The Wyoming Freedom Caucus on Friday called out University of Wyoming student newspaper The Branding Iron for quoting an anonymous student in a story who said political influencer Charlie Kirk “deserved” to be assassinated.
Kirk was gunned down by a rooftop shooter during an event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday. He was visiting the campus as part of his American Comeback Tour, an event that invites debate from students on social and political topics.
In a story on the impact of the shooting in the publication’s Friday print edition, The Branding Iron quoted an anonymous student who said Kirk deserved to be shot in the neck.
“I think he deserved it,” the student is quoted as saying. “Having a family doesn’t give you the right to dedicate your life to removing minority group rights. Punching fascists is not a right, but a duty, and I think shooting them is too.”
‘Bloodthirst’
Wyoming Freedom Caucus chair State Rep. Rachel Rodriguez Williams, R-Cody, told Cowboy State Daily she is highly disturbed by the quote.
The decision to publish such a statement, the representative said, displays a clear political slant by the publication. The Freedom Caucus also called it out on its Facebook page Friday.
"It is deeply concerning that so many leftists are openly justifying the assassination of Charlie Kirk,” she said via email. “For multiple UW students to cheer Charlie’s murder on another college campus says something very dark about our culture.
“Normalizing this bloodthirst will lead us down a dangerous path."
Gabe Saint is president of the school’s Turning Point USA chapter, the organization founded by Kirk. Saint also spoke out against the paper’s decision to print the quote, calling Kirk a hero to many conservative students on campus.
“It’s disheartening to see a fellow student wish harm on their peers,” he told Cowboy State Daily. “Sadly, it seems that many people have been emboldened by the assassination of our hero.”
Saint also noted his group faces continued backlash by those on the opposite end of the political spectrum. The use of dangerous rhetoric is what leads people to take violent action, such as assassinating Kirk, he said.
“Every single person who continues to call conservatives and Christians fascists, Nazis, and bigots is actively contributing to the violence being perpetrated,” he said. "When one calls someone the most evil thing you can call someone, sadly, that causes people to want to end lives."
"We at TPUSA at UW call on all to love like Jesus did and stand up for truth.”
University Responds
A representative at the Wyoming Union on the UW campus, where The Branding Iron office is, told Cowboy State Daily via phone the editor was unavailable but agreed to pass on a message. Cowboy State Daily did not receive a response.
Cary Berry-Smith, the university's supervisor of student media, declined to comment and said she had passed Cowboy State Daily’s request for comment to The Branding Iron’s editor.
The university issued a statement to Cowboy State Daily about the inflammatory quote and UW's commitment to "respectful dialogue."
"Deeply inappropriate remarks made on various platforms in response to the murder of Charlie Kirk are reprehensible and do not reflect the university's values and principles," the statement says. "Our commitment to respectful dialogue compels the University of Wyoming to condemn any and all expressions that endorse, glorify or celebrate political violence."
The university also says it values the First Amendment and what it stands for.
"We also stand firmly on the principles of the U.S. Constitution, including the protection of free speech," the statement says. "That right does not extend to speech that directly incites violence, and we will take appropriate action for speech that constitutes a genuine threat that is not protected by the Constitution.
"At the same time, the First Amendment allows expression that is so reprehensible that it must be answered. ... Endorsement or glorification of political violence, such as the murder of Charlie Kirk, is an example of such reprehensible speech."
The university's statement also challenges people "to stop and consider our core values of mutual respect, integrity and personal responsibility" and that "our foremost priority remains the safety and well-being of our community."
Student Reactions
Several University of Wyoming students on Thursday shared their thoughts with Cowboy State Daily about Kirk’s murder. They condemned political violence but expressed conflicting views on his legacy in the United States.
Freshman agriculture student Jeff Kelly admitted he cried after hearing the news of the shooting and added that, “No one should get hurt for speaking their truths and what they believe in.”
Third-year chemical engineering student Quinton Gasway said he wasn’t personally impacted by the incident.
“He's a celebrity at the end of the day. I didn’t have that much of an attachment,” Gasway said. “But it was a gut punch."
Jenny Bautz, a first-year graduate student studying environment, natural resources and society, said she took issue with many of Kirk’s political views.
“Charlie Kirk, in his heart, thought he was doing the right thing, but I think he also spread a lot of horrible rhetoric,” she said. “I'm not happy to see him murdered in front of his family at all, but I'm also aware that I think I was happy to have his voice out of the spotlight.”
Jackson Walker can be reached at walker@cowboystatedaily.com.
