Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.) said the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk is a “watershed moment,” adding that political disagreements should not lead to violence.
“We should look and reflect. This is, you know, as the governor pointed out, a watershed moment. So watershed moment depend on what this country does,” Zinke said during his Friday evening appearance on NewsNation’s show “The Hill,” mentioning Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R).
“Are we going to continue this?” he continued. “Are we going to continue to not be able to have dialogue and talk to your neighbor?”
Officials identified Kirk’s alleged assassin as Tyler Robinson, a 22-year-old resident of Utah, on Friday morning. Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, was shot and killed on Wednesday while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah.
During the Friday press conference, Cox pushed for civility and for Republicans and Democrats to find ways to come together.
“For the last 48 hours, I have been as angry as I have ever been, as sad as I have ever been … and as anger pushed me to the brink, it was actually Charlie’s words that pushed me back. Charlie said ‘When people stop talking, that’s when you get violence,’” Cox said.
Zinke echoed this sentiment, describing dialogue on social media as “disheartening” amid recent instances of political violence.
“You see, you know, assassination attempt. You see a political assassination in Minnesota. You see one with Charlie Kirk. You know a father. You know a great patriot, a loving husband. You know, assassinated. And ironically, his assassination was over his message, which was, ‘Let’s have a dialogue. Let’s talk,’” Zinke said. “In our country, the strength is that, you know, we may agree or disagree, but disagreement should never result in violence.”
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