WASHINGTON — Sen. John Fetterman is cautioning his fellow Democrats to ease up on their rhetoric in the wake of the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
“It's horrific. It's absolutely horrific. I mean, I've seen the video multiple times,” the Pennsylvania Democrat told Raw Story outside the U.S. Capitol, of the killing of Kirk at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah last week.
Kirk was speaking to a large crowd when was shot in the neck.
In the seven days since the killing, debate has been intense.
Republicans have blamed the political left, with President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Attorney General Pam Bondi and other senior figures promising a legal crackdown on groups they say promote violence against political opponents.
Some Democrats and progressives have pushed back, pointing to the prevalence of right-wing groups among perpetrators of politically motivated violence.
The full motivations of the 22-year-old suspect, Trent Robinson, remain unclear.
But Republican Utah Governor Spencer Cox has said Robinson’s views shifted left after he spent time in “dark corners of the internet.”
Authorities have said they will seek the death penalty.
Fetterman insisted: “I'm not going to talk about the politics. I'm not going to talk about who's right or who was this or that. It's just like: Don't shoot [and] kill people if they have different political views.”
The first-term senator is warning fellow Democrats that the murder of Kirk, who was 31 and the founder of youth-oriented rightwing group Turning Point USA, is different to other high-profile instances of gun violence.
“This isn't like ‘thoughts and prayers,’” Fetterman said, referencing a common, evasive response to mass shootings from gun rights supporters that often stokes fierce debate.
“This is not about trying to use that to argue your own positions.
“I don't care, you know, if you think someone's extreme. So what? It's just like, that's democracy, that's free speech. And now I'm not going to make it any more complicated than just that. It’s terrible.”
Saying it was “so sad it’s become predictable” that partisan debate should break out after high-profile instances of gun violence, Fetterman expressed concern for Kirk’s wife, Erika Kirk, and two young children.
“It’s just, like, they lost their father, they lost their husband,” the senator said.
“And it has traumatized our nation, having someone’s neck torn apart by a bullet … someone that has his different political views.
“It’s like, I mean, don't do that. Condemn that.”
‘That’s free speech’
Raw Story asked if Fetterman’s thoughts had turned this week to the assassination attempt against Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania during the election last year, after which “we saw people dancing.”
Fetterman said: “Well that’s turned into one thing … It's just like, don't shoot anyone. Especially for having different political views. It's always wrong.
“I don't care, you know, if you think someone's extreme. So what? It's just like, that's democracy, that's free speech. And now I'm not going to make it any more complicated than just that. It’s terrible.
"I mean, you know, like if someone murdered my … I mean, when [Kirk’s] kids grow up, that will live forever on the internet.
“Not everything has to turn into the next political argument. It's like, you condemn that and just allow people to grieve. And, you know, for the Republicans, that was part of their big point. Like, give it to them. Allow them the space to grieve.”
Prayers for Kirk were said on the House floor, followed by a congressional vigil. Some Republicans have called for further memorializations, including a likeness of Kirk in Statuary Hall.
“Like, give them the opportunity to [grieve],” Fetterman said. “I'm not going to hold them accountable for everything that they say if they’re upset or whatever.
“Just let them have their space with that.”
