Charlie Kirk’s death and the cost of excusing violence

Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in this column are those of author Zachary Winn and are not representative of the thoughts or opinions of Tompkins Weekly. 

September 10th marked a turning point for the country: the assassination of Charlie Kirk. This was not just a killing. It was a political execution carried out in front of an audience and broadcast to millions online. Kirk was murdered for his speech, his opinions, and his willingness to defend them. The evidence that has come to light about his killer’s motives makes this clear. In the aftermath, much of the commentary from the Left was not horror or sympathy, but celebration. Across social media, thousands of videos and posts from leftists openly reveled in his death. They excused it, justified it, and mocked it. Some called for more killings. This ghoulish reaction reveals the rot at the core of a movement that has long flirted with violence but now openly embraces it.

Notice the contrast. Following Kirk’s murder there were no riots, no burned businesses, no retaliatory killings. Conservatives responded with mourning, prayer, and grief. The reaction shown by the Right illustrates the fundamental difference between the two sides. When violence comes from the Left, like with Luigi Mangione, it is glorified. When tragedy strikes the Right, it is met with restraint.

This did not begin with Kirk’s death. October 17th will mark the fifth anniversary of the mob assault on the Tompkins County Republican campaign office on Route 13 in Ithaca. That attack was not spontaneous. It was organized by the local Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) in coordination with so-called “Antifascists.” Route 13 was roadblocked, stolen MAGA hats and American flags were burned, and innocent people were injured, including an elderly woman left with a dislocated shoulder. Their crime? Supporting a different political viewpoint. The DSA offered no apology, instead justifying the violence. The same excuses and rationalizations heard then are being repeated today in the wake of Kirk’s assassination.

The hypocrisy grows more glaring when one examines recent events in Tompkins County. The Democratic Party was forced to cancel its “Meet the Candidates” picnic in September, citing “safety and security concerns.” The Chamber of Commerce had to cancel a policy breakfast at Ithaca College after posters appeared online depicting local elected officials splattered with blood. Police have been stationed outside the home of Congressman Josh Riley after threats escalated following his visit to Israel. These are not threats from the Right. They are coming from the same radical faction of the Left that organized the Route 13 assault and has since expanded its campaign of intimidation. The Democrats ignored this poisonous ideology when it was directed at Republicans. Now it has turned on them.

This faction is not hiding its allegiance. Its rhetoric is soaked in hatred of America, hatred of Israel, and open sympathy for terrorist organizations like Hamas. Its tactics of roadblocks, riots, arson, harassment, and now assassination, are designed to silence opponents through fear. Their defenders claimed Antifa is “just an idea.” But ideas don’t torch police precincts, smash storefronts, and beat people in the streets. Ideas don’t organize mobs. The pretense has collapsed. Antifa and its fellow travelers are not a loose set of ideas. They are an organized faction, one that has crossed the line into domestic terrorism.

President Trump’s recent intention to designate Antifa as a terrorist organization is long overdue. For years, Democrats and their allies in the media dismissed the danger, claiming these acts were isolated, exaggerated, or justified. They were not. The result of this denial is the death of Charlie Kirk. The silence of Democratic leaders when the violence was directed at Republicans created an environment where extremists felt emboldened to escalate.

Some legislators still cannot grasp the line that has been crossed. In the days after Kirk’s death, I attended a County Legislature meeting, urging them to denounce political violence outright. Instead, I heard equivocations and deflections. Democrat legislators tried to paint Kirk’s assassination as a gun control issue, comparing it to January 6th, others suggesting both sides are equally responsible. This is false, and it is cowardice. The violence is coming from a faction of the Left. Naming that reality is the first step to confronting it.

There can be no coexistence with those who believe political opponents deserve death. This is not about policy differences or partisanship. It is about whether our nation can survive when extremists wield violence as a political weapon. Charlie Kirk’s death was a message: speak the wrong words, hold the wrong views, and you may pay with your life. That message cannot stand.

The Left must be held accountable for the violence it has unleashed. The faction that celebrates and justifies political murder must be isolated, exposed, and driven out of power. Anything less is unacceptable. The memory of Charlie Kirk demands better. If Democrats refuse to confront this threat, circumstances will continue to escalate. More people will be killed. The legislature must condemn political violence unequivocally.