©️Tess Crowley/AP
Utah, September 11, 2025.- Charlie Kirk, an influential 31-year-old pro-Trump conservative activist, was shot dead on Wednesday on a university campus in Utah during a public lecture. The US authorities denounce a « political assassination »thus confirming the worrying rise of political violence in the United States.
Charlie Kirk, followed by nearly seven million people on social networks, was considered one of the major voices of conservative youth. He was fatally hit on the neck by a shooting about 180 metres away, as he answered questions from the public. Witnesses describe a panic scene, marked by screaming and crowds at large.
The governor of Utah, Spencer Cox, denounced a « political assassination »While the FBI confirmed that it interviewed a person of interest, promptly released. The suspect, dressed in black, reportedly fired from the roof of a nearby building.
Donald Trump responded by paying tribute to his political ally, welcoming a man who « inspired millions of people », before ordering that the flags be put in dungeon at the White House until Sunday.
This assassination is part of a series of violent acts that have targeted American politicians in recent years: the shooting of Republican elected officials in 2017, the attack on the Capitol in 2021, the assault on Paul Pelosi in 2022 and the attempt to assassinate Trump in 2024.
Experts are now concerned about the trivialization of political violence, which threatens the ability to debate and exercise democracy in the United States.
W.A.
