Sep. 20—Republican U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks this past weekend called for more discourse and free speech in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination while also condemning an Oskaloosa teacher who exercised his free speech by celebrating the conservative activist’s death in an inflammatory post on social media.
“We need more debate. We need more discourse. We need more free speech,” she said. “But we also have to hold people accountable.”
The congresswoman’s conflicting message was given during the Jasper County Republican Party Trapshoot fundraiser on Sept. 13 in Newton. Miller-Meeks prefaced her remarks by saying there is a lot of extremism in politics now and that elected officials should be counted on to “bring down the temperature.”
Miller-Meeks also told fellow party members that there is no place for political violence in the United States and that Republicans have to make that known. She also mentioned that she condemned the assassination of Minnesota lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her husband back in June.
Miller-Meeks claimed Kirk’s main goals in life were to have more debate and more discourse and to support free speech. However, she also said people have to be held accountable for their speech, particularly when it comes to celebrating political violence. She specifically mentioned the incident in Oskaloosa.
According to local media reports, high school art teacher Matt Kargol posted the message “1 Nazi down” on his personal Facebook page after Kirk was killed. The post has since been deleted and the Oskaloosa superintendent recommended he be fired. Miller-Meeks said on Twitter/X that she was “disturbed” by the post.
“Cheering political violence is always wrong and should never be done by those who educate our children,” Miller-Meeks said in the Twitter/X on Sept. 10, noting she reached out to the school district. “I will be contacting the superintendent and principal first thing in the morning to ensure this is addressed immediately.”
The Oskaloosa School Board is scheduled to consider whether to terminate Kargol’s contract at its Sept. 17 meeting. Miller-Meeks told Republicans it is important for them to know their elected leaders want to “tamp down the rhetoric” and make sure people in positions of authority are “held to a higher standard.”
At the trapshoot, Miller-Meeks provided party members with an update that was met with applause.
“That individual has been terminated,” she said. “Now, of course, they’ll have due process, as they should. But at this point in time they’re recommending, well, they’re not terminating, but they recommend termination. But they went through the process. And that’s what we hope for everyone else.”
Other employees across the United States are being reprimanded — or “canceled” — for similar remarks about Kirk’s death. Lawmakers in Iowa have called for the firing of university employees who celebrated Kirk’s death. Vice President J.D. Vance even encouraged people to contact employers.
Free speech is a constitutional right of the United States of America, and it is protected under the First Amendment. However, some speech is not protected by the First Amendment, including incitement of imminent lawless actions, obscenity, defamation and true threats or fighting words.
When it comes to school employees expressing themselves, oftentimes districts develop policies that limit or restrict speech.
For instance, the Newton Community School District’s employee handbook says that teachers who use social media platforms are encouraged to remember the school community may not be able to separate employees as private citizens from their role within the district.
The handbook goes on to say that if an employee’s expression on social media platforms interferes with the district’s operations or prevents the district or employee from functioning efficiently and effectively, they may be subject to discipline up to and including termination.
ABC suspended Jimmy Kimmel Live! on September 17 after Nexstar, the largest television-station owner in the country, promised to pull it over Kimmel’s comments on Charlie Kirk’s death. In response, some people are now pulling their support for ABC and parent company Disney. The WGA, SAG-AFTRA, and celebrities across Hollywood have all spoken up in support of Kimmel, and in-person protests are happening on both coasts. Meanwhile, some creatives with ties to Disney are speaking out: Lost creator Damon Lindelof announced on September 18 that he will not work for Disney until Jimmy Kimmel Live! returns, while She-Hulk star Tatiana Maslany has endorsed a boycott of Disney+ and HulkMark Ruffalo points out the economic impact. Stars from other studios, like Cynthia Nixon, Noah Centineo, and more, are showing their support as well by cancelling their subs.
Hundreds of WGA and SAG-AFTRA members picketed outside Disney’s headquarters in Burbank on September 18, displaying signs with messages including “ABC Bends the Knee to Fascism” and “This is literally what your show Andor is about!” On the same day, picketers also gathered outside of El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, where Kimmel tapes his show. “Here Comes Hitler: A New Comedy From ABC,” one sign read. Several other signs encouraged people to cancel their subscriptions to Disney+ and Hulu.
About 100 people also gathered in front of ABC’s New York headquarters where the crowd chanted “Kimmel stays, Trump must go” and “ABC, grow a spine,” per Variety. Assemblymember Alex Bores said in a speech that it is “un-American” for the government to take someone off the air “because of political speech.” And there are plans for more picketing: The Writers Guild of America East announced that it will protest outside the entrance to ABC’s offices in Manhattan on Friday to “demand ABC bring back Jimmy Kimmel Live! and to fight to protect free speech.”
The Hulk actor quoted a post about how Disney’s stock is reportedly down 7% and points out how much worse it can get financially. He writes, “It’s going to go down a lot further if they cancel his show. Disney does not want to be the ones that broke America.”
Nixon shared a video of herself canceling her Hulu and Disney+ subscription in solidarity with Kimmel. She explained how she let the streamers know the reasoning behind her decision. The HBO star said, “They asked me why and I hit other and I wrote, ‘Because I believe in the First Amendment, reinstate Jimmy Kimmel now.’” She then named Abbott Elementary and Only Murders in the Building as shows her family would miss but they would miss the First Amendment more.
While it looks like Centineo might’ve bought a Disney+ subscription just to cancel it, he’s standing in solidarity with the boycott. How else is The Fosters star supposed to participate if he didn’t have a subscription to begin with?
The Supernatural actor posted that he will be canceling his Disney+ subscription “indefinitely,” following the same language as the original Kimmel suspension.
Maslany, who plays the titular role in Disney+’s She-Hulk, encouraged more than half a million followers to cancel their subscriptions to Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN in a September 18 Instagram Story.
While calls to boycott Disney have spread, including from action group 50501, Lindelof is the first creative to publicly threaten to boycott working with the company entirely until Jimmy Kimmel Live! returns. “I was shocked, saddened and infuriated by yesterday’s suspension and look forward to it being lifted soon,” Lindelof wrote in a September 18 Instagram post. “If it isn’t, I can’t in good conscience work for the company that imposed it. If you’re about to fire up in my comments, just ask yourself if you know the difference between hate speech and a joke. I think you still do.”
The Watchmen creator also emphasized his friendship to Kimmel and faith in the host’s patriotism. “I met him for the first time backstage at the ABC upfronts in 2004,” Lindelof wrote. “He had just seen the Lost pilot and dug it. He also said, ‘I hope you guys know what you’re doing.’” He added that, “In the twenty years since, I’ve gotten to know Jimmy and if you know Jimmy, you know his incredible wife and head writer, Molly, who is not just his better half but his better three quarters. You also know he is caring and empathic and grateful. You know he loves his country.”
new video loaded: Trump Escalates Attack on Free Speech
By Zolan Kanno-Youngs, Christina Thornell and David Seekamp•
Zolan Kanno-Youngs, a White House correspondent for The New York Times, describes how the Trump administration’s pressuring of ABC to take action against Jimmy Kimmel is part of a broader crackdown by the administration since the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
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Zolan Kanno-Youngs, Christina Thornell and David Seekamp
The memorial service for Charlie Kirk is set for Sunday in Arizona. Charlie Kirk AP
PHOENIX, AZ – The memorial service for Charlie Kirk is set for Sunday in Arizona. “Building a Legacy: Remembering Charlie Kirk” is scheduled to take place at State Farm Stadium in Glendale.
Kirk was shot and killed while speaking at a college in Utah on September 10th. President Trump, Vice President Vance, and Kirk’s widow Erika Kirk are all expected to deliver remarks. Also set to speak is Secretary of State Marco Rubio, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
The Glendale Police Department reportedly will have several hundred additional officers assigned to the service, there will be security drones in the air, and a high-tech real-time crime center crew will monitor the stadium perimeter. Local and state law enforcement are working alongside the U.S. Secret Service for the event.
The service is set to start at 11 a.m. Pacific Time.
An armed man was arrested Friday afternoon outside of a stadium in Arizona, where a memorial service for conservative activist Charlie Kirk – who was shot and killed as he spoke at an event at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10. – is scheduled to take place, law enforcement officials said.
The U.S. Secret Service (USSS) told CBS News in a statement that a man was “observed exhibiting suspicious behavior” at the NFL-sized State Farm Stadium in Glendale. Secret Service agents approached the man, who told agents that he was a member of law enforcement and was armed.
The Arizona Department of Public Safety said the man, identified as Joshua Runkles, was not a member of law enforcement. Runkles, 42, was booked into the Maricopa County Jail for impersonating a law enforcement officer and carrying a weapon into a prohibited place, officials said. Runkles has since been released on bond, according to the Arizona Department of Public Safety.
“The U.S. Secret Service and local law enforcement are investigating the circumstances as to why he was at the location,” the USSS statement said.
President Trump and Vice President JD Vance, along with several administration officials, are scheduled to speak on Sunday at the memorial for the 31-year-old co-founder of Turning Point USA. His widow, Erika Kirk, who was named Turning Point USA’s new CEO, is also scheduled to speak. Several Christian musicians are also expected to perform with additional names to be announced, according to the program.
A senior Department of Homeland Security official said the memorial service has been designated as a Special Event Assessment Rating (SEAR) Level 1 event. That designation is used for “significant events with national and//or international importance that require extensive federal interagency support,” like the Super Bowl.
Cara Tabachnick is a news editor at CBSNews.com. Cara began her career on the crime beat at Newsday. She has written for Marie Claire, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal. She reports on justice and human rights issues. Contact her at cara.tabachnick@cbsinteractive.com
Elon Musk resurfaced former Vice President and former Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris’ years-old call for President Donald Trump’s ban from social media as she claims “free speech” concerns over Jimmy Kimmel being pulled off the air.
Harris has weighed in on Disney’s decision to pull ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” off the air “indefinitely,” defending Kimmel and slamming what she calls an “outright abuse of power” by the Trump administration.
“What we are witnessing is an outright abuse of power. This administration is attacking critics and using fear as a weapon to silence anyone who would speak out. Media corporations — from television networks to newspapers — are capitulating to these threats,” Harris wrote on X about Kimmel’s suspension. “We cannot dare to be silent or complacent in the face of this frontal assault on free speech. We, the people, deserve better.”
Many X users, including Musk, the platform’s owner, were quick to point out Harris’ own past statements, some suggested they appeared to support censorship.
Musk resurfaced a 2019 tweet by Harris when Trump was serving his first time. Harris, a U.S. senator representing California at the time, was running for vice president when she made the post on X, now Twitter.
“Look let’s be honest, @realDonaldTrump’s Twitter account should be suspended,” Harris wrote on Sept. 30, 2019.
Jimmy Kimmel, left, was pulled from ABC over his remarks on Charlie Kirk.(Melissa Majchrzak/AFP via Getty Images; Michael Le Brecht/Disney via Getty Images)
Musk re-posted the message on Friday, adding a thinking face emoji.
Kimmel’s show was pulled after he accused conservatives of reaching “new lows” in trying to pin a left-wing ideology on Tyler Robinson, who is accused of assassinating Charlie Kirk, even though prosecutors reaffirmed those ties in an indictment.
“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel said, sparking outrage.
There have been several questions about the role the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) played in the suspension. Those questioning the move are on both sides of the aisle, with Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, warning conservatives that they “will regret” setting the precedent.
“What he is saying is Jimmy Kimmel was lying. That’s true, he was lying, and lying to the American people is not in the public interest,” Cruz said on an episode of his podcast. “He threatens explicitly — we’re going to cancel ABC News’ license. We’re going to take him off the air, so ABC cannot broadcast anymore … He threatens it.”
Around 200 protesters lined up outside of Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California to rail against Disney’s suspension of ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel on Thursday evening.(Christina House / Getty)
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr joined Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Sept. 17, the day the suspension was announced, and defended the move.
“Broadcasters are different than any other form of communication,” Carr said, pointing to affiliate groups like Nexstar and Sinclair that announced they would no longer carry “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” He argued that local stations acted appropriately, saying they were “standing up to serve the interests of their community.”
“Over the years, the FCC walked away from enforcing that public interest obligation,” Carr said. “I don’t think we’re better off as a country for it.”
Elon Musk resurfaced a 2019 tweet in which then-Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., urged Twitter to take down President Donald Trump’s account.(Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images; Randy Holmes/ABC via Getty Images; Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News on Saturday that the decision to “fire Jimmy Kimmel and to cancel his show came from executives at ABC.”
“That has now been reported,” Leavitt said. “And I can assure you it did not come from the White House and there was no pressure given from the president of the United States.”
The Biden-Harris administration has seen its share of censorship controversies, particularly in its interactions with social media companies during the COVID-19 pandemic.
During a 2021 press conference, then-White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that the administration was “flagging problematic posts for Facebook that spread disinformation.”
In August 2024, just ahead of the presidential election, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg admitted in a letter that the Biden-Harris administration pressured Facebook to censor Americans.
Zuckerberg made the admission in a letter to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, more than a year after providing the committee with thousands of documents as part of its investigation into content moderation on online platforms.
Fox News Digital’s Greg Wehner contributed to this report.
Rachel Wolf is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital and FOX Business.
A memorial service for conservative activist Charlie Kirk in Arizona on Sunday is set to feature President Trump, Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, and more than half a dozen top Trump administration figures addressing what could be an NFL-size crowd at State Farm Stadium.
Kirk, the 31-year-old co-founder of Turning Point USA, was shot and killed as he spoke at an event at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10. A 22-year-old suspect has been charged with aggravated murder.
Kirk’s assassination has rocked the conservative world. A prolific and sometimes controversial speaker, Kirk was known for his college campus events and debates, his role in mobilizing GOP voters and his close ties to the Trump administration.
Where is Charlie Kirk’s memorial service taking place?
The service will take place at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, near Phoenix. The stadium, which is home to the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals, can typically seat up to 63,400 people.
Organizers say security will be tight, with “TSA-level screening” expected.
Federal authorities have designated the memorial service as a Special Event Assessment Rating (SEAR) Level 1 event, a senior Department of Homeland Security official said. That designation is used for “significant events with national and/or international importance that require extensive federal interagency support,” like the Super Bowl.
What time is Charlie Kirk’s memorial service?
The service is scheduled to start at 11 a.m. local time in Arizona, or 2 p.m. ET.
Who will speak at Charlie Kirk’s memorial service?
President Trump and Vice President JD Vance are both scheduled to speak, along with the activist’s widow, Erika Kirk, who was named Turning Point USA’s new CEO on Thursday.
Several other administration officials are set to speak, including White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and key Trump aides Stephen Miller and Sergio Gor.
The president’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., is also listed as a speaker, as is right-wing media personality and former Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
Many of the speakers had extensive personal and professional ties with the slain activist.
Kirk was a stalwart supporter of the president starting during his first campaign in 2016, and he remained allied with Mr. Trump after he left office under a cloud of controversy following the Capitol riot in January 2021. In last year’s presidential race, Kirk’s Turning Point USA was widely credited with assisting the Trump campaign with grassroots voter mobilization.
Kirk was also close with Donald Trump Jr., and worked closely with the younger Trump as an aide during the 2016 campaign. “Charlie wasn’t just a friend — he was like a little brother to me,” Donald Trump Jr. wrote on X.
Vance has credited Kirk with introducing him to Donald Trump Jr. ahead of his 2022 Senate campaign, and with advocating “in public and private” for the president to choose Vance as his running mate last year. Kirk’s body was flown from Utah to Arizona on Vance’s jet, Air Force Two.
Kennedy has called Kirk the “primary architect of my unification with President Trump,” referring to the former Democrat’s decision to drop his independent campaign for president last year and publicly endorse Mr. Trump at a Turning Point Action rally.
Several Christian musicians are also listed on the program: Chris Tomlin, Brandon Lake, Phil Wickham, Kari Jobe Carnes and Cody Carnes.
Who was Charlie Kirk?
Kirk was the leader of Turning Point USA, a group for young conservatives that he co-founded in 2012, at the age of 18. A native of the Chicago area, Kirk briefly attended community college but dropped out to pursue political activism full-time.
He was a ubiquitous presence in politics: He hosted a daily talk radio show and podcast, and he visited scores of college campuses every year, where he was known for hosting rapid-fire debates with left-leaning students.
Kirk frequently drew controversy for his views. He supported Mr. Trump’s false claims of voter fraud after the 2020 election, and his group maintained a “Professor Watchlist” of college instructors accused of spreading “leftist propaganda.”
Turning Point USA says it has chapters at thousands of high schools and colleges, and the group’s political arm, Turning Point Action, engages in grassroots canvassing.
Kirk was also a family man with two young children
“He was the perfect father. He was the perfect husband,” Erika Kirk said last week in her first public remarks after the shooting.
Who is Erika Kirk?
Charlie and Erika Kirk wed in 2021, after they began dating in 2018.
A Phoenix-area native, Erika Kirk won Miss Arizona USA in 2012, attended Arizona State University and later earned a juris master degree from Liberty University.
She was a frequent presence at Turning Point USA events, where she spoke about politics, religion and her conservative views on family and marriage. She also founded a clothing line called PROCLAIM and a ministry called BIBLEin365.
During one appearance on “The Charlie Kirk Show” earlier this year, Erika Kirk said she’s more conservative than her husband.
“Not even close,” her husband agreed. “I am a moderate compared to Erika.”
In public remarks two days after Charlie Kirk’s assassination, Erika Kirk vowed that the “movement my husband built will not die.”
On Thursday, the board of Turning Point USA announced it had unanimously chosen Erika Kirk to serve as the organization’s new chair and CEO.
How to watch Charlie Kirk’s memorial service
The memorial service will be livestreamed midday on Sunday.
Trump ramps up criticism of broadcast networks amid Jimmy Kimmel turmoil – CBS News
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President Trump warned Friday that he may go after more television networks following ABC’s decision to pull late-night host Jimmy Kimmel off air for comments he made about the response to Charlie Kirk’s death.
Like watching Rome burn,” one news anchor said as Donald Trump’s attack on the media industry entered a new phase. The president has never done well with criticism, constantly going after news organizations and private companies and individuals perceived to be insufficiently supportive or ingratiating. “This is the environment that we’re all operating in, and we’ve known this for a while, where, whether it’s legitimate or not, you have the government as an actor trying to control and shape coverage through a combination of means, one of which is threats,” the news anchor said. But lately those threats feel less empty: The assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk has given the administration further opportunity to use its power to influence the media industry and its output — “consequence culture,” as they are calling it. So far, companies have largely shown an unwillingness to fight back. Coincidentally or not, this timidity comes at a moment of intense consolidation in the business, as David Ellison, right after taking over Paramount, sets his sights on Warner Bros. Discovery, with help from father Larry, a recent Trump ally who is expected to be a major investor in the American-owned version of TikTok.
On Wednesday, September 17, FCC chairman Brendan Carr dangled the possibility of punishing ABC over remarks Jimmy Kimmel had made days before about Kirk’s assassination; the late-night host had suggested “the MAGA gang” was “desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them.” It happened quickly from there: Nexstar, which owns numerous ABC affiliates throughout the country, said it would pull Kimmel’s show from the airwaves; within minutes, Sinclair, another owner of ABC affiliates, followed suit; then an ABC spokesperson told the press that new episodes of Jimmy Kimmel Live! would be “preempted indefinitely.” Trump and Carr took a victory lap, and the president seemed to suggest a similar fate for NBC late-night stars Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers. On Thursday, Trump, who earlier in the week had sued the New York Times for $15 billion over articles questioning his success, issued another threat, musing that networks giving him negative coverage deserve to have their licenses revoked.
Inside the media and entertainment companies, the mood among those creating the content under attack is somber. “I haven’t seen a lot of comedy writers or hosts choosing to censor themselves after watching our colleagues get literally canceled. It’s more that we’re horrified and embarrassed by the cowardice of the networks and the choices they’re making,” said a writer for a late-night show. “The people who have the most money and power are the first to give up, and frankly that should be mortifying for them.” Said another late-night writer: “The broadcast networks are beholden to Trump’s FCC in a way cable channels aren’t, but that’s hardly reassuring.” (Cable channels, unlike broadcast, do not use public airwaves and therefore don’t require FCC licenses.)
The decision to pull Kimmel off the air came two months after CBS, following its settlement of a lawsuit with Trump, canceled Stephen Colbert’s show. The latter move at least appeared couched in financial reasons, some insiders I spoke to noted; The Late Show With Stephen Colbert was expensive to produce — more than $100 million a year — and reportedly ran tens of millions of dollars in the red. “We had no idea how much of it was business motivated,” a late-night staffer said of the Colbert decision. “But this is just cut and dry.” As one prominent talent executive put it: “The FCC commissioner threatened ABC and its station partners, and the station partners and ABC took an action based on that threat. It’s never been that clear before.”
Pulling Kimmel was a decision that came from the very top of Disney with CEO Bob Iger and head of television Dana Walden reportedly fielding concerns from advertisers and affiliates. Kimmel had planned to address Carr’s comments on air Wednesday night, but Walden and other senior executives feared that would further inflame the situation, especially as staff on Kimmel’s show had been doxed and received threatening emails, according to The Wall Street Journal. Nexstar, for its part, denied that its decision was influenced by Carr’s remarks or FCC pressure, but, notably, the conglomerate is in the midst of trying to get a $6.2 billion merger with Tegna approved by the agency. “No one is confused — this is all about Tegna and Sinclair’s regulatory approval,” said another talent executive. “It’s super-specific. But it has real impact if it’s not limited in scope.” Multiple executives across television and print publishing said the focus is on ensuring their staffers can continue doing the work. “This is just the latest, right? We are just keeping our heads down and doing reporting,” said one.
At all levels of the industry, the question hung in the air of whether this moment marks a turning point. On Thursday, Carr told CNBC, “We’re not done yet,” and suggested The View, another ABC program, could be subject to review. “Clients are scared for what it suggests is to come. If Kimmel can get fired for that, what might they get fired for?” said another prominent talent executive. Late-night writers are also in a precarious position. “Our show is not in a position to pretend nothing happened in the way that others might be able to,” said one. “If our format didn’t demand it, I think some people who work here would feel safer not putting a target on their backs by commenting on it — which is the point of political censorship.” This writer described feeling newly paranoid: “I haven’t liked or shared any political commentary on social media since Kirk’s killing last week. It all feels like evidence that could be used in bad faith for some future persecution.”
Many feel something fundamental is changing in the industry. “The consolidation happening in the media world is incredibly unhelpful to this. Everyone feels like there’s no safe space, no corporate parent that’s going to stand up for you or protect you,” said the news anchor. “I don’t know that anybody knows how it’s going to end, but I think everybody recognizes the danger that we’re all in.” The Ellisons loom large with reported plans to acquire the Free Press and possibly put founder Bari Weiss in a leadership role atop CBS News. A Warner Bros. Discovery deal would give the family control over CNN too. Some see media companies’ capitulation as yet another indication of their waning power — that in an effort to slow down their decline, they’ve accelerated it. “They’re continuing to remind the audience and the population of their growing irrelevance,” said one network executive. “Personally, I would be a lot more concerned if Jimmy Kimmel got canceled from YouTube.”
For now, there haven’t been explicit directives for journalists or late-night writers to pull punches. But the menacing environment is impossible to ignore. “It’s front of mind, and front of coverage, and you’re living it while also reporting on it,” said a veteran news editor at the New York Times. Still, the Times, in the face of Trump’s suit, finds itself in a better position than other organizations Trump has picked on. “We do not have millions of dollars of research grants from the federal government. We do not need to do business in front of the courts. We are one of the few institutions in America that he has no leverage over,” a Times reporter noted.
Times executives have come out forcefully in response to the lawsuit. Publisher A. G. Sulzberger called it “frivolous,” and CEO Meredith Kopit Levien described it as an authoritarian-like attempt to intimidate independent journalists. (A federal judge essentially agreed, calling the suit “improper and impermissible” as filed.) “The New York Times will not be cowed by this,” she said. “A.G. is the person who I feel like was kind of made for this moment and is increasingly alone in this industry,” said the veteran news editor. “In the past, we could, you know, join with the Washington Post and the L.A. Times, put out a statement about this. It does feel increasingly singular and not in a good way.”
In the aftermath of conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s assassination, a debate about political rhetoric and its impact on recent spates of political violence has taken hold on Capitol Hill and across the country.
While both Republicans and Democrats have condemned political violence of all kinds, their views vary on how much inflammatory political rhetoric plays a role. Some Republicans have accused the left’s rhetoric of fostering an “assassination culture” on the left, while Democrats have accused Republicans of attacks on free speech.
One member of Congress, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., attempted to steer the conversation towards gun control as opposed to rhetoric as the cause for the increase in political violence.
“This isn’t just about what happened to Charlie Kirk. At the same time his tragic killing was happening, three kids were getting shot in school, and that was one or two weeks after another couple of kids were getting shot, in church, at mass, at a Catholic school,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., suggested gun control was more to blame than violent rhetoric when asked about the potentially growing ‘assassination culture’ in the United States. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
But GOP firebrand Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., did not mince words about those who continue to foment hatred for conservatives with inflammatory rhetoric.
“We need to shame these people out of polite society, shame them out of existence. They need to be fired from their jobs. They are putting lives in danger,” Mace said. “They are denying that they’re celebrating the political assassination and murder of Charlie Kirk, but they’re liars. They’re lying through their teeth.”
Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have called on others to “turn down the heat” in the wake of Kirk’s assassination. Americans from all walks of life have been facing repercussions over their decision to mock, or praise, Kirk’s death, including K-12 education officials, college professors, healthcare professionals, political pundits, writers and a list of other professionals from various sectors and major companies, such as the law firm Perkins Coie, the company behind the New York Stock Exchange, NASDAQ, and Office Depot, among others.
Memorials honoring Charlie Kirk have been held across the country and overseas, including in Berlin. Kirk was assassinated on Sept. 10, 2025.( Ilkin Eskipehlivan /Anadolu via Getty Images)
Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., said that everyone should have “the right to speak freely, otherwise America’s democratic tradition could be threatened.
“Look, there’s a limit to what Congress can do, because, you know, we have the First Amendment, which protects all forms of speech, including hate speech, but we should have a culture of condemning any rhetoric that glorifies violence. I see violence as the downfall of American democracy,” Torres said. “We all should have the right to speak freely, to think freely, without fear of harassment or intimidation or violence. And once we lose the ability to speak freely in the public square then democracy as we know it has come to an end.”
Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., said political violence may become the “downfall of American democracy.”(Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., suggested possible remedies Congress could take to help reduce inflammatory rhetoric and its potential impact on violence.
“You have to look at the role that social media companies play in allowing violent rhetoric to be on their sites. And what more can we do so that law enforcement can see these attacks sooner?” Swalwell asked. “I wait, and stand ready to learn, where there are signs that were missed by law enforcement. Because if that’s the case, we have to do better, because the temperature is only increasing.”
THE WOODLANDS — Thousands gathered Friday night to kick off a conference of young Republicans in which Charlie Kirk, the conservative activist killed last week, was memorialized as a “martyr” whose death is galvanizing youths across the nation.
Speaker after speaker, from state lawmakers to influential MAGA cultural tastemakers, shared stories at the Texas Youth Summit about how Kirk — who began rallying young conservatives as a teenager — made them and others feel like their Christian-guided views mattered and their perspectives were shared by many.
They called him a “hero,” “miracle,” and “martyr for Christ.” Amid the mourning, they said that the fight Kirk had embarked on was far from over but one that could be won by the young people in attendance.
And it appeared, according to some of the speakers, that more people were learning Kirk’s name and his vision for a faith-led American future every day since his death.
The speeches caused roars of applause from the mostly young audience, some wearing white t-shirts that said “We are Charlie,” which glowed in front of bright red and blue stage lights.
“Be like Charlie,” Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, the final speaker of the night, told the crowd, which had thinned by the time he took the stage past 10 p.m. but was still several hundred strong. The state’s junior senator recounted how he texted Kirk upon hearing about the shooting, asking if he was OK.
“I’m praying for you right now,” Cruz said he texted, adding: “Obviously, I never got an answer.”
Kirk was killed Sept. 10 while speaking at a Utah university, the first stop of his group’s “The American Comeback” tour. He often debated students who disagreed with him on his tours while firing up young conservatives.
“There’s a lot of value in a bunch of young conservatives coming together and (feeling) like they’re not alone. Charlie created that environment — single handedly,” U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Houston said in a video that was played. “No one else did that kind of thing.”
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, recounted at the Texas Youth Summit on Friday how he texted Charlie Kirk upon hearing about the shooting, asking if he was OK. Credit: Mark Felix for The Texas Tribune
The memorial was just the latest instance of Texans gathering to share their sorrow over Kirk’s death. Vigils at college campuses, town squares and churches have drawn thousands, with speakers and attendees saying Kirk changed how they viewed politics, debating and their own beliefs. Others vehemently opposed what Kirk stood for but attended the homages to condemn his killing as an unacceptable act of political violence.
“We weren’t alive for JFK or MLK, and this is the first big assassination,” said Harley Reed, one of more than 1,000 who gathered last week at Texas A&M for one such candlelight vigil. “This is the first big movement, if you will, that we’ve seen interrupted in a way.”
Also grieving publicly are the state’s leaders, including some Republicans who are set to speak at the conference on Saturday. Some have also urged a close examination of reactions to Kirk’s death from educators and students; Gov. Greg Abbott, for one, has called for the expulsion of students who publicly celebrated Kirk’s death, prompting blowback from critics who say such calls run afoul of the First Amendment’s free speech protections.
Such scrutiny has done little to slow the momentum that’s erupted among conservative youth who just became old enough to vote or will reach the threshold in time for next year’s midterms.
Turning Point USA, the group Kirk launched as an 18-year-old to organize other young conservatives, said it received an explosion of more than 50,000 requests to establish new chapters at colleges and high schools in the days after its founder’s death.
In Texas, where the GOP has dominated state government for longer than current college-age students have been alive, organizers of this weekend’s youth summit said they anticipated record-breaking attendance after getting an influx of interest leading up to the event.
“Charlie Kirk cannot be replaced,” Christian Collins, the summit’s founder and leader, said Friday night. “But what I will say is, what will happen in this community, and in this country, is thousands of Charlie Kirks will rise up.”
Attendees raise their hands while singing during the Texas Youth Summit, where thousands gathered Friday night to kick off a conference of young Republicans in which Charlie Kirk, the conservative activist killed last week, was remembered by speakers. Credit: Mark Felix for The Texas Tribune
The event was another example of how Kirk’s death has invigorated a growing movement of young conservatives nationwide, and added fuel to efforts from Texas’ GOP leaders to turn the red state an even deeper shade of red.
State GOP leaders and lawmakers have pointed to that outburst of interest and solidarity as evidence of a Christian awakening among the state’s youth that they say will only grow stronger and usher in a new culture in America.
While the state’s leading young Republican organizations were once lukewarm on Trump, the voter bloc they represent proved crucial to Trump’s victory last year throughout the country.
The president has reportedly said that was thanks, in large part, to Kirk’s work.
Three featured TribFest speakers confirmed! You don’t want to miss Deb Haaland, former U.S. Secretary of the Interior and 2026 Democratic candidate for New Mexico governor; state Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston and 2026 Republican candidate for Texas Attorney General; and Jake Tapper, anchor of CNN’s “The Lead” and “State of the Union” at the 15th annual Texas Tribune Festival, Nov. 13–15 in downtown Austin. Get your tickets today!
Democratic U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota was confronted on Friday about whether she regrets the timing of her comments immediately following the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Omar said in an interview on CNN, “It’s one thing to care about his life because obviously so many people loved him, including his children and wife. But I am not going to sit here and be judged for not wanting to honor any legacy this man has left behind. That should be in the dustbin of history, and we should hopefully move on and forget the hate that he spewed every single day.”
Newsweek reached out to Turning Point USA via online form for comment.
Why It Matters
The Democratic congresswoman said that she does not align with Kirk’s legacy, saying it was filled with “hate” and “rage baiting.”
Kirk, 31, a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump and a voice of MAGA for younger generations, had a significant social media following, with a podcast as co-founder of Turning Point USA.
He was fatally shot last week on the campus of Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, during a question and answer session.
What To Know
Omar also spoke with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on Friday night about the congresswoman’s ongoing feud with Trump and Republican U.S. Representative Nancy Mace of South Carolina, which resulted in a failed censure vote this week in the House.
On September 18, the House narrowly rejected the resolution to censure Omar over her remarks and social media posts following the assassination of Kirk. The vote, which failed 214-213, blocked a proposal led by Mace that also called for Omar’s removal from her committee positions, including the House Committee on Education and the Workforce and the House Budget Committee.
Four Republican lawmakers joined Democrats in opposing the censure, which Mace said was justified because of what she labeled as Omar’s disrespectful comments on Kirk.
“When we say we want a country that’s united, it starts with all of us and all of our actions and we’re not seeing that on the other side of the aisle right now,” Omar told Collins on Friday night.
The Minnesota Democrat also said that she extends “grace” to Kirk’s wife and kids in the interview with CNN, adding, “I cannot imagine what they are going through. But the reality is, his wife sat by him as he said those things.”
The Democratic lawmaker also called out Trump for urging her impeachment. A two-thirds vote is required to oust members of Congress; they cannot be impeached.
Democratic U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota speaks during a markup meeting with the House Budget Committee on May 16 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) Democratic U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota speaks during a markup meeting with the House Budget Committee on May 16 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
What People Are Saying
Trump, on Truth Social Thursday: “Ilhan Omar’s Country of Somalia is plagued by a lack of central Government control, persistent Poverty, Hunger, Resurgent Terrorism, Piracy, decades of Civil War, Corruption, and pervasive Violence. 70% of the population lives in extreme Poverty, and widespread Food Insecurity.
“Somalia is consistently ranked among the World’s Most Corrupt Countries, including Bribery, Embezzlement, and a Dysfunctional Government. All of this, and Ilhan Omar tells us how to run America! P.S. Wasn’t she the one that married her brother in order to gain Citizenship??? What SCUM we have in our Country, telling us what to do, and how to do it.
“Thank you for your attention to this matter. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
Democratic Senator Tina Smith of Minnesota, on X Wednesday: “Just took a dip into the cesspool that is Nancy Mace’s social media. It’s shameful the way she is vilifying my friend Ilhan Omar to raise money for herself. Honestly, what Representative Mace has been doing illustrates all that is wrong with our politics right now.”
What Happens Next
The failure of the censure motion leaves Omar in her current House committee posts, but Republican lawmakers have signaled that similar efforts could resume.
Update 9/19/25, 11:09 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.
On an Orem campus still reeling from last week’s slaying of Charlie Kirk, thousands gathered Friday to grieve together — and, collectively, begin healing.
Utah Valley University officials, students and folks of all ages and backgrounds from across the United States assembled at the school’s UCCU Center for a “Vigil for Unity” in memory of slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was killed during a campus event on Wednesday, Sept. 10.
Kirk, 31, a married father of two, was killed by a single bullet during a “Prove Me Wrong” event, in front of 3,000 students and spectators.
The speakers at Friday’s vigil included religious and campus leaders — along with musical performances, a video tribute and a hope-filled readings from sacred scripture.
The hour-long gathering ended with all in attendance standing and raising flameless candles, illuminating the darkened campus venue.
“For Charlie!”, one man from the crowd shouted.
His call was repeated, again and again, as the vigil came to its close.
A school president’s witness to campus goodness & mercy
UVU President Astrid Tuminez thanked her “beloved community” for the kindness and service offered over the past nine days.
Given last week’s events on the campus grounds, she said, it is understandable to feel like the ancient psalmist who wondered if God had forsaken him.
“Shock, grief, abandonment, fear and hurt have filled our hearts since September 10,” said Tuminez. “A father and husband was killed on our campus. A wife and children were left bereft. And thousands in our own UVU family experienced trauma.”
The UVU president offered “deep condolences and prayers of peace” for Charlie Kirk’s wife, Erika Kirk, and the couple’s two young children.
She then spoke of her love for “the UVU family” and shared a few words of hope.
Utah Valley University President Astrid S. Tuminez speaks during the Vigil for Unity at the UCCU Center at Utah Valley University in Orem on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. Charlie Kirk, conservative activist and the founder and president of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot while answering questions at his American Comeback Tour at UVU on Sept. 10. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
“My beloved UVU community, surely goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our lives,” said Tuminez. “I have seen goodness and mercy. Our community, though wounded, showed up to serve one another.
“We hugged each other. We offered trauma and mental health support. We restored belonging. Our law enforcement partners helped us feel safe again. Hundreds, if not thousands, offered prayers for peace, clarity and resilience.
“We listened and gave each other patience and grace.”
The UVU campus has again reopened. The students and their teachers and friends have returned.
“Our students described their return using words like ‘scared’, ‘violated’, ‘devastated’, and ‘sorrowful’.
“But at the same time they also said, ‘My dream of an education is still strong. We will get through it. My professors have supported me. I am thankful for my friends — most of whom I met here at UVU’.”
Tuminez ended her remarks with calls to action.
First, be grateful for broken hearts. “Our broken hearts soften us to connect with one another as humans, as citizens and residents of Utah and America, and as children of the divine.”
Second, in the coming weeks and months, “let us pause and slow down when anger rises in our hearts towards those we think might be our enemy. Let’s ask ourselves, ‘What do I have in common with them?’.”
And third: “I ask you to support UVU and be patient with us as we recover from this tragedy.
“We will help every student succeed. We will offer opportunities for skills-building in dialogue, peacemaking and hard conversations. We have a long and difficult road ahead, and we can only succeed if we unite.
“I am honored to be a part of this beloved community, and I urge each of us to remember that love can be stronger than fear.”
Hundreds attend a Vigil for Unity at the UCCU Center at Utah Valley University in Orem on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. Charlie Kirk, conservative activist and the founder and president of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot while answering questions at his American Comeback Tour at UVU on Sept. 10. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
Elder Matthew S. Holland: UVU is a place of ‘fearless resolve’
Elder Matthew S. Holland, a General Authority Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, holds a time-earned tender spot for UVU.
For nine years, he served as the school’s president. He and his wife, Paige and their children love UVU.
That love, he said at Friday’s vigil, “has never left our hearts, In fact, that love beats today as strong as ever.”
Last week’s campus shooting left wounds “seen and unseen” in every direction, said Elder Holland. First and foremost among its casualties were Charlie Kirk and his family. Additionally, this “lone act of violence” pierced hearts and minds everywhere.
“In response,” he added, “it’s natural and fitting for UVU to ask: ‘Can we possibly heal?’.”
“‘Can peace and agreement ever be found?’
“I’m only one voice, but the answer for me is, ‘Yes’,’ said Elder Holland.
Elder Matthew S. Holland, a General Authority Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, speaks during the Vigil for Unity at the UCCU Center at Utah Valley University in Orem on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. Charlie Kirk, conservative activist and the founder and president of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot while answering questions at his American Comeback Tour at UVU on Sept. 10. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
“The first harbinger or signal of my hope for peace and unity is UVU itself. This remarkable institution was created to provide space for anybody who needed access to higher education in some form.
“Since then, this school has always opened its doors widely to students from any economic, political, religious, cultural and academic background in every phase of its development, and has — by vision, policies and practice — remained a place for all.”
Thus, he declared, UVU is uniquely built to survive such a tempestuous moment.
Elder Holland added he hopes that all in the UVU community will actively respond with compassion for all who are hurting.
“This is a time,” he said. “for shared burdens and collective healing.”
The “fearless resolve” being shown at UVU is evident in a world torn by much malice and division. “You are already the hands and hearts by which peace, rather than hate, will prevail on this campus,” he said.
Seek and discover hope
UVU student body president Kyle Cullimore acknowledged Friday that it’s hard to talk about peace at such a heavy moment on campus.
“I believe,” he said, “that peace begins with something simple yet so powerful: Hope.
“I don’t mean a shallow or surface-level kind of hope that ignores the reality and the tragedy that happened on our campus, or the kind that just tells us to move on.
“I mean the kind of hope that we can find only when we willingly search the very depths of our souls. The kind of hope that tells us that even though we’ve all been through something dark, we know the sun will rise again.”
At tragic moments such as the Kirk shooting, it’s tempting to seek isolation, point fingers at others and attach labels.
“We must stop putting labels on one another,” said Cullimore. “All these labels do is divide us and limit how we see one another. When we treat each other based on these labels, that divide continues to grow and grow and grow.
“It becomes easier to dehumanize each other because we don’t remember the basic truth that we are all humans endowed with inherent rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, peace.”
Before inviting all to join in the vigil candle lighting, Cullimore was joined on the UCCU Center stage by all his fellow Utah college student body presidents as a show of Beehive State unity.
Representatives from Utah universities stand behind Utah Valley University Student Body President Kyle Cullimore as he holds up a candle after giving closing remarks during the Vigil for Unity at the UCCU Center at Utah Valley University in Orem on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. Charlie Kirk, conservative activist and the founder and president of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot while answering questions at his American Comeback Tour at UVU on Sept. 10. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
Also speaking Friday was Juliana Boerio-Goates, a BYU professor emerita and a Catholic lay ecclesial minister.
Drawing on the words of scripture, she encouraged vigil attendees to “make conscious, intentional efforts to look for whatever is true, honorable, just, and gracious in those who have wounded us.”
Sow love and respond to injury with forgiveness.
Pain felt far beyond UVU’s Orem campus
The shock of Kirk’s murder has not been confined to UVU campus.
Preston Parsons, a current freshman at Texas Tech University, stood at Kirk’s makeshift memorial on the UVU campus, Friday.
“I needed to come and pay my respects,” he said. Parsons was in his dorm room in Texas working with his own Turning Point chapter, when he heard the news Kirk had been killed.
“I think that we need, more than anything right now, to feel a sense of community and unity,” he said.
A photo of Charlie Kirk and his wife, Erika Kirk, with their children is displayed among other items in a memorial left by well-wishers in the courtyard on the campus of Utah Valley University in Orem on Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025, as students return to campus following the shooting death of Charlie Kirk in the courtyard a week prior. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
The sidewalks surrounding UVU are colored with scriptures and messages of love to Kirk, his wife Erika and their two small children. His memorial on the grass in front of UVU is filled with American flags and flowers.
In neat, pink handwriting, leading up to the memorial are sprawled the words of Jesus Christ, as recorded in Matthew: “But I say unto you, love your enemies. Bless them that curse you. Do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you.”
Another, in all caps, says, “Rest well, my great pal. We have your back and will take it from here.”
Elisa Demartin, a senior at UVU, stood near the edge of the memorial and told the Deseret News, “I’m sad and then angry, and he made such a big impact.”
“This is beautiful,” she said, looking at the memorial.
Utah Valley University President Astrid S. Tuminez speaks during the Vigil for Unity at the UCCU Center at Utah Valley University in Orem on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. Charlie Kirk, conservative activist and the founder and president of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot while answering questions at his American Comeback Tour at UVU on Sept. 10. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
Hundreds attend a Vigil for Unity at the UCCU Center at Utah Valley University in Orem on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. Charlie Kirk, conservative activist and the founder and president of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot while answering questions at his American Comeback Tour at UVU on Sept. 10. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
Tori Merrill gets emotional during a Vigil for Unity at the UCCU Center at Utah Valley University in Orem on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. Charlie Kirk, conservative activist and the founder and president of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot while answering questions at his American Comeback Tour at UVU on Sept. 10. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
Trey Winget and Shea Winget attend a Vigil for Unity at the UCCU Center at Utah Valley University in Orem on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. Charlie Kirk, conservative activist and the founder and president of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot while answering questions at his American Comeback Tour at UVU on Sept. 10. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
A woman holds a candle, flower and flyer during a Vigil for Unity at the UCCU Center at Utah Valley University in Orem on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. Charlie Kirk, conservative activist and the founder and president of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot while answering questions at his American Comeback Tour at UVU on Sept. 10. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
Attendees hold up battery operated candles during a Vigil for Unity at the UCCU Center at Utah Valley University in Orem on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. Charlie Kirk, conservative activist and the founder and president of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot while answering questions at his American Comeback Tour at UVU on Sept. 10. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
The Utah Valley Institute Singers perform at a Vigil for Unity at the UCCU Center at Utah Valley University in Orem on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. Charlie Kirk, conservative activist and the founder and president of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot while answering questions at his American Comeback Tour at UVU on Sept. 10. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
Lydia Hopper, Marie Hopper, and Adelae Knuteson attend a Vigil for Unity at the UCCU Center at Utah Valley University in Orem on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. Charlie Kirk, conservative activist and the founder and president of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot while answering questions at his American Comeback Tour at UVU on Sept. 10. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
The Utah Valley Interfaith Choir performs “Let There Be Peace on Earth” during the Vigil for Unity at the UCCU Center at Utah Valley University in Orem on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. Charlie Kirk, conservative activist and the founder and president of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot while answering questions at his American Comeback Tour at UVU on Sept. 10. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
Elder Matthew S. Holland, a General Authority Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, speaks during the Vigil for Unity at the UCCU Center at Utah Valley University in Orem on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. Charlie Kirk, conservative activist and the founder and president of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot while answering questions at his American Comeback Tour at UVU on Sept. 10. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
Erica Carcamo and her daughter Monique Carcamo embrace during a Vigil for Unity at the UCCU Center at Utah Valley University in Orem on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. Charlie Kirk, conservative activist and the founder and president of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot while answering questions at his American Comeback Tour at UVU on Sept. 10. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
Austin Forsgren, Brody Miller and Jeb Jacobi hold their hats over their hearts during a Vigil for Unity at the UCCU Center at Utah Valley University in Orem on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. Charlie Kirk, conservative activist and the founder and president of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot while answering questions at his American Comeback Tour at UVU on Sept. 10. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
Caleb Chilcutt, president of the Utah Valley University Turning Pointing USA chapter, speaks during the Vigil for Unity at the UCCU Center at Utah Valley University in Orem on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. Charlie Kirk, conservative activist and the founder and president of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot while answering questions at his American Comeback Tour at UVU on Sept. 10. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
Dr. Juliana Boerio-Goates, lay ecclesial minister from the Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City, speaks during the Vigil for Unity at the UCCU Center at Utah Valley University in Orem on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. Charlie Kirk, conservative activist and the founder and president of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot while answering questions at his American Comeback Tour at UVU on Sept. 10. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
The Utah Valley Interfaith Choir performs “Let There Be Peace on Earth” during the Vigil for Unity at the UCCU Center at Utah Valley University in Orem on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. Charlie Kirk, conservative activist and the founder and president of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot while answering questions at his American Comeback Tour at UVU on Sept. 10. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
Representatives from Utah universities stand behind Utah Valley University Student Body President Kyle Cullimore as he holds up a candle after giving closing remarks during the Vigil for Unity at the UCCU Center at Utah Valley University in Orem on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. Charlie Kirk, conservative activist and the founder and president of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot while answering questions at his American Comeback Tour at UVU on Sept. 10. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
Representatives from Utah universities hold up candles during the Vigil for Unity at the UCCU Center at Utah Valley University in Orem on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. Charlie Kirk, conservative activist and the founder and president of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot while answering questions at his American Comeback Tour at UVU on Sept. 10. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
Elder Matthew S. Holland, a General Authority Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, speaks during the Vigil for Unity at the UCCU Center at Utah Valley University in Orem on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. Charlie Kirk, conservative activist and the founder and president of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot while answering questions at his American Comeback Tour at UVU on Sept. 10. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
As the late-night TV host is indefinitely suspended, many are fighting back
Jimmy Kimmel on August 7Credit: Los Angeles file photo
After ABC indefinitely pulled Jimmy Kimmel Live! from the air, hundreds answered a last-minute call Thursday to gather outside of Disney’s office in Burbank to protest the decision.
Hours before filming the Jimmy Kimmel Live! episode for Wednesday night, Disney CEO Bob Iger and executive Dana Walden decided to “preempt” the show that night. In order to mitigate any damage thrown down on them, after facing threats from the FCC chairman, Brendan Carr.
On Monday night during Kimmel’s monologue, the host said, “We had some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and with everything they can to score political points from it.”
Two days later, Carr would go on Benny Johnson’s podcast, a right-wing commentator, to criticize the host’s remarks and give a warning to ABC. The company has a “a license granted by us at the FCC, and that comes with it an obligation to operate in the public interest,” Carr said.
“But frankly, when you see stuff like this, I mean, look, we can do this the easy way or the hard way,” he said.
In response to the threat, ABC indefinitely pulled the late-night talk show. Nexstar, one of the largest station owners in the United States, announced it would drop the show on its 32 affiliate channels shortly before ABC did.
Many of the protestors in Burbank are not just showing up for Kimmel, but also looking out for other broadcast and free speech-related issues.
Arguing that the suspension of the show is an attack on the First Amendment, and only the beginning of what’s next for the government’s involvement with the media.
It doesn’t sound like Jimmy Kimmel is going to give in anytime soon!
The late night host is furious over being pulled from the air “indefinitely.” He doesn’t believe his comments about MAGA exploiting Charlie Kirk‘s death were wrong — and reportedly refuses to apologize, not even to save his show.
According to Puck News, Jimmy had a video call on Thursday with Rob Mills, head of late night at ABC, and Disney TV boss Dana Walden (reportedly the one who made the call to suspend him, along with Disney CEO Bob Iger). Not only was it not in person, he was calling in from his lawyer’s office — if you want to know how adversarial it was. Not surprisingly, they didn’t come to a deal. Might have something to do with ABC affiliate Sinclair demanding both an apology AND a hefty donation to Kirk’s business. A source told TheNew York Post he was also explicitly asked to back off on his Donald Trump criticism.
Well, that was a red line. Because the insider said afterward:
“Jimmy is incredibly pissed, and he’s a guy who never gets angry.”
No, we’ve only ever heard about what a nice and generous guy Kimmel is. So he must really believe he’s in the right. So… if neither side backs down, what happens?
Surprisingly, the source actually thinks ABC and Disney will cave — but it may not be in time with how offended Jimmy is by the whole thing:
“I think they will reinstate him, but Jimmy could quit.”
Wow. What do YOU think will happen? What should Disney and ABC do??
Glendale, Arizona — State Farm Stadium in Glendale, home of the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals, can hold more than 63,000 people. But police are anticipating more than 100,000 people coming to the stadium Sunday in an effort to attend the memorial service for conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated last week on a college campus in Utah.
As a result, the organization Kirk co-founded, Turning Point USA, has also reserved the venue next door, the Desert Diamond Arena, for overflow. Desert Diamond, home to Arizona’s former NHL team, the Coyotes, seats about 18,000.
President Trump, Vice President JD Vance and other top administration officials are expected to be in attendance.
Workers on Sept. 19, 2025, install security fencing near State Farm Stadium, home of the Arizona Cardinals, as it is prepares to host a memorial service for Charlie Kirk in Glendale, Arizona.
Joe Raedle / Getty Images
Multiple federal law enforcement agencies issued a security assessment to state and local law enforcement that was obtained by CBS News on Friday and indicated they are tracking “several threats of unknown credibility” against those planning to attend Sunday’s memorial.
However, the bulletin emphasized that there is “no information suggesting a verified or credible plot against the event.”
The agencies that released the bulletin include the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis, and the U.S. Secret Service.
“Violent extremists and unaffiliated lone offenders may view the memorial service or related events as attractive attack targets due to the attendance of these individuals, other senior US government officials, state and local government officials, and political activists and due to major international media attention,” the bulletin reads.
CBS News reached out to DHS and the Secret Service for any additional comment on the bulletin, which was first reported by ABC News.
The U.S. Secret Service is the “Federal Coordinator” for the memorial’s security, William Mack, the Secret Service special agent in charge of the Phoenix field office, told CBS News in a statement, adding that the agency will work “side-by-side with state, local, and federal partners.”
“Not only are we handling the security for this event outside of the venue, we still have an entire city that we still have to protect,” Jose Santiago, spokesperson for the Glendale Police Department, told CBS News on Friday.
DHS has designated the service with a Special Event Assessment Rating Level 1, or SEAR-1, which is on par with the Super Bowl.
“This designation is reserved for events of the highest national significance and enables the federal government to provide the full range of law enforcement and security resources necessary to support local officials in ensuring a safe and successful event,” a DHS senior official told CBS News in a statement.
SEAR-1, though, is not the highest security event designation from DHS. That is known as a National Special Security Event, or NSSE.
Security measures on Sunday include uniformed and plain-clothes officers, drones and 300 cameras for surveillance, Santiago said. There will also be counterterrorism sniper teams, federal law enforcement sources told CBS News.
“The only difference here is when you have something like the Super Bowl, we had upwards of two years to plan an event like that,” Santiago said. “This, we had a week to work with…We are basically all hands on deck.”
Emmy Award-winning journalist Kris Van Cleave is the senior transportation correspondent for CBS News based in Phoenix, Arizona, where he also serves as a national correspondent reporting for all CBS News broadcasts and platforms.
President Donald Trump on Friday credited the late Charlie Kirk while announcing a deal with Chinese President Xi Jinping to keep TikTok available in the U.S.
Speaking with reporters in the Oval Office on Friday, Trump shared that he had a successful phone call with Jinping on Friday morning in which he reached a deal to keep the social media platform available to American users by divesting some of its ownership to U.S. business leaders.
He said that Chinese leaders, American youth and even conservative leaders wanted to keep the platform available in the U.S.
A split photo of President Donald Trump on Sunday, Sept. 14, and the late Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University on Wednesday, Sept. 10, moments before his assassination.((L) Francis Chung via Getty Images, (R) Tess Crowley via AP)
He noted the platform’s popularity among American youth and emphasized that Kirk encouraged its use to engage with young people.
“Charlie was very much in favor of TikTok; he liked TikTok,” he added. “He said, you know, ‘you should use it.’”
Trump credited Kirk for leveraging social media platforms like TikTok to get “massive numbers of youth” out to vote for him and Republicans in 2024.
“If you take a look at my numbers, no Republican has ever done anything like it. We got massive numbers of youth, and by the way, helped very much by Charlie Kirk,” he said, adding, “It probably had a pretty big effect on the election because we won the election by a lot.”
President Donald Trump during a Cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, Aug. 26, 2025.(Aaron Schwartz/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
This comes as Trump has repeatedly delayed implementing a law passed by Congress in 2024 to ban TikTok in the U.S. unless it divests its ownership of U.S. operations from China to America.
Following his negotiations with Jinping, Trump said TikTok’s U.S. operations will be “controlled by very powerful and very substantial American people, all American.”
“It’s a great deal for our country. It’s a great deal for all of the young people in the country and for people generally,” he said.
Trump acknowledged his initial opposition to TikTok, saying, “I wasn’t a fan of TikTok, and then I got to use it, and I became a fan, and it helped me win the election in a landslide.”
Trump said he wasn’t initially a fan of TikTok, but later credited the platform for helping him win the 2024 election.(Getty Images)
“I had a great call with President Xi and, as you know, we approved the TikTok deal, and we’re in the process. We have some great investors, some of the biggest in the world, American investors, great people, and we look forward to getting that deal closed,” he said.
Pressed on whether the deal is fully approved, Trump answered, “I think so. And when you say fully approved, I don’t know what that means, we have to get it signed, I guess. I guess it could be a formality. I found his word to be very good.”
“They wanted to see it,” he said of China, “and I can tell you, the young people in our country wanted to see it stay open very badly.”
Peter Pinedo is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.
Charlie Kirk was assassinated at Utah Valley University, the first stop on what was to be a tour of college campuses. Kirk enjoyed debating students and challenging them to prove him wrong. After his death, the debate over Kirk himself continues. CBS News visited four universities across the country and talked to students across the political spectrum about Kirk and his political movement.
President Trump on Thursday suggested that networks should have their licenses pulled for negative coverage of him. His comments come amid ABC’s suspension of Jimmy Kimmel over remarks about the Charlie Kirk shooting suspect. CBS News chief White House correspondent Nancy Cordes has more.
