Staff Reports
The assassination of conservative firebrand Charlie Kirk stunned the nation and ripped open a moral wound in America’s public square. What was supposed to be a campus debate turned into a funeral procession for decency, and the instinctive human response should have been mourning and sober reflection, not partisan finger-pointing and celebration.
Christian commentator Billy Hallowell and other faith leaders were right to call out the grotesque glee some on the left displayed; Hallowell described reveling in a man’s death as “absolutely demonic,” and that blunt moral language is exactly what’s needed when our culture treats human life as a partisan trophy. Conservatives are not blind to the fact that Kirk was a polarizing figure, but decency and the sanctity of life are not negotiable—even for those who disagree with him. Voices across the right have demanded the same basic standard of humanity that people of faith and common sense insist upon.
The footage and posts that circulated online—laughing clips, smug commentary, and outright praise for a political assassination—were nauseating and self-revealing. News outlets documented multiple viral videos of people openly celebrating Kirk’s death on platforms like TikTok and X, and anybody who thinks those images don’t matter is naïve about how narratives are formed. This wasn’t just anonymous fringe chatter; it was a moral litmus test for an entire cultural class.
Texas officials compounded the outrage by embarking on a blunt, politically tinged crackdown on educators whose private social posts mentioned the assassination, prompting the Texas AFT to file suit against the state education agency for overreach and vagueness. Conservatives rightly support accountability for those who cross the line into threats or incitement, but we must also be wary of government wielding vague speech-policing directives that can be used selectively against dissenting voices. There is a real tension between punishing celebratory, hateful speech and protecting free expression, and the state has a responsibility to be precise and even-handed.
The fallout has already produced messy, headline-grabbing reversals: a tenured professor who was fired over a post related to the assassination was later reinstated and awarded a settlement, underscoring how easily institutions panic and punish first while thinking later. This is a cautionary tale for schools and employers that rush to discipline without due process; conservatives have long warned that mob-driven reputational destruction will not withstand legal scrutiny. Public institutions should restore balance and ensure that consequences follow the rule of law, not the loudest outrage.
On the right, calls for accountability did not stop at social media posts; political leaders and pundits demanded a full accounting of who funded and fomented the climate that makes political violence possible. President Trump and other conservative voices framed the murder in the broader context of left-wing demonization of opponents, arguing that a sustained campaign of dehumanizing rhetoric lowers the barrier to violence. Whether you agree with every rhetorical flourish, arguing that rhetoric has consequences is not an excuse for vigilantism—it’s a call to reassert responsibility and enforce the law.
This moment should force soul-searching across the media and political class. Too many in mainstream outlets and liberal institutions rushed to moral equivalence or, worse, excused celebratory comments as mere catharsis—an approach that betrays the victims and betrays the country. Conservatives must be relentless in exposing the hypocrisy: if the left truly prizes tolerance and empathy, it must demonstrate those values even when the target is a political enemy.
The right response is twofold: demand consequences for those who incite or celebrate violence, and refuse to surrender our principles of due process, free speech, and the sanctity of life. Working Americans deserve leaders who will protect the rule of law and instill civic decency, not opportunists who weaponize tragedies for political gain. If we stand firm now—calling out demonic glee, insisting on fair procedures, and defending the vulnerable—we can begin to heal and reclaim a national culture where human life matters above partisan scorekeeping.
