Members of Congress don’t feel safe after Kirk’s assassination
In the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, members of Congress are aggressively pointing the finger, expressing concern for their safety, and lamenting the incendiary culture in America right now. Straight Arrow News spoke with members of Congress on Capitol Hill about their thoughts on the killing and what happens next.
Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis., said the media is “complicit” in Kirk’s assassination and the attempts at taking President Trump’s life.
“You are responsible for this because you are echoing the horrifically horrible political violent rhetoric that’s being produced by the Democrat Party. Every single one of you here, you’re at fault,” Van Orden said to reporters.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., said people should not be casting blame with so many unknowns.
“There was a horrific political assassination or shooting yesterday, in which a young man died,” Ocasio-Cortez told reporters. “Whether it is a member of Congress, whether it is the president of the United States to assume and assert and cast blame when the FBI has failed to even apprehend the assailant, is absolutely an irresponsible action.”
“No one knows who the shooter was, but it looks to me like this was a professional deal,” Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., said. “As someone who’s a gun owner 200 yards away, that’s a long way away, and if he was able to climb a roof without being noticed and leave without being noticed, with 5,000 people there. The odds are that that was probably a professional deal.”
Multiple members expressed concern about their safety, especially lawmakers who are as vocal and well known as Kirk was.
“I have to deal with employees right now who are afraid to come to work,” Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., said. “I will not be doing any outdoor events anytime soon. We will not be doing any public events anytime soon, until we have a better handle on greater security controls. I have local police right now sitting outside my offices in South Carolina.”
“I don’t feel nearly as safe as I did 10 years ago. And again, I think we have a responsibility,” Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn. “Look, I can’t fix the lone gunman, lunatic who is out there is going to do something terrible. But I can encourage leaders who have this kind of platform to show some character.”
Members don’t have personal security details, except for senior leadership. They are getting recommendations for how to better secure themselves, but it doesn’t look like much will change.
“We’re going to have to have real threat assessments done,” Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., said. “Something really bad is going to happen before we get something really done up here.”
The post Members of Congress don’t feel safe after Kirk’s assassination appeared first on Straight Arrow News.
Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
