House Floor Erupts in Chaos After Moment of Silence for Charlie Kirk

The U.S. House of Representatives descended into shouting on Wednesday after Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) led a moment of silence to honor conservative leader Charlie Kirk, who was tragically gunned down during an appearance at Utah Valley University.

Johnson had told reporters before entering the chamber that he would pause House business to recognize Kirk’s passing. Following the moment of silence, Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) requested a prayer be read. Democrats shouted “no” in response, sparking outrage.

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) fired back at the outburst, shouting at Democrats, “You f***ing own this.” Democrats retaliated by invoking a separate Colorado school shooting that occurred earlier in the day.

“Pass some gun laws,” one Democrat yelled from across the chamber.

Speaking afterward, Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) condemned the behavior, echoing Luna’s fury: “Democrats own what happened today.”

Earlier that morning, Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.) had introduced a resolution on the shooting before Kirk’s death was confirmed. He later updated the text to denounce the attack as a “horrific political assassination,” calling Kirk a “faith-based conservative spokesman and thought leader.” Several Republicans quickly co-sponsored the resolution.

Johnson, addressing the press before Kirk’s death was official, condemned the political violence rocking the country. “We need everyone who has a platform to say this loudly and clearly, we can settle disagreements and disputes in a civil manner, and political violence must be called out, and it has to stop,” Johnson said.

Charlie Kirk, just 31 years old, was the co-founder of Turning Point USA, the powerful grassroots organization that has mobilized millions of young Americans to embrace conservatism and support President Donald J. Trump.

President Trump confirmed Kirk’s death on Truth Social, issuing a deeply personal tribute:

“The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead. No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!”

Video from the event appeared to capture the horrific moment. Kirk was speaking under a white tent when the gunfire erupted, sending the crowd fleeing as people screamed, “Run, run, run!”

Messages of support and prayers flooded social media, not only from President Trump and Vice President JD Vance, but also from across the political spectrum—including California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

“The attack on Charlie Kirk is disgusting, vile, and reprehensible. In the United States of America, we must reject political violence in EVERY form,” Newsom posted on X.

Ellen Treanor, Associate Vice President of Strategic Communication Management at Utah Valley University, confirmed the timeline to Fox News.

“We had a speaker, Charlie Kirk, who was invited by a student group, Turning Point USA, who was speaking on campus today at noon,” she said. “At about 12:20 shots were fired from a building about 200 yards from the speaker. To the best of our knowledge, the individual was hit and was taken away immediately by his security personnel. The campus is closed for the rest of the day and our campus police has a suspect in custody.”

Moments before the attack, Kirk was addressing the issue of mass shootings by transgender individuals:

Audience member: “Do you know how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years?”
Kirk: “Too many.”

The audience member clarified the number as five and then asked how many mass shooters in total there have been in the past decade.
Kirk: “Counting or not counting gang violence?”

The chilling exchange marked the final moments before the assassination attempt cut short the life of one of America’s most influential conservative voices.