Friday, September 12, 2025

Charlie Kirk's Assassination

eNewspaper | Crosswords | Horoscopes

This is America

Stories of justice and action across America

Fri Sep 12 2025

The murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk shocked much of the nation this week, inflaming tensions as Americans grapple with a fever of political violence.

Here again, This is America readers, Phillip M. Bailey, chief political correspondent for USA TODAY.

"We got him. "

After a 3-day manhunt Utah Gov. Spencer Cox identified 22-year-old Tyler Robinson as the alleged shooter, who was taken into custody after a relative contacted a family friend, who told authorities Robinson had "confessed to them or implied that he committed the incident."

He allegedly used a high-powered bolt-action rifle to kill the 31-year-old Kirk, a close ally of President Donald Trump who rose through the conservative movement's ranks, according to authorities.

Now U.S. leaders are others are left to pick up the pieces, and figure out how the country can move forward amid continued finger-pointing as to why this happened, and if anything can be done to stop future incidents.

Turning Point USA members mourn conservative activist Charlie Kirk in Houston on Sept. 11, 2025.

Antranik Tavitian/Reuters

For more on what's happening with the Charlie Kirk assassination see the USA TODAY Network's coverage:

•	Here's what we know about Tyler Robinson, the suspect in Charlie Kirk's murder. He attended school in the south Utah city of St. George; has no criminal history; and does not have a party affiliation.
•	Kirk was a symbol for many young people. Now what? A generation of Americans, this assassination will be a defining moment they must reckon with. For many Republicans, he was a culture warrior who embraced traditional values with a free speech brashness that made conservatism cool. For many Democrats, however, Kirk was an offensive rage-baiter and the face of the MAGA movement's combative style.
•	Trump plans to attend Kirk's funeral. The president has already announced he will posthumously award Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom, but Trump also announced he will be attending the Turning Point USA founder's funeral in Arizona, which will likely attracted thousands of mourners.

What outrage about the 'Phillies Karen' says about the U.S.

A guy hustling to get his son a baseball that flew into the stands during a Philadelphia Phillies game is supposed to be a cherished moment in America, but it has turned into a cultural touchstone thanks to an irate woman who berated the man into giving her the ball.

Of course the moment went viral with many labeling her " Phillies Karen." But the outrage has ballooned with many seeking to find her name and get her fired − or worse − to the point where the dad is asking for cooler heads to prevail.

So why do we see such a collective umbrage when these things happen to the point where some become internet sleuths or even online vigilantes?

Psychotherapist Stephanie Sarkis believes it strikes a lightning rod for deep-rooted feelings of injustice and inequality. She told USA TODAY the image of an adult yanking a baseball from a child symbolizes bullying and intimidation that many people experience and find unacceptable.

There's a "generational resentment" too, other experts say, given that it was a much older person taking something away from a younger person amid a growing feeling that economic and social outcomes in the U.S. are getting worse for the generations born after baby boomers.

Thanks for reading! See you back next week with more stories of justice from across the country.

Threats that caused lockdowns at multiple HBCUs believed to be hoaxes

Entrance to Alabama State University seen in Montgomery Ala., on Thursday September 11, 2025.

The FBI said it had "no information to indicate a credible threat" after several historically Black colleges and universities were sent into lockdown.

READ MORE