Utah, conservative activist Charlie Kirk killed. Trump's condolences and anger: 'Gloomy day for America. A patriot murdered"

Kirk's influence in the movement of the new and revived American populist right and as a Trump supporter has seen him repeatedly received a seat in the White House at the inauguration. He also served as an informal advisor to the administration: during the transition to the second Trump administration he was a constant guest at the Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida. He was considered an accurate interpreter of the souls of Make America Great Again.

Among his most controversial talking points were the religious values of conservative and traditionalist evangelicalism, against transgender rights, for the conspiracy theory of the great replacement, which argues how progressives and democrats want to artfully replace whites with minorities and immigrants, for scepticism about vaccines against Covid. He had also argued that Trump had won the 2020 election, a victim of electoral fraud. However, he always first and foremost unleashed the sharp weapons of debate against his opponents, often claiming that he was able to prevail despite not having a university degree.

Videos posted on social media about the drama at Utah Valley University show Kirk speaking into a microphone while sitting under a white marquee with the slogans 'The American Comeback' and 'Prove Me Wrong'. A single gunshot is heard and Kirk is seen raising his right hand as blood flows copiously from the left side of his neck. Stunned onlookers can be seen screaming and throwing themselves to the ground before starting to flee. The videos were shot in the courtyard of the Sorensen Center on the campus of Utah Valley University, among the largest universities in the state.

Kirk was speaking about mass shootings during a debate organised by his non-profit political organisation. He has risen to national prominence first and foremost for his podcasts and a following of millions of listeners and users on social media, as well as for launching the format of heated public debates entitled Prove me wrong, where, as in the case of Utah, he talks to students and young people who disagree with him.

The event, as often happens, had caused controversy on campus. An online petition asking the university administration to prevent Kirk from attending had gathered nearly a thousand signatures. But last week, the university issued a statement citing First Amendment rights and affirming its "commitment to free speech, intellectual enquiry, and constructive dialogue".

In the face of the assassination, outspoken condemnations and condolences were expressed by every political party in America. With Trump, many leaders, both Republican and Democrat, immediately denounced the shooting.

"We must all pray for Charlie Kirk, who was shot. A great guy in every way. God bless him!", Trump had immediately written on Truth Social.

A little later came the news of the passing: 'The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk has died. No one understood or possessed the Heart of Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by all, especially me, and now he is no longer with us. Melania's condolences and mine go to his wonderful wife Erika and his family. Charlie, we love you!" the US president wrote. Trump ordered flags to be flown at half-mast until Sunday in honour of the murdered leader.

California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom, among the highest-profile opposition leaders, declared the deadly attack on Kirk a 'disgusting and cowardly act, in the United States we must reject political violence in all its forms'.

However, there was also no shortage of harsh symptoms of the political polarisation that plagues Washington, beyond the President's video message: after a moment of silence in the House of Representatives in honour of Kirk, exchanges of accusations and recriminations broke out. Some Republicans attacked the Democrats claiming that they were responsible for the violence. Responses flowed from the Democrats, who instead denounced the Republicans for obstructing laws against the easy spread of guns. Kirk himself had actually called 'some deaths' by gunfire a price to pay for defending the Second Amendment of the Constitution, interpreted as an absolute right to own arsenals.

The shooting came at a time of an already serious increase in political violence in the United States, from several sides of the ideological spectrum, amid fears that it will become increasingly endemic. Attacks in recent months include the murder of a Democratic congresswoman from the state of Minnesota and her husband in their home in June, fires at a parade in Colorado calling for the release of hostages by Hamas, and the flames set at the home of Pennsylvania Governor John Shapiro, a Democrat and a Jew, in April. The Centre for Infectious Diseases and Vaccines Cdc was riddled with bullets by an anti-vaccine activist who killed a police officer. During the last campaign Trump was also the target of two attacks, being injured in Pennsylvania during a election rally last year.

Numerous school and university shootings have also taken place this year, questioning security on American campuses. In the same hours as the Kirk shooting, at least two students were shot at Evergreen High School in Evergreen, Colorado, CNN reported. The students, the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office reported, were transported to a nearby hospital. Evergreen is located about 45 kilometres southwest of Denver. The school has been placed on lockdown.