Over the past few years, numerous figures in politics have been targeted by acts of violence. Among those victims was Charlie Kirk, a right-wing political activist, who was assassinated on Sept. 10, 2025 at Utah Valley University. In light of the passing of Kirk, this rise in political violence in America has been brought to everyone’s attention.
Thousands of people took to social media upon hearing the news of Kirk’s death. The public voiced their opinions on Instagram, expressing their concerns about the rise of violence in America. Reposts of a post from multiple Everytown for Gun Safety affiliated groups that stated, ‘Gun Violence Doesn’t Care About Ideology’ were seen all over Instagram in the wake of Kirk’s death.
Individuals across the nation were left shocked by this act of political violence against Kirk, including many West Po students.
Junior Delaney Paul said, “I don’t agree with his political views, but I thought it was really sad.”
“I don’t agree with his views, but I still don’t think that anybody deserves to be killed over it,” Senior Elizabeth Webber said, agreeing with Paul.
Many West Po students knew about Kirk’s presence in politics prior to the incident, and have found different reasons for the media’s explosiveness.
Junior Leonard Spielmann said, “Even though you might not like him, you’ve seen him so much on your For You Page that you’ve built a connection with him.”
Senior Peter Hannah said, “I think that people viewed him as a guy with a wife and kids, so it felt sad.”
Meanwhile, Junior Natalie Van Atta said, “I think that the reason some people cared about it so much is because they actually shared the same views as him, and it felt like a personal attack against their opinions rather than an attack against a person.”
However, political violence has been on an upsurge long before Kirk’s attack. Three months ago, Minnesotan Representative Emerita Melissa Hortman and Minnesotan State Senator John Hoffman were also targeted in acts of violence. In contrast, the social media reaction was no one near as responsive as to Kirk’s incident.
Hannah was also aware of the attacks on the Minnesotan politicians, he said, “Yea I heard about it, and thought that it was really sad.”
“I did know about them [Hortman and Hoffman], and there was this dramatic lack of anything being said about them when they were shot and killed in their homes,” Van Atta said.
Webber, on the other hand, had not heard about the incident with the Minnesotan politicians , she said, “I have not seen anything about it in the news. I feel like there should have been more media reported on it.”
Alongside the numerous concerns about the recent rise of political violence, came different demands for change.
“I hope that this results in more action for gun control,” Paul said. While Van Atta said, “I think that there needs to be more acceptance of one another, and there needs to be less polarization in the U.S..”
Spielmann stresses what many Americans believe, “No one should be killed or harmed for their political opinion.”
