The assassination of Charles ‘Charlie’ James Kirk (October 14, 1993 – September 10, 2025), the American right-wing political activist, author and media personality who co-founded the conservative organisation Turning Point USA (TPUSA) in 2012 and served as the Executive Director of this organisation, is the latest, as well as most horrific, addition to the recent spate of political violence in the US. Shooting by an assailant in the presence of countless people during an event held inside a university campus is not only unfortunate, but also terrifying. Although the political beliefs of Kirk, who became recognised as one of the most prominent voices of the Make America Great Again (MAGA) Movement in the Republican Party in his later years, were quite radical, no one could have imagined that he would be killed like this.

The US has a long tradition of fostering and protecting democratic values, like Freedom of Speech and Expression. Hence, it is unbelievable that any staunch leaders, representatives or their associates of either Democratic or Republican Party would be murdered for their political beliefs in that country. As expected, the assassination of Charlie Kirk has shocked the entire world.

The events following the murder have further shaken the US as the rhetoric (which has followed in its aftermath) has been unsurprisingly divisive. Political divisions and hatred are at their peak in the US during the second presidency of Donald John Trump. Now, it is not just about the Republican-Democrat bickering anymore. Everything from race, religion, colour, immigration to trade, have become weapons of the US President’s divisive policy. The problem is that the Trump Administration has started framing any political or civil opposition as an opposition to the MAGA policy of the President. At the height of polarisation, the assassination of a close friend of President Trump is like stoking a fire of hatred.

As the US citizens are still in shock, the Head of the State needs to send a message of peace. At a time when Spencer Cox, the Republican Governor of Utah, has urged people to “choose a different path” from rage and violence, President Trump has escalated threats to crack down on what he describes as the Radical Left following Kirk’s assassination, stirring fears that his administration is trying to harness outrage over the killing to suppress political opposition. Some influential Trump Administration officials have already demanded that opponents who did not express regret over the assassination of Kirk be fired from their jobs. Stephen Miller, a top policy adviser, reportedly said that there was an “organised campaign that led to this assassination“.

Political analysts have opined that there would be a backlash to the killing of Kirk. However, it remains to be seen whether the state would begin its own trial by finding individuals, parties or groups guilty. Since the Trump Administration does not respect the Constitution or the Judiciary, it may create an undeclared emergency-like situation in response to the murder of Kirk. The US Administration has already started provoking people on social media.

The next target would be public spaces. The issue of maintaining law and order in public spaces is a bit more complicated, but not impossible as the ruler controls the Armed Forces and the Police. It could be anything… from counter-repressive policy in the pretext of curbing crime in Democrat-ruled big cities to cutting off federal fundings to different provinces. One murder could change the not-too-distant future of the US.

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das