BROOKLYN (WABC) — The murder of Charlie Kirk is sending fear across the country about the rise in political violence and extreme rhetoric targeting both Democrats and Republicans.
Politicians are divided over who should take accountability.
Charlie Kirk was polarizing. But in the wake of his assassination, there have been calls for toning down the anger and denouncing violence.
That’s what happened on Friday outside of the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
“We can agree to disagree. We can debate. But violence is never the answer. Violence is never the answer when it comes to disagreeing, because someone stands up for what they believe in,” Rev. Kevin McCall said.
Civil rights Leader Rev. Kevin McCall gathered with community leaders and clergy to denounce the murder of Charlie Kirk.
“I didn’t agree with Charlie Kirk on everything, but what he did was so American and so important. He invited people who didn’t agree with him, who hated him, who hated what he stood for, but he invited them into the tent to have a conversation,” Councilmember Inna Vernikov said.
Civilized conversation is a sentiment that Democratic Congressman Tom Suozzi echoed as well on Friday.
“We have to take the temperature of the political rhetoric down. People can disagree with each other without hating each other and without being violent,” Suozzi said.
This week’s political violence isn’t new.
There have been assassination attempts on President Donald Trump, a shooting of Republican Representative Steve Scalise in 2017 and the shooting deaths of Democratic Minnesota State Representative and her husband earlier this year.
While many are calling for an end to the extreme rhetoric, President Trump is laying blame for what happened to Kirk.
On FOX News, he said, “The radicals on the left are the problem, and they’re vicious and they’re horrible and they’re politically savvy.”
Re. McCall, who organized Friday’s event outside the Barclays Center, said the only one to blame is the gunman and that is something that the Governor of Utah also said.
In Madison Square Garden on Friday night, the movement started by Charlie Kirk was out in force to pay tribute to the political activist.
“Charlie Kirk wanted to meet people where they were at for a debate. All he wanted to do was talk. He literally got shot for his opinion and it scares me to even say anything. You have two options. One is to hide and the other is to speak out against what’s wrong,” Stefano Forte, President of NY Young Republicans, said.
If there was an intention to instill fear, that was not the case Friday night for the hundreds in attendance.
Upwards of 5,000 students signed up to be part or start a Turning Point USA Chapter in schools across the country within hours of it’s co-founder’s killing.
“We, through Charlie’s inspiratio,n are able to be proud and stand up and challenge opinion openly and not be alone,” Michael Gianino, of Turning Point USA said.
Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa attended the event as well.
“I’ve seen violence from the left, from the right, down the middle and hate from people who just wanted attention,” Sliwa said.
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