Moments before the crack of a gunshot changed everything, thousands of students had gathered under clear blue skies at an idyllic Utah college to hear from a man considered a rock star in conservative campus politics.
As the 31-year-old Charlie Kirk sat under a tent, debating political opponents taking their turn at a microphone, many gathered on the lawns cheered – and some protested. Seconds later, they were all running in terror.
The activist was struck in the neck by a bullet, mortally wounded. The episode playing out as cameras rolled, some showing the murder in bloody detail.
The images will be hard to forget - particularly for the many young conservatives for whom Kirk held celebrity status. The leader of their movement, regardless of the ultimate motive behind his killing, will now be viewed as a martyr for the cause.
Kirk, in the past, had warned of what he said was the threat of violence from his critics – of which he had many, given his provocative style of conservatism. Nonetheless he was willing to travel to college campuses, where the politics frequently tilt to the left, and debate all comers.
Kirk's killing is both another episode of shocking gun violence in America – and the latest in an ever-lengthening line of recent political violence.
Earlier this year, two Democratic state legislators in Minnesota were shot in their homes – with one dying from her wounds. Last year, Donald Trump was twice the target of assassination attempts. His brush with a bullet at an outdoor rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, bears striking similarities to Wednesday's shooting in Utah – both playing out before gathered crowds at outdoor venues.
Violence begets violence. Increasingly divisive rhetoric, fueled by social media echo chambers and easy access to firearms, leads to raw nerves and a heightened potential for bloodshed.
In emotional remarks during a press conference, Governor Spencer Cox – who has frequently spoken out against overheated political rhetoric and political divisiveness – described a nation, soon to celebrate a milestone anniversary of its founding, that is 'broken'.
Many prominent Republicans and Democrats, including potential 2028 presidential contenders, lined up to condemn political violence and call for cooling of rhetoric. However, as tensions flare within Congress, it becomes evident that the trajectory of American politics appears grim.
