The life of a politician or political figure with a great amount of influence can generally be seen as dangerous because of what they advocate and push for. This can especially be true for individuals like Charlie Kirk.
Sometimes, their lives can become dangerous depending on how much influence they have, how loud they’re preaching and what they’re preaching about. Such dangers include risk of injury or even death 一 the latter of which America has seen often.
Kirk, 31, was shot earlier on Sept. 10, 2025, while speaking at a debate event at Utah Valley University hosted by Turning Point USA (TPUSA), a conservative non-profit organization he co-founded aimed at the “development of knowledge, skills, values, and motivation, so [the American youth] can meaningfully engage in their communities to restore traditional American values like patriotism, respect for life, liberty, family, and fiscal responsibility.”
According to police and FBI, the singular gun shot came from a rooftop between 140 and 200 yards away, the BBC reported. Kirk was struck in the neck
With the shooter still at large, the White House and numerous right-wing, conservative groups have come out to pay their respects, labeling him a martyr for conservative, Christian America. Some are going as far as to label him a “modern day MLK,” according to the The New York Times (NYT).
When trying to think of another political figure of Kirk’s magnitude and influence who has been assassinated for their views, American Principles Project President Terry Shilling could only equate it to Martin Luther King Jr.’s death, despite fighting on different sides of the political spectrum.
Organizations like Intercessors for America (IFA) are using this moment to throw mud at the left, drawing contrast between Kirk’s death and the shooting of the United Healthcare CEO, stating that “many will celebrate this horrific assassination on social media, the same way they defended Luigi Mangioni and the attempts on President Trump.”
They go on to say that “Witches are cursing our leaders,” though it remains up for debate whether or not a paid-for curse from an Etsy witch really has the ability to do much, let alone give some political force an aching stomach.
But where was this sentiment from the right when two Minnesota politicians were violently targeted 一 one killed, along with her husband 一 for being democrats?
Kirk was a staunch advocate for 2nd Amendment rights and less gun control, having stated at at 2023 TPUSA event that, “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.”
Little did he know he would then become part of the cost on the same day that two teens and the shooter were injured or killed at Evergreen High School in Colorado.
Comparing Kirk to MLK is a flawed analogy, as the latter was fighting for equal and civil rights for those who have historically been oppressed in this country, whereas Kirk has been fighting for a Christian America (forget separation of church and state) that bends to the will of conservative, cis, White America, who do not truly know what oppression feels like.
So what will the right and conservative groups do now that their conservative poster boy is gone? How will his death shape and turn the tides of modern American political history?