Justice Barrett Decries ‘Political Discourse’ Following Kirk Assassination

Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett weighed in on the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk during a Monday appearance on The Hugh Hewitt Show, reflecting on the shocking loss and cautioning about America’s declining political culture.

Hewitt, who had hosted both Barrett and Kirk at separate events just hours apart, opened the discussion with a somber reminder. “Two hours after I was done talking to you, my colleague Charlie was murdered,” he said, asking Barrett for her reaction.

“That was horrific,” Barrett replied. “I was at Notre Dame shortly after I left you at the Nixon Library, and the mood on campus was very somber. I mean, for the father of two young children and a husband to be murdered in cold blood was a tragedy and certainly sobering for the nation.”

Barrett tied the killing to the nation’s toxic political climate. “I think it is a sign of a culture that has—where political discourse has soured beyond control and something that we need to really pull back,” she said. “Obviously, well, I assume that the person who murdered Charlie Kirk was mentally ill, but nonetheless, you know, to create a culture in which political discourse can lead to political violence is unacceptable in the United States.”

Hewitt noted Barrett’s new book Listening to the Law and her use of G.K. Chesterton’s writings on the difference between arguments and quarrels. Barrett agreed, stressing that Kirk himself embodied the spirit of healthy debate.

“That’s the opposite of what Charlie Kirk did. He consistently engaged the other side,” she said. “When you do engage the other side, we’re engaging ideas and we’re not trying to attack or tear down people. There’s a huge difference between the two. And I think those who fall into attacking people primarily do it verbally and not physically. But too often, I guess we’re now seeing that verbal attacks can spill over into something more sinister.”

Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA and one of the most influential conservative voices of his generation, was gunned down last week while addressing a crowd of nearly 3,000 students and supporters at Utah Valley University. A sniper-style bullet struck him in the neck, and he later died at a local hospital. His assassination has sparked nationwide outrage, a massive FBI-led manhunt, and renewed calls to confront the rising tide of political violence.

Barrett concluded with a hope that Kirk’s murder might mark a societal wake-up call: “I really hope that the assassination of Charlie Kirk is a turning point for us as a society where we look and see where things have come—the point at which we’ve come to in the United States.”