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Charlie Kirk’s killing and a new age of political violence
00:29:36
With the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, the United States is entering a new era of fear.
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- [00:00]
Constellation Energy Announcer
At Constellation, we bring the energy powering America's growing economy every minute, every day. As the nation's largest producer of clean and reliable American made energy, Constellation is wherever you are. From families to corner stores to manufacturers to the biggest data centers, we meet the nation's energy needs by generating emissions free electricity today and for our future.
- [00:30]
Colby Ekowitz
The killing of Charlie Kirk is the latest sign that we're in a new age of political violence. The conservative activist was shot and killed yesterday. It was during an event at Utah Valley University. I'm recording this on Thursday afternoon. We don't yet know the motive or the identity of the shooter and a manhunt is still underway. What we do know is that Kirk was among the most powerful people in Republican politics. The 31 year old was personal friends with President Donald Trump. His activism was a huge reason why Trump won in 2024. Trump released a video late last night blaming the killing without evidence on quote, radical left political violence.
- [01:14]
Yvonne Winjet Sanchez
For years, those on the radical left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the world's worst mass murderers and criminals. This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that we're seeing in our country today. And it must stop right now.
- [01:41]
Colby Ekowitz
From the newsroom of the Washington Post, this is Post Reports. I'm Colby ekowitz. It's Thursday, September 11th. Here's where the investigation stands. Earlier today, the FBI released a couple of images of someone they're calling a person of interest. The pictures show a man in a dark ball cap wearing sunglasses and a shirt with a bald eagle and an American flag on it. A weapon has also been recovered, a high powered bolt action rifle. It was found in the woods near the site of the shooting. To help understand what happened in Utah, who Charlie was and what his legacy will be, I speak with my colleague Yvonne Winjet Sanchez, who has covered Charlie Kirk for years. Yvonne, thanks so much for joining us on what I know is a really difficult day.
- [02:39]
Yvonne Winjet Sanchez
Happy to be here.
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Colby Ekowitz
So, Yvonne, you knew Charlie Kirk and I know you've spoken to him, interviewed him many times. What was he like?
- [02:49]
Yvonne Winjet Sanchez
He was one of the guys who would always answer your questions, even if he disagreed with the premise, even if he disagreed with the way in which it was asked, even if it made him look bad. You know, the last time that I saw him, it was in person and I was working on a story with my colleagues about the lineup of speakers at the Republican National Convention. And it was a story about how the sort of centrality of extremist voices who were once on the fringe of the sort of Republican Party were now on stage, you know, at that summer convention in the days after an attempt had been made on President Trump's life. And he took my questions with a smile.
- [03:45]
Colby Ekowitz
Yvonne, we're going to get into the details of the shooting in a little bit, but I want to understand a little more about Charlie Kirk first. I know that he founded Turning Point usa, which has mobilized young conservatives across the country. What else is important to know?
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Yvonne Winjet Sanchez
First and foremost, he is really one of the most important, important and influential people in the conservative movement in America. He is a very close ally of President Donald Trump's, Vice President J.D. vance's. He knew everything that moved within the White House, within Mar a Lago, and in key battleground states throughout the country. And he rose to this position because of his ability, because of the magic that he had when it came to engaging young people in politics.
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Colby Ekowitz
Yeah, talk to me a little bit more about that. So, I mean, his specialty was really debate. Right. And specifically debate on college campuses. Is that kind of how he rose to prominence?
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Yvonne Winjet Sanchez
That is how he rose to prominence. He would sort of take that town square debate approach to college campuses all over the country.
- [05:11]
Various Interview Clips/Commentators
Okay. Hello. What's your name?
- [05:12]
Colby Ekowitz
Juliana.
- [05:12]
Various Interview Clips/Commentators
Nice to meet you.
- [05:13]
Yvonne Winjet Sanchez
Nice to meet you.
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Various Interview Clips/Commentators
Can we get our terms right first?
- [05:14]
Colby Ekowitz
Yeah.
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Various Interview Clips/Commentators
Okay. Abortion is the forcible ending of the viability of a being in utero, otherwise known as a fetus. Do we agree that's what abortion is?
- [05:24]
Yvonne Winjet Sanchez
Okay.
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Colby Ekowitz
Yeah.
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Various Interview Clips/Commentators
Okay, great. And then murder is the intentional taking of life different than killing or sudden death. So murder would be the intent within.
- [05:33]
Yvonne Winjet Sanchez
He would engage with people left, right, disengaged. Didn't matter where you were on the political spectrum, he would engage with you, and he was willing to try to engage people who were not necessarily engaged voters and were not necessarily engaged in the conversations that were happening back in Washing D.C. or on Capitol Hill. And he found his cause and he found his voice in engaging these people.
- [06:06]
Colby Ekowitz
Particularly young voters on these college campuses.
- [06:09]
Yvonne Winjet Sanchez
Absolutely. And it wasn't just college campuses. Right. Like, it was also high schools. They have chapters in high schools all over the country as well. Like, this is a generational movement, tens and tens of millions of followers, tens of millions of dollars that wealthy donors who believed in Charlie Kirk and believed in the movement that he was building had given to him with the promise that he was going to usher in a new young conservative movement. And what is so striking to me, and what I cannot stop thinking about the very first time that I saw Charlie Kirk in person, Many years ago, was at a campus event, Arizona State University event. And it was a very similar setup to what we saw in Salt Lake City, right outside of Salt Lake City. Not as many people, but for all intents and purposes, it was the tent, right? It was students, it was handing out swag. It was big government sucks shirts. And it was him engaging one on with these people. And I went back to the newsroom that I once worked at, and I told my editor, this guy is going to be somebody.
- [07:33]
Colby Ekowitz
Yvonne, you're saying, you know, that he had this incredible, tremendous following. We should also say he was popular, right, because he took these polarizing, far right positions. And I want to get into the specifics of those later. But for now, I want to get into what exactly played out yesterday in Utah. Where was Charlie Kirk when he was shot and killed?
- [07:54]
Yvonne Winjet Sanchez
He was about 30 minutes south of Salt Lake City. And hordes and hordes and hordes of students, more than I'd ever actually seen, flock to any of his events, were gathered around him at this Utah college campus.
- [08:17]
Colby Ekowitz
So what was going on kind of in the moments before the shooting?
- [08:22]
Yvonne Winjet Sanchez
He was handing out hats, Make America Great Again hats to throwing them out into the audience, really getting the crowd jazzed up and ready for this event. He was on a tour, and this is a new tour where he was going onto these college campuses to debate anyone who wanted to pose a question with him. And he was sitting underneath a tent, which is a feature of these events, with a microphone. And right before, shortly before he began taking questions, he had posted a video about how the crowd for this event was just so big.
- [09:14]
Various Interview Clips/Commentators
We're going to be here for a couple hours. Get comfortable. Bring the best lips that Utah has to offer.
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Colby Ekowitz
And the idea, I guess, of these, of these prove me wrong events was to invite people with opposing views to approach him and live debate him.
- [09:36]
Yvonne Winjet Sanchez
Anyone could ask him anything about politics, cultural issue, societal issue. And it really played to his strengths, right, that he could sit up there unfiltered, unprepared, didn't have any sort of cues, didn't have the questions in front of him, didn't have a script. And what was remarkable about these moments is that. And these sort of forums that he became so known for is that the clips would go viral. So it wasn't just about what was happening at this event in this moment. It was the clips that would then be shared on TikTok and Instagram and Snapchat and that would ricochet around the world, and it helped their fundraising, and it would Help. Sometimes the Republican Party and the President and his allies begin to form their own talking points and messages on a. On a particular issue. He oftentimes was the tip of the spear on messaging for the White House.
- [10:53]
Colby Ekowitz
Wow. What question was he answering before he was shot?
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Yvonne Winjet Sanchez
There was a question from someone in the audience who asked him, do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years?
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Various Interview Clips/Commentators
Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years?
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Yvonne Winjet Sanchez
And he responded, counting or not counting gang violence. And that's when there was a gunshot.
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Colby Ekowitz
And I know there's a. There's a very. This was all recorded as a very graphic video of this that went around social media immediately after. And he was, he was then rushed to the hospital. What happened next?
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Yvonne Winjet Sanchez
There was video of him being carried by presumably some security officials into an suv. He was rushed to the hospital and his death was officially announced by President Trump via Truth Social.
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Colby Ekowitz
Do we know anything about who carried out the shooting? Like, is there a suspect? Do we know why? What do we know?
- [12:14]
Yvonne Winjet Sanchez
We don't know why. We do know that after the shooting, two men were taken into custody, but state and federal authorities determined that they had no current ties to the shooting. According to a statement released by the Utah Department of Public Safety, the hunt for a suspect is ongoing as of Thursday morning. They do believe that a weapon had been found and they do believe that Charlie had specifically been targeted in the attack. Robert Bowles, he's the special Agent in charge of the FBI's Salt Lake City field office, described the firearm that they had found as a. As a high powered bolt action rifle. And they came upon it in a wooded area near the campus.
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Colby Ekowitz
You mentioned, Ivan, that because of who he was, he did have security at this event. Right. Like, what is security like at a Charlie Kirk campus event?
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Yvonne Winjet Sanchez
Typically, you can walk right in. These are supposed to be, like I said, sort of town square, approachable, engaging events. And so that means they are out in the open. They are. Anybody can walk up into it. You can walk right up and see, touch and feel, you know, the guy. And he did have some security at this event. There were also six police officers who were in attendance.
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Colby Ekowitz
Right. I mean, he's a private citizen, so he wouldn't have, like, Secret Service or people doing like, big sweeps ahead of.
- [14:00]
Yvonne Winjet Sanchez
A visit like this.
- [14:02]
Colby Ekowitz
Yvonne, what have been the immediate reactions to his death that you saw? I mean, I saw one video that was really striking of a Fox News host, Will Kane, who, who got really emotional when he was breaking the news of the shooting.
- [14:17]
Various Interview Clips/Commentators
I don't really know where you go from here. I don't know where we go from here in a news program. And I don't know where we go from here in America. I don't know what's left for us as a country to discuss when even a discussion and a debate over the issues results in violence that leads to the death of a good man in this country.
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Colby Ekowitz
What have been some other responses that we've seen in the aftermath of Charlie's death?
- [14:43]
Yvonne Winjet Sanchez
In the immediate aftermath of his death, Truth Social, which is the social media platform owned by President Trump, it really became a gathering place for right wing media personalities and influencers. They were urging their followers to pray for Charlie, to pray for his wife, to pray for his children. The president condemned his slaying in a video message from the Oval Office on Wednesday night. He called it a dark moment for America. He blamed the radical left for the political violence. Turning Point, in a statement, asked people for privacy. They urged supporters to pray for Kirk and for their family. And one of his closest friends, Tyler Boyer, who rose alongside Kirk and in many ways was sort of a business and political mastermind behind Turning Point. Middle of the night, he wrote that he had been awake all night reading through his texts with Charlie about their plans, about their strategies, about their efforts to organize and defeat what he called the radical left in 2026, 2028 and beyond. And he said on X, he said reading and reading out loud, saving everything. Nothing will be forgotten or challenged later. This is war.
- [16:32]
Colby Ekowitz
After the break, we learn more about Charlie Kirk's life and success in politics and his lasting impact on young conservatives. We'll be right back.
- [16:54]
Constellation Energy Announcer
At Constellation, we bring the energy powering America's growing economy every minute, every day. As the nation's largest producer of clean and reliable American made energy. Constellation is wherever you are. From families to corner stores to manufacturers to the biggest data centers, we meet the nation's energy needs by generating emissions free electricity today and for our future.
- [17:25]
Colby Ekowitz
Yvonne, taking a bit of a step back here. How did Charlie Kirk reach this level of prominence that he was able to become so close to President Trump, to Vice President Vance, that so many people are reacting so strongly to his death? Walk me through a little bit of Charlie's kind of evolution.
- [17:45]
Yvonne Winjet Sanchez
He grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and he got really, he was really interested in politics as a young kid. His family was pretty conservative. And after Obama's term, or during Obama's term, during the rise of the Tea Party, he really began engaging in politics in his community and in his state, and he began attending events. And he was a pretty confident guy with a lot of ideas. And then in 2012, when he was 18, he started this conservative political organization called Turning Point USA, which really focuses on motivating young people, but came to motivate many more people beyond just the youth. And he went on to grow this organization and relocate it here in Arizona. He hosted a daily radio show on the Salem Network, the Charlie Kirk Show.
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Various Interview Clips/Commentators
Hey, everybody, Charlie Kirk here live from the Bitcoin.com studio. Steve Bannon joins the show as we talk about the deep state, the administrative state, and Epstein as well.
- [19:00]
Yvonne Winjet Sanchez
He was on the speaking circuit. He would visit college campuses all around the country. And eventually they began going very, very hyper local and into high schools. They began expanding into a much more political realm. They began spending money on political races through Turning Point Action several years ago, he became very close to Don Jr.
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Colby Ekowitz
You mean Don Jr. Donald Trump's oldest.
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Yvonne Winjet Sanchez
Son, which eventually catapulted him into the president's inner circle. He was very close with Vice President Vance, and in many ways is partly why we have Vice President Vance today. And one of the most important components of his operation was the get out the vote and the registration of new voters. And these guys were out in communities, walking streets with clipboards and tablets, knocking doors, using information about which homes had, you know, had cast votes during previous elections and which ones had not. And that data became very important leading up to the 2024 election when they were really trying to drum up support for the president and for the Republican ticket under Biden.
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Various Interview Clips/Commentators
Our young people own nothing and they are miserable. Donald Trump refuses to accept this fake, pathetic, mutilated version of the American dream.
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Colby Ekowitz
I mean, is Yvonne, is it. Is it fair to say that in large part, you know, President Trump can thank his reelection, his election to a second term, on the work that Charlie and his group was doing with voters, young voters particularly.
- [20:56]
Yvonne Winjet Sanchez
Absolutely. And last year, shortly after the election, I was in touch with someone who was very close to him, to Charlie. And the person said that he had gotten a phone call from the president. Charlie had gotten a phone call from the president. The president himself said that there were about half of a dozen people who helped him win reelection and that Charlie was one of them. Wow.
- [21:31]
Colby Ekowitz
We talked a little bit at the top of the show about some of the issues that Charlie took positions on. I was hoping we could talk a little bit more about that because I know that he was known for being provocative this idea that he was going to own the libs, Right. On these kind of culture war issues, issues around trans rights and gun violence and abortion, talk to me about just his viewpoints, his worldview.
- [21:55]
Yvonne Winjet Sanchez
First and foremost. He really leaned into his Christianity, and that was the foundational basis for who Charlie Kirk was. And based on comments that he has made over a long period of time in his many appearances, from, you know, rallies to campus events to his radio shows, people accused him of being homophobic.
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Various Interview Clips/Commentators
Even though a lot of the Marxists are lesbians or gays or transgenders. They get along with the Muslims. They get along because they hate us.
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Yvonne Winjet Sanchez
They accused him of being racist.
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Various Interview Clips/Commentators
They hate the west and they hate the United States of America. That's why you see Gays for Palestine on these college campuses, which, by the way, it's like, you know, chicken for kfc. It's not exactly. They'll. They'll throw you off a roof once they're done with us, okay?
- [22:55]
Yvonne Winjet Sanchez
He was accused of questioning, like, the qualifications of, like, minorities who were in professional jobs.
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Various Interview Clips/Commentators
We're not hiring based on merit anymore. We're hiring based on race. So when you see a black pilot, you wonder boy, is that person there because they earned it or because they were placed there? That's what DEI does. It makes you ask questions you otherwise.
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Yvonne Winjet Sanchez
Would not ask of really sort of contributing to hatred of people on the left.
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Various Interview Clips/Commentators
The entire Democrat Party project is how quickly can we turn America into a third world hellhole?
- [23:31]
Yvonne Winjet Sanchez
They accused him of spreading wild conspiracy theories about the 2020 election or the Great Replacement Theory.
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Colby Ekowitz
And by Great Replacement Theory, you mean the theory that minorities are going to replace white people in America, Right? Yvonne, you've mentioned several times his organization, Turning Point usa. You said that you went there yesterday. It' in Arizona, where you are, give us a little more detail about what Turning Point is and how it became so influential.
- [24:10]
Yvonne Winjet Sanchez
Sure. So it started as a really small organization, but it quickly grew. And part of its success is because it really aimed to give young conservatives who felt as though there was not a place for them in a Republican Party that, you know, traditionally was defined by older people and older men to give them a place to give them permission to be conservative and to have ideas that might not fit nicely with the ideas that maybe their family members believed in or that their friends believed in. By today, it had grown into a multi, multi, multi million dollar operation. And it expanded from one building to two buildings to three buildings to a campus in South Phoenix. And it, for all intents and purposes, sort of became, you know, like a West coast war room for the Trump campaign and for the Republican Party. It was in some ways as important or more important than the Republican National Committee. I mean, these guys were out there registering voters, coming up with messaging, reaching people who had not been engaged and did not feel as though they were connected to Washington, you know, a place that is 2,000 miles away from them, with people who don't talk like them. And that is because of Charlie Kirk and his executives. And it was also a very controversial group. A lot of criticism came their way, especially after the 2020 and the 2022 elections. Charlie spread a lot of conspiracy theories about both of those elections and the losses of Republicans in those elections. And so while they had a lot of success, they also had quite a bit of criticism from people here locally, in Arizona and obviously beyond.
- [26:39]
Colby Ekowitz
I mean, there were so many young conservatives, obviously, that looked up to Charlie Kirk. How have they been reacting to his death?
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Yvonne Winjet Sanchez
People are in shock. I think it's just starting to really settle in. I talked with several young people yesterday, and they were going to prayer services. And I think one thing that you really have to keep in mind and that I am really thinking about is how seismic of a moment this is for this young generation of people who have been following Charlie Kirk and Erica Kirk and their family. For them, this is the first time they are witnessing and really experiencing what many are calling an assassination of someone who was practicing his First Amendment right. Yes. Very controversial. But for the people who followed him and agreed with him, this is. This is a seismic moment. And this really does sort of change everything for them.
- [27:57]
Colby Ekowitz
Yeah. I mean, where do you think it goes from here?
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Yvonne Winjet Sanchez
I think it gets worse. And look at the language that is being used by his. Some of his supporters, by one of his best friends. This is a war. What does that mean? Yeah.
- [28:14]
Colby Ekowitz
And if I, you know, would be remiss not to mention that this comes in the wake of, like, there's been a lot of political violence recently. And I can tick them off. There was a shooting at a CDC building, the killing of the Minnesota State Representative, Melissa Hortman and her husband back in June. There was the arson attack on Governor Josh Shapiro's house in Pennsylvania in the spring. And then there was the violent beating of Paul Pelosi, the husband of Democrat Nancy Pelosi, at their home back in 2022. And then, of course, there was the assassination attempt of Donald Trump last summer. You've also covered political violence or political threats at even the localist of levels from election workers. I mean, it sounds like what you're saying is that we're worried that this could incite more violence.
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Yvonne Winjet Sanchez
Absolutely. I mean, people who study this sort of rhetoric, people who study political violence say that this changes everything. This is a very, very dangerous moment, perhaps the most dangerous moment in modern history. We have not seen this sort of activity since the 1960s.
- [29:28]
Colby Ekowitz
Iman, thank you so much for coming on the show.
- [29:31]
Yvonne Winjet Sanchez
Thank you for having me.
- [29:34]
Colby Ekowitz
Yvonne Winjet Sanchez is a democracy reporter for the Post based in Arizona. That's it for Post Reports. Thanks for listening. Today's show was produced by Rennie Siernoski and Alana Gordon with help from Laura Benshoff. It was edited by Peter Bresnan and Rena Flores with help from Renita Jablonski and Alahia Ezadi. It was mixed by Shawn Carter. This is a developing story. You can continue to follow our up to the minute coverage@washingtonpost.com if you want to show your support for this kind of reporting and our show, please subscribe to the Washington Post. It is a great way to help us continue to do this work. You can subscribe at the link in our show notes. I'm Colby Ekowitz. We'll be back tomorrow with more stories from the Washington Post.
- [30:33]
Constellation Energy Announcer
At Constellation, we bring the energy powering America's growing economy every minute, every day. As the nation's largest producer of clean and reliable American made energy, Constellation is wherever you are. From families to corner stores to manufacturers to the biggest data centers, we meet the nation's energy needs by generating emissions free electricity today and for our future.