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Thursday, September 11, 2025

Charlie Kirk’s killing sends shockwaves, blame and vitriol through Capitol Hill

Charlie Kirk was not yet pronounced dead when conservative Republicans began assigning blame to Democrats on Capitol Hill — and then the shouting began.

As the House of Representatives convened for a vote, it planned to first hold a moment of silence and prayer for the conservative youth activist who led Turning Point USA and had become the face of the right-wing youth movement that supported President Donald Trump.

But as Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) sought to read a prayer, Democrats pushed back.

“The Southern Baptist in me, that's not what we do,” Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) told The Independent. “We pray to God, then we pray out loud.”

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida yelled at Democrats across the aisle, “Y’all caused this."

Rep. Brittany Bettersen (D-Colo.) attributed the affair to a misunderstanding. Just hours after Kirk’s shooting, news reports came out about a shooting at Evergreen High School in Jefferson County, Colorado.

“She was asking for somebody to read a prayer for him, and they were screaming out, what about the people of Colorado at the same time that she was saying, and also the people, the students in the school,” Pettersen told The Independent.

But by then, the tempest had boiled over and vitriol abounded, as conservatives immediately sought to blame the Democrats for the death of one of their most influential leaders.

Read more here.

By Eric Garcia

Reading list

Daily briefing

Charlie Kirk speaking at Utah Valley University before the shooting

Eyewitness describes moment Charlie Kirk shot in neck at Utah speaking event

"I was listening, praying, that hopefully there are no more shots," eyewitness Justin Hicken told The Independent in a phone interview a short time later, Justin Rohrlich reports.

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QUOTE OF THE DAY

Whether we want to accept it or not, they are at war with us. And what are we going to do about it?

Fox News host Jesse Watters after the killing of Charlie Kirk.

What else you need to know

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