TikTok's Revolutionaries
Plus: Poland invokes Article 4, zoning code has a problem with orgies, and more...
The FBI hasn't caught the killer: So far, the Federal Bureau of Investigation under Kash Patel has struggled to find the man who shot and killed Charlie Kirk. They've caught and released several suspects, giving false starts about motive and details uncovered at the scene. News broke this morning that a third suspect is in custody, but we have very little detail so far about whether this one is the guy.
For example, "an early bulletin circulated widely among law enforcement officials said investigators found ammunition engraved with expressions of 'transgender and anti-fascist ideology' inside the rifle that authorities believe was used in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk," reported The Wall Street Journal yesterday. "But some officials later Thursday cautioned against reaching conclusions based on the internal report." ("The bulletin said an older-model .30 caliber hunting rifle was discovered in the woods near the scene of Wednesday's shooting at Utah Valley University, wrapped in a towel with a spent cartridge still in the chamber. There were also three unspent rounds in the magazine, all with wording on them, it said," added the Journal.)
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Now, police have shared photographs of a person of interest, obtained via surveillance footage at the scene. But it's a college-aged man wearing a hat and sunglasses, with an American flag and eagle shirt on it—probably an outfit designed for him to fit in, and no really identifiable characteristics. "We need as much help as we can possibly get," said Utah Gov. Spencer Cox. Investigators added that they had gotten a footwear impression as well as palm and forearm imprints, all of which might possibly be helpful.
Meanwhile in Washington, D.C., lawmakers like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D–N.Y.) are doing the precise opposite of what Kirk would've wanted: Using his death as an opportunity to call for gun control. But someone should press Ocasio-Cortez to cite a specific law that would have stopped this shooting; we don't actually know anything about the shooter, and from the weapon recovered, it looks like a hunting rifle was used. So what, exactly, is her vision for how to prevent this type of thing going forward?
AOC on Charlie Kirk: "Are we going to do something or are we going to argue over rhetoric? … We have to pass gun safety legislation and stop this… People can finger point all they want."pic.twitter.com/Hrpq5UZR5X
— Thomas Sowell Quotes (@ThomasSowell) September 11, 2025
(Note that the other high-profile instance of violence that's gone viral this week was a brutal stabbing on a light rail train. We have a violence problem in this country that people confuse with a gun problem.)
Meanwhile, writer Konstantin Kisin makes a good point about double standards between right and left. "Never once since Charlie Kirk was assassinated have I worried about the possibility of riots, burning of cities, 'autonomous zones' or violence in the streets," writes Kisin. "And this is for a decent family man murdered in cold blood for his political opinions. In the summer of 2020, all of those things happened across America and many other countries too. Over a career criminal who died in a police interaction with a negligent and careless cop."
"So no, I don't believe either party has a monopoly on political violence," he continues. "We've seen left wing politicians attacked and killed too. It's just as awful and just as wrong. But I also think it's worth noticing what's not there and thinking about why."
You could point to certain factors at play: George Floyd, whom he was referencing, was killed at the hands of an agent of the state, whereas Kirk was the victim of an illegal act of violence. But Kisin is right that the killing of Kirk, as he was engaged in political speech, probably should elicit more outrage from even those who disagree with him. Instead, some of the reaction videos—because, yes, that's a genre now—have been just plain startling, denigrating the idea of taking the moral high ground and expressing sympathy for the man's widow and children:
"Charlie Kirk was shot saying something transphobic about trans people… You don't have to like violence, but I'm confused at how you thought the revolution would be magically bloodless."
Transgenderism is a very sick cult.
pic.twitter.com/GCCAKbWraf— Genevieve Gluck (@WomenReadWomen) September 11, 2025
There was the "we got Charlie in the neck" chant. The "no empathy" crowd. The "this was God's plan" girl. The "finally someone grew a pair" woman. The "now he's a deadbeat father" gal. The "this one was a welcome surprise (but not the one we were hoping for)" person. And many more. Then there was all the mocking.
If you actually watch the ample footage of Kirk debating people, you'll see over and over again, a humane and thoughtful person. Sometimes he's engaged in showmanship, and the debate is all a sport. But especially in recent years, you see a man strong in his convictions, who seems to take legitimate pleasure in serving as an unlikely therapist to students who are deeply questioning politics, philosophy, and how to find meaning.
Meanwhile, The New York Times wants you to believe that his views—like his belief in the Second Amendment—were "controversial," a description they don't use when describing, say, liberals who are pro-choice:
That controversial belief that's enshrined in our Constitution and that 51% of Americans support pic.twitter.com/j19lhm7z89
— Liz Wolfe (@LizWolfeReason) September 11, 2025
The New York Times, of course, has long had problems figuring out how to cover conservatives (more here), but I'm more interested in whether the edgy videos are Frantz Fanon LARPing or attention-seeking incentivized by an algorithm or an earnest undercurrent on the left. (Maybe all of the above.) I think it's mostly that last one, and it's been going on for my entire adult life—I entered college in 2014, two years after Kirk's Turning Point USA got off the ground, when the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, galvanized a movement against police brutality and an ensuing wave of racial hypersensitivity and tension. In the years since, we've had firings and deplatformings and narrowing of Overton windows, specifically in academia and anywhere a critical mass of leftists can amass enough power to silence those with whom they disagree. Acting like words do the same damage violence does—which was always false—seems to have given way to leftists justifying violence as retribution for certain words.
Scenes from New York: I spent a lot of last night toggling back and forth between viewing TikTok leftists celebrating Kirk's murder and viewing footage of heroes putting their lives on the line on 9/11. I can't help but feel, viscerally, that people were just built differently then, even as recently as 24 years ago, dashing into harm's way not for social media glory but because of an almost devout appreciation for American ideals, a sense of honor and duty both to country and fellow man. (I'm pregnant, dammit, I'm allowed to be this sappy and patriotic.)
I always come back to the Ladder 118 photo from 9/11. One little truck, six guys, thousands of people in trouble. The odds were against them. No one on this truck ever came home. But them going was the right thing to do. Sometimes that's how it goes. pic.twitter.com/yOg9XQA7Mc
— Lee (Greater) (@shortmagsmle) September 11, 2025
QUICK HITS
- "Inflation hit its highest annualized level since January by rising to 2.9 percent in August, according to consumer price data released Thursday by the Department of Labor," writes Reason's Eric Boehm. "In the past month, prices climbed by 0.4 percent, the highest month-over-month increase since December 2024….The consumer price index showed that rising prices in August hit all levels of what voters might consider 'everyday essentials.' Food prices climbed by 0.5 percent, while energy prices shot up by 0.7 percent. Clothing (up 0.5 percent), new and used vehicles (up 0.3 percent and 1 percent, respectively), and shelter (up 0.4 percent) all climbed as well."
You can really see the price impact of tariffs on audio equipment like speakers, microphones, & headphones—they're some of the few electronics not exempt from tariffs (most smartphones/computers are still tariff-free) & so prices are up more than 12% year-on-year pic.twitter.com/EhHXQoGimJ
— Joey Politano ????️???? (@JosephPolitano) September 11, 2025
- "European leaders accused Russia on Thursday of a deliberate incursion by sending drones to invade Polish airspace, and said they saw the provocation as a test—both for the Kremlin and for Europe—of NATO's readiness to defend its territory," reports The Washington Post. "Article 5 of the NATO treaty states that an attack on one ally constitutes an attack on all, though Poland would have to request help and the other 31 allies would have to unanimously agree to take action under the common-defense clause." Poland has instead requested help under Article 4, which "trigger[s] a consultation among allies over whether one is under threat."
- This is very sweet:
Like all of you, I am mourning Charlie Kirk. He stood up for his beliefs and died for them at 31, wearing a T‑shirt that read "Freedom."
At 31, my life was taken from me for standing up for what I believed in. And Charlie helped me get it back. He never took credit for it but he… pic.twitter.com/Mmvm6ERWG6
— Ross Ulbricht (@RealRossU) September 11, 2025
- And now for your weekend palate cleanser! Though I'm personally against orgies, I'm even more against stupid zoning codes:
You can have as many orgies as you want in your home. But if you start charging for the orgies in a residential neighborhood, then it's a zoning violation, as this Vegas sex club is learning. pic.twitter.com/FYpPAN34Vn
— Christian Britschgi (@christianbrits) September 11, 2025