Leaders in Fresno make plea for civility in wake of Charlie Kirk killing
A bipartisan group of Fresno County leaders called for peace and unity Thursday, a day after the shooting death of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk.
Kirk, 31, was shot while speaking to college students at Utah Valley University in an incident that was caught from multiple angles and spread quickly across social media on Wednesday.
Fresno City Council President Mike Karbassi said he organized a press conference of Democratic and Republican lawmakers to show a united front in the Fresno area in wake of what he described as political violence.
“What happened in Utah could be summed up in one word, and that word is ‘disgusting,’“ Karbassi said. “Charlie Kirk was murdered, and he was murdered for exercising his constitutional rights. No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, no American deserves to be killed for their beliefs, their speech or even their politics.”
Investigators on Thursday morning had not arrested a suspect, but released details on a person of interest. Authorities have not determined the motive for the killing of Kirk.
Karbassi said no “shiny new law” would help to tamp down political violence, but called on individuals to take it upon themselves.
“We have to start taking responsibility for what we do as individual Americans, not just as Democrats and Republicans,” he said. “It doesn’t matter what party you are, all of us have to take responsibility for our own actions. That’s the only way democracy will survive.”
Councilmember Nelson Esparza noted political violence has risen in recent years.
A 57-year-old man was arrested in June for stalking and killing Minnesota House of Representatives Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband; three men were accused of a plot to kidnap and kill Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2020; a 44-year-old man has been sentenced for attacking House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband in 2022; and a 59-year-old would-be assassin was accused of making an attempt on the life of President Donald Trump in June 2024.
“If you are a leader within this community, anywhere within this nation, it is incumbent upon you to join us in helping to turn down the temperature, to join us in asking folks to take a step back, take a deep breath, and remember that we are all American, that we are all residents of this great country, and that the things that bring us together are far greater than those things that divide us,” Esparza said.
Mayor Jerry Dyer’s voice cracked as he noted that Kirk was the father of two daughters ages 1 and 3.
“He was someone who shared his religious beliefs openly, and he did so with conviction, and, yes, Charlie Kirk was controversial,” Dyer said. “There’s no question. He said things that ignited the emotions of other people, especially those who did not agree with him, but Charlie Kirk did not deserve to die.”
Kirk’s past controversial comments have been shared widely on social media, and immediately recirculated after he was shot. Kirk in April 2023 argued gun deaths in the U.S. were worth the benefits of protecting access to guns.
“I think it’s worth it. I think it’s worth to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God-given rights,” he said in a Newsweek article.
Kirk brushed off using “empathy” as a political strategy used by former President Bill Clinton while speaking on his podcast in October 2022.
“I can’t stand the word empathy, actually,” he said. “I think empathy is a made up new age term that does a lot of damage.”
His supporters say Kirk used a confrontational style to encourage debate and the exchange of ideas.
Among his supporters was Fresno County Supervisor Garry Bredefeld, who said he was heartbroken by Kirk’s killing. Bredefeld joined other leaders to “denounce violence of any sort.”
Officials in Fresno said the community would be stronger if residents can learn to tolerate disparate beliefs.
Supervisor Nathan Magsig said he saw the debate happening in the community.
“I was watching comments on social media and there were a lot of people, a lot of emotions were elevated and right now we need to come together and pray on social media,” he said. “If we stand together as a community and choose to reject this violence, I think great things can come of this.”
Supervisor Luis Chavez said he was dismayed when he saw others on social media reveling in Kirk’s death, and called for unity.
“We cannot get bogged down in that space where political assassinations and political violence is the norm,” he said. “I cannot, for the life of me, feel that my children will inherit a world where that is normal. We cannot normalize that and that’s why you saw us come together.”
