have our heads on a swivel, right? We need to be. Make sure we're protecting our families and stuff like that. But don't take the bait. Don't. Don't use this as an opportunity to just go nuts and engage in stupid battles and wars. And you Know, and I'll. And I will say there's a segment of. Of young dudes. And this is what I appreciated about Charlie because he's in this age bracket, right? Like 25 to 35 young conservative dudes who are like, going extreme, extreme conservative where they're saying some crazy stuff and they just want to go to war. Like, that's what they're looking for. And I appreciate that. Charlie's in the age group and he's not. He's actually being reasonable and using his brain and arguing from scripture, you know? So, like, there's. I saw. I saw today, even on X, some of those guys were just like, let's go to war sort of a thing.

[John Root]

It's like, nope, it's a bunch of fake tough guys.

[Captain Brad Geary]

It's.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

It is.

[John Root]

Everybody's just a bunch of fake tough guys online. You love just being that keyboard warrior and you think you're a crusader hater.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Yeah.

[John Root]

It's just like, I'm never. I. I'm never gonna pretend like I'm some tough guy. I got a pompadour and I'm sitting here. All right. But I would really. I would really hope that I could protect my family when it's called for. But a lot of people want to talk. Talk big online and come across as some stud.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Yeah.

[John Root]

But I guarantee you, they. They go through a few of the drills that spread that Brad's gone through. I try to try to go through that for. For an hour or so, I guarantee you, you're no longer a tough guy.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Brad. Brad who? What's our biggest enemy? It's a three letter word.

[Captain Brad Geary]

Sin.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Equal. Yeah.

[Captain Brad Geary]

Ego.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Ego?

[John Root]

Yeah.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Come on. I set you up. Yeah. Ego. But you're right, it is sin. Yeah, you're right. You gave the Jesus Duke answer.

[Captain Brad Geary]

Well, yeah, I mean, ego for sure. And like you said, these. These fake Alphas out there, and. And I. I get it. There's an emotional response. Luke, you sent me a video of some guys at a college who comes rolling through on a scooter yelling obscenities about Charlie, and they. They beat him up. And, you know, admittedly, when I watched it, my first instinct was to smile.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Right.

[Captain Brad Geary]

And then. And then I was convicted. We should never repay violence for violence. That we should not use this, this. This. This horrific murder as an excuse to get violent ourselves. Everything Charlie stood for, right? The thing he wanted to be known for most was courage for his faith.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Yeah.

[Captain Brad Geary]

Well, Jesus would not want us to act violently and to escalate things into some sort of civil war versus civil discourse. And Charlie wouldn't want that either. So to, to use his name to justify violence upon other people because they use hurtful and hateful words is hijacking his entire movement. It's hijacking everything he stood for to justify more evil. Yeah, we gotta, we gotta, we gotta follow his example.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Yeah, I, yeah, I saw the video. I said to Brad this morning, did you see that? They were like, someone was holding a bunch of people holding a vigil. It was. It. Is that the Idaho State Capel? They're holding a vigil for Charlie Print.

[John Root]

Oh yeah.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

And this idiot rides on his scooter saying F Kirk Odiver when they just jumped him and like beat the tar out of them. And you're right, your first sin, sinful human instinct to be like, well, God, you deserve. But then that's, but that's not how we should be reacting, you know, like. Because that's what they want. Again, don't take the bait. That's what they want. They want it. They want to incite, especially in the.

[John Root]

Social media age, the way that's going to get shared. It's, there's a, there's a riot, there's unrest over at this Charlie Kirk vigil. And I mean, obviously we don't get it. Need to get into like January, January 6th stuff. There's so much nonsense that happened there. But in general, like, there's people that have like blood lust and there's a lot of people that think they're, like Brad said, fake alphas. And you're, you're trying to be judge, jury and executioner and it, it doesn't work. It really doesn't. And especially in this age, like, that's going to get exploited and it's going to tarnish Charlie's name and we're not really going to be able to make the difference that, you know, Charlie wants to make.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Exactly. Well, here I'm going to play a couple clips. This, this first one, this, this one was just, this was yesterday after, right after Charlie got shot. You probably, guys have probably seen this, the MSNBC one. And like, it's like just the height of liberal stupidity. Thankfully this guy has been fired by msnbc. But I'm going to play this real quick just to show like. And this is like, probably the most like, like conservative of the stupid videos that I've seen the last two days. Sorry, where's the volume that me again?

[Charlie Kirk (via video clips)]

Yeah, and again I emphasize what you just emphasized.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

We don't know any full details of this. That we don't know if this was a supporter shooting their gun off in celebration or so we have no idea.

[John Root]

But in which shooting like this.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

What? What? Like you've been to a lot of these rallies. Have you ever seen anybody? Like, they act like this is like.

[John Root]

It'S not a 21 gun salute.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Yeah, like, what in the world?

[John Root]

It's. And then, yeah, he obviously goes on to say that basically all his hate speech led to him deserving this, like, awful language leads to like awful, awful violence or awful actions. And it's just people are exposing who they are. People are saying who they are. You gotta believe them. And we now in a social media age and there's a beauty to social media and there's an awful part of social media where people are easily exposed. We know, we know who you are. We know that your father is Satan. But at the same time, it's like we are getting inundated with so much evil. And people that are celebrating this, like, I would. I can't stand Biden, Harris, Obama. I would never, ever wish something like this on, ever. It'll be an awful day for our country. And that's where people need to start realizing and actually step up and say, this is coming from the left side of the political aisle. These are the people celebrating this stuff. You don't see this on the right. You might have a small section of those crazy people that say online. But I guarantee you, if the roles were reversed, you aren't even going to see a fraction of a fraction of percent of people celebrating the death of somebody on the left side of the political. This. It wouldn't, it wouldn't happen. That's not the way that we engage, especially in Charlie's memory. It's civil discourse. He's having this freedom of speech you talk about. The Constitution was under attack. That's what we do. Yeah, we want to talk about it. And it's just, it's. It's really, really sad to see the depravity.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Yeah. And like, like I said, there's. There's all kinds of videos of people celebrating Charlie's death, which is just crazy to me. And I'm not even gonna play most of those because they're just disgusting. They don't deserve views.

[John Root]

But people are getting fired. I gotta bring that up too. Like, good. That's where I think, like, msnbc. There's someone that worked in PR for the Carolina Panthers football team. Someone just got fired out here in Phoenix. They were working for a local sports media, like, station area. And like, they're saying awful things. And then these places are stepping up and saying, not only do we condemn what they're saying, but they're no longer a part of the company.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Because I was going to say, you know, if. If I can. If, like you said, the roles are reversed and any conservative did anything like that, you know, they'd immediately be fired, their family would be fired. Like, they'd be shipped off to Mexico or like they're, you know, like. So anyways, I'm gonna play just a couple of these real quick. Just. Just to give a couple examples. So this was. I don't know if you guys saw this. This was right after Charlie got shot. You see this? Yeah. Like, literally, you'll see it. Like, the people are all ducking down still. So here, Gabe, I have this up, if you want to play this real quick. I don't remember if it's audio or not. It. I mean, first of all, TikTok is absolute dumpster fire. But, I mean, you can see the guys carrying off Charlie's body, and this guy gets up and starts cheering, like, now one. How someone did take that guy out in that moment is beyond me because I probably would have tackled him at a minimum. But, like, it's like, what. What is going on that this is. This is allowed to happen and people are acting that way, you know. And again, in the video, like, someone's like, find this guy, and they're gonna find him, I'm sure, if they haven't already, you know. But again, no, we're not doing mob just here. I wore the shirt to name purpose. Fear God, not the mom. Like, we're not doing mob justice here. If you find the guy, you know, let's make sure he's. He gets his rewards the appropriate way. But, like, let's not find him and beat him up and stuff. But when I saw that, I was just like. Like, who does that? It's just pure evil.

[John Root]

If we are going to do everything we possibly can to find some Polish guy that took a hat from a kid at the US Open, or try to find Philly's Karen and get. Get her fired, I don't know why people aren't spending every ounce of their being to try to find this guy and hold him accountable. But that goes to show this guy is thinking about that. He want. He desires that to, like, his very core. He wants to see Charlie die. And it's just. It's just evil. It's the epitome of evil. When you see a video like that he wants that there's people out there that legitimately wanted Charlie dead. And yeah, again, while his body is being dragged away by security, this guy, his first thought is mission accomplished. It's just that that kind of evil we are. We are facing right now, and people need to. Need to realize that there's people that are just. We're incompatible with at this point in America.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Yeah. And I mean, just shows you, you know, Christ talks about murder being in the heart, Right. This guy has a murderous heart. And I mean, honestly, that's what the left wants. They. They want to murder their children. They have a bloodlust. Right? That's what all the movies, everything in our culture is all about. Bloodlust. And. And, you know, I think I borrowed this from Toby Sumter, I think is where I got it from. But the left, right, sinners, unbelievers, they know that a blood atonement is necessary. Right. The problem is they're rejecting Christ's blood atonement, and so they're looking for blood atonement somewhere else. But had you. Could you. You probably couldn't see that, could you? Or did you see that video?

[Captain Brad Geary]

I know which one you're talking about.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Okay. Yeah. I mean, like. I mean, like, if you're. Like, if someone like you is standing right there, like, that guy is not. That's not happening.

[Captain Brad Geary]

It's so bad. And it makes me miss. I. I can't help but think of when. When Reagan got shot, you know, and the story goes that as he's getting ready for surgery, lead surgeon comes in to talk to him. He's about to get go under, and he says something like, well, I sure hope you're a Republican, as he's talking to the surgeon. And the surgeon's reply was, today we're all Republicans, Mr. President. And it was this moment of incredible solidarity that none of us, no matter what our political beliefs, should want this kind of violence. It's so discouraging to know that that was less than a lifetime ago. And yet here we are, we're celebrating the murder of an innocent man who believed in civil discourse. I hope that the left uses this opportunity to reset the conversation. And what an opportunity to be like, hang on, everyone, stop. If we've been going down an ideological line of thought that has actually caused people to celebrate this type of thing, then we're way off. Let's reset. Let's reevaluate. Let's get introspective and calm the conversation and start talking about how we should all. On days like this have an agreement that this is unacceptable behavior for the United States of America. And I hope that happens. I'm not naive. I'm a realistic optimist these days, and I think it won't happen. But what an opportunity for some of those leaders on the left to stand up and actually start crossing that divide between the parties and start repairing instead of encouraging more of this behavior.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Yeah, yeah. I mean, I think of, you know, like, when obviously none of us are alive, when JFK got assassinated, but from what I've understand, have been told that that was this thing that kind of brought the nation together. Like, you're talking about, like, you know, because everyone was just so horrified over that. Like, but that's not what's happening. You got all the liberals, not all the liberals, but you got crazy liberals just celebrating this. And it's not just like a bunch of schmuck liberals either. Like, I saw was Kamala's biggest donor went and made a video, like, celebrating. It's like, oh, my goodness, like, how are you. How are you allowed to, like, function in society with such evil in your hearts?

[John Root]

Didn't this side also just say that, like, thoughts and prayers don't do jack squat? And then what did they do? It's just thoughts and prayers and who are you praying to?

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Right.

[John Root]

That's what I think of. It's like, when you watch the news and it's like, Nancy Pelosi, who are you praying to? It's. It's not our God.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Right, exactly right.

[John Root]

Like, you. You don't actually care. And then you just. You see people that are like, you hope people on the left, like Brad's saying, are going to step up and say, you can't call us Nazis. You can't say that we're a threat to democracy, the kkk, and then be surprised when someone on your side tries taking out someone as just having civil discourse. He's talking to people like you that vote like you and having a discussion. And you're not just censoring speech. You want to censor people for life and their life, and that's where they need to actually step up. And I think it's also an awesome opportunity for Trump. He needs to be strong here, and there needs to be justice and there needs to be accountability, but what a beautiful time to become a peacemaker. And I just. I know he's not surrounded with people that have solid biblical discernment. Obviously breaks our heart that we have false teachers and charlatans like Paula White there at the faith office, but you hope that there's somebody there that's going to provide some solid spiritual guidance so we can figure out a way to have true justice and then come together as a nation.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. Dude, that's a such a great point. Here, I'm gonna play one more video. Just have some. Some idiots. And this will be the last one I play. But this, again, just kind of gives you a taste of what we're talking about here. I don't know if you guys saw this one or not.

[Charlie Kirk (via video clips)]

Do you support his death?

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

I do.

[Charlie Kirk (via video clips)]

You support his death?

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Charlie Kirk.

[Charlie Kirk (via video clips)]

You support Charlie Kirk being killed?

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Yes, I do.

[Charlie Kirk (via video clips)]

On the day he died. You're here at a vigil for Charlie Kirk and you support his death? No, I don't support a Nazi. Charlie Kirk wasn't a Nazi. Supported. You support his shooter?

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Yep, sure.

[Charlie Kirk (via video clips)]

Do you support Charlie Kirk? Shooter? Would you shoot somebody like Charlie Kirk? You would have killed him yourself. Okay. You have a job here in Seattle.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

I mean, they're not even alphas. These are some soy boys. But, I mean, you see stuff like that. And I tell you, I heard something today that really challenged me, just, you know, trying to listen through all this stuff. And I don't even remember who it was I was listening to, but they were like, the problem here is we've been too tolerant, right? We've. We've tolerated far too long this kind of nonsense in the liberal agenda, you know, and that's a whole nother conversation we can get into another day. You know, it starts, obviously, with how we vote, but then it also involves us keeping our legislators accountable, you know, because they've. We've just become so soft to just kind of get along, to go along or go along to get along, instead of saying, like, no, like you said, like, no, we're not Nazis. Quit saying that. You know, we shouldn't be tolerating that kind of nonsense. Like, you said that there. He's like. He was a Nazi. He's like, dude, just shut up.

[John Root]

Well, and then we go back to the school shooting, Annunciation. You're telling trans people or trans allies that they are under attack by the Christian community and conservatives and that there's a threat to your life legitimately that when someone, like some of the guys over at Daily Wire.

[Captain Brad Geary]

Why. I don't know why.

[John Root]

I'm going blank the Catholic. Catholic guy's name. Why am I going. Michael Knowles.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Michael Knowles.

[John Root]

He's talking about eradicating transgenderism. He's not saying eradicate transgenders, right? He said, like, this ideology we are castrating minors.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Yeah.

[John Root]

Against their will. It's irreversible when it comes mentally, obviously, other than a miracle by God to change their heart and change their mind, change their soul. But it leads to this. You're telling them they're under attack, and then they need to be judge, jury, and executioner themselves. And they think they're actually doing something.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Yeah.

[John Root]

Important and just and righteous and like, again, you can't be surprised when you push this rhetoric. These aren't just words anymore. We can't just be like, sticks and stones will break my bones and words will never hurt me. Words literally lead to the death of Charlie Kirk. They lead to kids dying at schools in Nashville and Annunciation and other places. And it's time for the rubber to meet the road where the left really needs to come up. And we have people like Obama. I don't care how many supporters he's had. People need to say. You can't say. We're not sure what the motivation is here.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Yeah.

[John Root]

His supporters don't just shoot off out of nowhere and then happen to hit him like this. We know that this is the political assassination.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Yeah, exactly. Yeah. And not just that, but, you know, there's. I seen a lot of Christians calling Charlie a martyr, you know, and I think there's. There's valid. That's a valid thing to say. You know, we'll see what the guy's intentions were for murdering him. But, you know, he certainly. We talked about that. He was standing firm for his faith and. Brad, I'll let you. I'll have. We'll end on your thoughts here in a second. I just want to say this is. I'm. I'm not even gonna give this guy credit for mentioning his name, but this is why the. The left calls us Nazis. This dude says, I think it's time for you guys to talk about Talmudic Judaism before more things like this happen. Come on. This is the extreme, extreme right I'm talking about. You guys, stop.

[John Root]

It's a. Well, it's the woke. Right?

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Just. It is the woke. Right? So just stop. You don't want it. You know, you don't want them calling us Nazis. They don't say something stupid like that. This has nothing to do with that. Okay, Brad, let's end on your thoughts, brother. And then we are gonna do an after show, by the way, so. But we'll end this show here, I think.

[Captain Brad Geary]

You know, as you guys are talking, I was thinking about how so many progressives have hijacked our language and in so many ways where they've made this kind of thing a natural response. You know when they say that words are violence against me, when they say things like, your words make me feel unsafe. All of that was incrementally getting us to a place where someone could justifiably think that murdering Charlie because of his words was an equal and proportionate reaction to how he felt by Charlie's words. That's wrong. That's messed up. And back to Luke, what you were saying. We should not tolerate that kind of language anymore. No, words are not violence, and no, they don't justify violence as a response. Words are necessary. Civil discourse. Discourse is necessary. If my words offend you, that should not make you feel unsafe, and you should not justify a physical reaction as a result of that. Use words back. Words and words. The only time violence should be justified is in self defense, when our lives are threatened or those that we love. So we've got to re baseline the language. We've got to take it back. We've got to stop allowing people to hijack it and. And draw these inappropriate equations of causality where they just should never exist. Words matter. We got to take it back. And I think we're starting to, which is good. Yeah, but we got to do more of it. We got to do more of it.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Amen, brother. Well, hey, I'm going to tell you right now, this is what we're talking about on the other show. Just to tease you guys a little bit, I want to have Brad get into talking about sheath and the sword because my man's got some good stuff to say about that. But hey, real quick, I want to thank. Go with Jordan. Hey. Says y' all are blessing. Thank you, brother. Appreciate that. That encourages us. And Beast Card 24, thank you for that super chat. He said one thing that is beautiful about Charlie is that if you were a fan of his, you were without a doubt a better Christian because of it. The man died proclaiming his faith and didn't shy from evil. Absolutely. And I will say what's been really cool, despite all the stupidity that's going around, it's been really cool to see all the people coming out saying how, like, like, you know, I was transgender to listen to Charlie or Charlie, you know, said, I said this and this and I came to Christ, whatever. Like, just the outpouring of that has been really cool to see.

[John Root]

I've seen a lot of people actually post on X about wanting to go to church. Yeah. And it's. That is a pretty amazing thing. To see people saying like, you know what? I always kind of doubted it. I liked Charlie, heard him preach about this, but I want to go to church. I'm thinking about marriage. I'm thinking about kids. I mean, that's. That's a beautiful, beautiful legacy.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Amen. And that's what Martin Luther King did.

[Captain Brad Geary]

For the civil rights movement, Charlie did for unborn rights. And we man his value, his worth to this world. What an immense blessing that the Lord gave him to us for this season.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Yeah, yeah. And that's a perfect place to end this. I prayed before we started. My hope when something like this happens is that not that we start a war, but that there's a revival. Right. Because that's what our nation needs and that should be our hope and prayer is that the gospel goes forth and people turn to Christ and drove.

[John Root]

And prayers for Erica and the kids again too.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Absolutely.

[John Root]

I mean, that's heartbreaking to think about that.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Yes, absolutely. And let me just mention real quick again, the Future of Christendom conference is coming up very, very, very quickly. That's in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Again, Pastor Jeff will be the main speaker there. The dates on that are October 9th through the 11th. So we're a month away right now. So if you go to future of Christendom.org Excuse me, you can put apology in the coupon code and get 10% off registration. And then of course go to check out our swag coffee, our tracks, all [e-mail] so like I said, we'll be back here in a few minutes on the after show. And John, thanks for coming, brother. And where can people find you and check out what you're up to?

[John Root]

I'm on Instagram TikTok X. Spending a lot more time on YouTube now too, actually. Just trying to have a lot more long form content. Explain my short form thoughts more. So follow me there. It's at Johnny Root underscore.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

That's a creative video. I love your tweets, by the way. I always get excited when it comes across my feed. Brad, you got, man, there's stuff you probably can't even announce right now, but you got a lot of big changes coming up. What. What can, what can people do right now just to check out whatever you're up to that you can talk about. Yeah.

[Captain Brad Geary]

Decisions are forthcoming. You know, we just finished off our summer of Sabbath that the Lord kind of thrust upon us and decisions are forthcoming. We're talking to a few different people. We're about to sign some things. So I'm hesitant to jump the gun there.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

Yeah.

[Captain Brad Geary]

But we're excited about the future. We're looking forward. And, man, I want to just keep riding this wave where I'm. The Lord takes us.

[Host (Likely Pastor Jeff Durbin)]

And I, I will say I'm very excited about those potential opportunities. And Brad knows because I've been texting, like every week and he knew that. He knew that. He is. So anyways, we'll, we'll hopefully have some news soon on that front. But thank you again, everyone, for your support. You help keep the lights on. Thank you, everyone that supports end abortion. Now, I will, I will say this. I, I never met Charlie personally. I was at a pastor's conference at Turning Point. I mean, they're like 20 minutes away from here. So I've been to the offices. We've been doing a lot of stuff with Turning Point, Turner Point Faith. When it comes to the legislative stuff here in Arizona and across the nation, they've been fantastic partners. That's why I have a lot of friends within the organization and so super grateful for just their partnership and trying to save babies. So that's all I got. But again, all accessors, you can stick around here. In a few minutes. We'll, we'll have an after show and we'll be back next week. Just continue to pray for Erica and those kids and that God be glorified. Peace out, everybody.

[Heritage Defense Sponsor Representative]

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