I didn’t always agree with Charlie Kirk. But I respected his opinions, his right to express them, and the fact that he was about discussing/debating those opinions with others, including people from the left who hated his guts (and if you think the hate stopped at his assassination yesterday, read this).
But Kirk’s assassination is far from the first example of conservatives being targeted for violence. As compiled by patriottv.com, (what? Did you expect it from CBS or ABC or NBC or CNN or MSNBC or the New York Times or the Washington Post or….etc. etc. etc. ?) we have:
A 2012 Terrorist Attack
In 2012, Floyd Lee Corkins II opened fire at the Washington, D.C., headquarters of the conservative Christian think tank the Family Research Council.
He carried a semiautomatic pistol and a bag of Chick-fil-A chicken sandwiches. He later told the FBI he targeted the Family Research Council because he found it on the SPLC “hate map.” He said he intended to shoot everyone in the building and smear a Chick-fil-A sandwich in their faces. At the time, liberals had criticized Chick-fil-A for funding socially conservative groups like the Family Research Council.
The Congressional Baseball Game Shooting
In June 2017, 66-year-old James T. Hodgkinson opened fire at a Republican practice for the Congressional Baseball Game. He shot and wounded four people: then-House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La.; U.S. Capitol Police officer Crystal Griner, congressional aide Zack Barth, and lobbyist Matt Mika.
Rand Paul Attacked
Also in 2017, then-59-year-old Rene Boucher, a neighbor, physically attacked Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., from behind while the senator was mowing his lawn.
Minnesota Republican Sucker-Punched Before Election
In October 2018, 53-year-old Richard Schmit punched Shane Mekeland, a Republican candidate for the Minnesota House of Representatives.
During the attack, Schmit reportedly said, “You f—ing people don’t give a s— about the middle class.”
A Would-Be Kavanaugh Assassin
In June 2022, 26-year-old Nicholas Roske staked out near the home of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, with weapons in an assassination attempt.
The suspect told police “he was upset about the leak of a recent Supreme Court draft decision regarding the right to abortion as well as the recent school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.”
Butler
On July 13, 2024, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks shot then-former President Donald Trump in the ear in Butler, Pennsylvania. Crooks also shot dead 50-year-old Corey Comperatore, a former volunteer fire chief.
A Second Assassination Attempt
In September 2024, 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh aimed a rifle at Trump at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida. Secret Service arrested Routh, who is standing trial in Fort Pierce this week.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: when it comes to hatred and violence, the left takes a back seat to no one.
More on this as we find out who killed Charlie Kirk and why he/she did it.
