FLASHBACK: Charlie Kirk warned of left-wing 'assassination culture' months before his murder

"Assassination culture is spreading on the left. Forty-eight percent of liberals say it would be at least somewhat justified to murder Elon Musk. Fifty-five percent said the same about Donald Trump," Kirk wrote in a post April 7, 2025.

The study found that a national shift in political violence occurred after Luigi Mangione's alleged premeditated murder of a United Healthcare executive in New York City last year.

"What was formerly taboo culturally has become acceptable. We are seeing a clear shift - glorification, increased attempts and changing norms - all converging into what we define as 'assassination culture,'" Joel Finkelstein, the lead author of the report, told Fox News Digital.

Former Utah Republican Congressman Jason Chaffetz, who attended the event with his family, told Fox News that Kirk was answering a question about mass shooters when he was shot. 

"The left is being whipped into a violent frenzy. Any setback, whether losing an election or losing a court case, justifies a maximally violent response. This is the natural outgrowth of left-wing protest culture tolerating violence and mayhem for years on end. The cowardice of local prosecutors and school officials have turned the left into a ticking time bomb," Kirk wrote.

Kirk's murder is the latest example of a wave of political violence that has targeted prominent conservatives and business people. 

Israeli Embassy workers Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, 26, were murdered after leaving an event at the Capital Jewish Museum in May. Their alleged killer, Elias Rodriguez, 31, was heard shouting "Free Palestine" before being taken into custody. Rodriguez allegedly shot Milgrim multiple times in the back as she attempted to crawl away. 

Alleged gunman Shane Devon Tamura, 27, opened fire inside a midtown Manhattan building in July that housed the NFL headquarters and financial firm Blackstone. He allegedly killed four people, including Blackstone executive Wesley LePatner and a New York cop.