Inside the rise in political violence against conservatives amid 'accelerating derangement of the woke left'

The 31-year-old was shot on Wednesday during a speech at Utah Valley University as part of his "American Comeback" tour.

He sat under a white gazebo to take questions from a crowd of about 3,000 in the university's "quad", an outdoor courtyard.

During a conversation with someone in the crowd, a shot was heard and Mr Kirk slumped in his chair, before being rushed to hospital, where he was declared dead.

Just five months prior to that, he posted on social media in April: "Assassination culture is spreading on the left. Forty-eight per cent of liberals say it would be at least somewhat justified to murder Elon Musk. Fifty-five per cent said the same about Donald Trump.

"The left is being whipped into a violent frenzy. Any setback, whether losing an election or losing a court case, justifies a maximally violent response.

"This is the natural outgrowth of left-wing protest culture, tolerating violence and mayhem for years on end. The cowardice of local prosecutors and school officials has turned the left into a ticking time bomb."

The rise in political violence against right-wing figures has grown rapidly in recent years, with the assassination attempts on Donald Trump last year, the shooting of Republican Congressman Steve Scalise in 2017, and the New Mexico Republican Party headquarters suffering an arson attack in March 2025, to name a few.

Across the pond here in the UK, the murder of Conservative MP Sir David Amess (and Labour MP Jo Cox) is still fresh in the mind for many after Mr Kirk's murder.

Chairman of Republicans Overseas, Greg Swenson, told GB News that this growing threat is "partly due to the absolute derangement of the Trump derangement syndrome".

Mr Swenson said: "When I was critical of Barack Obama or Joe Biden, I didn't go into a full meltdown every time they did something.

"And I also appreciated when they did some things I liked and you're not seeing that from the Democratic Party, which has gone to extremes."

The worry for some is that people are not engaging in dialogue, with not only the rise in violence we are seeing, but the sharp increase in cancel culture.

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Watch in full Charlie Kirk's interview with Ben Leo on GB News

Founder and Director of campaign group Academics For Academic Freedom, Professor Denis Hayes, explained to GB News: "What we find is that when you call some groups out for censorship, the reaction is abusive and vitriolic.

"Criticise any trans activist group for demanding a speaker is cancelled and you will be accused of trying to make 'Trans' People 'disappear', and be accused of being hate mongers or fascists.

"For years, women demanding their rights have been met by aggressive, threatening masked male activists.

"Many on what you might still refer to as the 'left' equate words with violence. That's where we are.

"To many, there is no difference between speaking, arguing, and physical violence. It used to be accepted that speech was a substitute for violence. That belief has gone."

Toby Young from the Free Speech Union (FSU) echoed the thoughts of Hayes, noting there has "been a rise in political violence in the United States in the past 18 months".

He told GB News: "I don't think it's accurate to say this reflects the increasing polarisation of American politics since nearly all the violence has been meted out by one side against the other. It reflects the accelerating derangement of the woke left."

Violence has become more prominent with the growth of social media as the online age kicks in.

The killing of Mr Kirk has been viewed by millions online, and risks people becoming vulnerable to viewing graphic scenes.

Lee Cohen, a US commentator and columnist, told GB News: "We live in a society where everything is virtual, and so the horrors of taking away life don't seem real, as there's more violence in the political arena and in schools. I think that very tragically, people get desensitised."

The increase in violence is not only linked to right-wing figures, but left-wing individuals too.

In the US in October 2018, several pipe bombs were delivered to critics of Mr Trump and in April of this year, Democrat Governor Josh Shapiro and his family had to flee their home after an alleged arson attack.

Here in the UK, people do not forget the murder of Labour MP Jo Cox in 2016 and earlier this week, the office of Labour MP for Washington and Gateshead South, Sharon Hodgson, was hit by a suspected arson attack.

FBI Special Agent for 20 years, Katherine Schweit, told GB News: "The shooting [of Charlie Kirk] is another horrific example of the rising political violence here in the United States, not just against the right, but against the left.

"It is very reminiscent of the type of political violence that we experienced in the 1960s and 70s, with the Kennedys and Martin Luther King. There's a rise in political violence, but it's against all types of politicians.

"Earlier in the year, we saw a man who killed a Democratic caucus leader in Minnesota and her husband; that individual had a hit list of 45 democratic targets. So the violence is occurring on both ends of the spectrum."

Reuters identified last year at least 300 cases of political violence across the US between the January 6 attack on the Capitol and the 2024 presidential election.

For the first time in any General Election campaign in the UK, all candidates were offered some form of basic security.

There is a growing fear amongst individuals that with this assassination, people will be afraid to speak their mind and have an open discussion without the fear of being hurt.

Professor Young explained that "academics are fearful of putting their heads above the parapet".

He continued: "Study after study shows that academics and students are afraid to speak out if they have conservative views.

"What is different after Utah is that academics and students will be fearful of even speaking out for free speech."

Mr Kirk famously pushed for freedom of speech and was renowned for having open dialogues and debates with college students, including one at the Oxford Union.

The US Ambassador to the UK, Warren Stephens, told GB News: "I think the political rhetoric ought to be dialled down everywhere.

"I knew Charlie, and if we are not going to be allowed to debate ideas on a college campus openly and freely, then where are we going to be able to do that?"

Multiple political figures have pushed for discussion to return to the table, and society moves away from polarising politics.

One of Mr Kirk's most popular posts on social media read: "When people stop talking, that's when you get violence. That's when civil war happens because you start to think the other side is so evil and they lose their humanity."

Mr Swenson echoed the thoughts of Mr Kirk's post and pushed for moving away from the growth in political violence and censoring freedom of speech.

He said: "I think Charlie will go down as a great champion of free speech. I hope that spreads to the UK, because the UK is going through a rough patch. But I say that not as a real critic, because we have the same thing in the US, a little different.

"People need to start talking more rather than reacting to violence and vitriolic hatred of their political opponents. It's just not healthy."

The reactions from millions online can provide hope for people that the scenes of Mr Kirk's assassination act as a "turning point" away from violence.

Mr Cohen explained: "I'm extremely encouraged by some of the reactions I've seen in the traditional and social media.

"This is a turning point, and it will embolden people for hopefully civilised debates and not through anger to a cycle of more violence."

The FSU noted a similar message to Mr Cohen's saying: "Free speech cannot be allowed to die with Charlie."

Mr Young said: "Political opponents need to engage more in discussion and debate, not less. It's the only way to resolve our differences without more bloodshed."