The despicable murder of right-wing political organizer and pundit Charlie Kirk was unequivocally denounced by Democratic public officials and progressive leaders, myself included.

We who rely on our First Amendment freedoms to debate policies and encourage our fellow Americans to be active participants in democratic decision-making do not believe that anyone should have to fear or face violence for making their voices heard.

Many of us in public life or progressive advocacy know that reality often falls short of that ideal. We and our colleagues live with harassment and threats against our lives and our families.

Many of us who empathize with the sorrow being experienced by Kirk’s family have had to contemplate the possibility of our own families experiencing similar pain.

Unfortunately, many right-wing activists and pundits and Republican officials, from the president on down, have responded to Kirk’s killing with recklessly irresponsible rhetoric, declaring war on a vaguely defined “radical left” even before we knew anything about the alleged killer or his motives.

“The Left is the party of murder,” Elon Musk

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