Over the weekend, a Democratic senator delivered a stark warning that Republicans may seize on the killing of Charlie Kirk as justification for cracking down on free political speech.
In a lengthy post on social media Sunday, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) cautioned that President Trump and his allies appear poised to turn Kirk’s death into a weapon against their critics, painting opponents as complicit in the murder.
“Pay attention,” Murphy wrote. “Something dark might be coming. The killing of Charlie Kirk could have united Americans against political violence. Instead, Trump and his anti-democratic radicals seem ready to launch a campaign to crush dissent.”
Murphy contrasted Trump’s response with that of Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, a Republican, who stressed that political violence comes from across the spectrum—not just one side. Trump and his allies, by contrast, have insisted that violence is solely a problem of the left.
He cited Trump ally Laura Loomer, who openly declared she wanted Trump to be the “dictator” liberals fear he is, and said the right should embrace silencing and jailing its enemies.
Murphy also pointed to Trump himself, who has called for progressive billionaire George Soros to face racketeering charges, despite zero evidence connecting Soros to Kirk’s killing—or to political violence at all.
“The Trump/Loomer/Miller narrative that Democrats are celebrating Kirk’s death or stoking violence is fabricated,” Murphy added. “Yes, online trolls exist, but Democratic leaders are united against violence—unlike Trump, who continues to glorify January 6.”
The senator argued that Trump and his allies have long looked for an excuse to dismantle opposition. Kirk’s murder, he warned, could provide that opening.
“That’s why it mattered so much for Trump loyalists to take over the DOJ and FBI,” Murphy wrote. “If a pretext emerged, Trump could unleash a sweeping crackdown on opposition groups—jailing or harassing their leaders. That’s what could be coming now.”
Since the start of his second term, Trump has fired FBI prosecutors who handled earlier political violence cases—including prosecutions tied to the January 6 Capitol attack, where his supporters tried to block the certification of the 2020 election. He’s also purged the Justice Department of officials who challenged him, including a top ethics lawyer and another who opposed his immigration policies.
“I hope I’m wrong. But we need to be ready if I’m right,” he urged. “That means everyone who cares about democracy must step up—now. Join a protest group, start showing up at actions, or support progressive media with donations.”
Just one day later, Washington Post columnist Karen Attiah revealed she had been fired after sharing posts on Bluesky critical of Kirk’s legacy—though she condemned his killing outright and made no statements condoning violence.
“The Post accused my posts of being ‘unacceptable,’ ‘gross misconduct,’ and of endangering colleagues’ safety—charges made without evidence, which I categorically reject,” Attiah said. “They rushed to fire me without even a conversation. It was a reckless overreach, and a betrayal of the journalistic fairness the Post claims to uphold.”
In fact, Attiah mentioned Kirk only once in her posts, where she condemned the attack but refused to engage in what she called “false mourning.” She reminded readers of Kirk’s history—attacking Black women collectively, endangering academics by putting them on watch lists, claiming falsely that Black people were better off under Jim Crow, dismissing the Civil Rights Act as a mistake, and praising a book that described liberals as “Unhumans.”
