Kirk killing, one year later: Has US learned to quell violent rhetoric?

PHILADELPHIA — On the eve of the one-year anniversary of Charlie Kirk's assassination, Republican Utah Gov. Spencer Cox and Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro spoke at a Philadelphia event about the importance of civic discourse as a means of quelling political violence.

Neither is a stranger to the impacts of such incidents in their respective states.

Kirk was killed at Utah Valley University.

President Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, in 2024. Shapiro's own home was firebombed while his family slept after a Passover seder in 2025. A man pleaded guilty to attempted murder, aggravated arson and terrorism in connection to the incident and said he targeted Shapiro because of his perceived stance on the Israel-Hamas war.

But the threats have kept coming, Shapiro said, adding that six people have been arrested for making "terroristic threats" against him and his family within the last six or seven months. Many of the threats have been rooted in antisemitism, he said.

"I think we should be deeply concerned, and I think it is something that we all have a responsibility to not reward acts of political violence, not engrandize them and . . . not allow it to take…

Original source: https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/