Saturday Lagniappe: 'Charlie Kirk leaves behind a sweeping MAGA Christian network' And More

It's time to stop the violence from escalating.

Charlie Kirk leaves behind a sweeping MAGA Christian network
'I'd argue there might not be a more important institution on the religious right, right now,' than Turning Point Faith and Turning Point USA, said Christian scholar Matthew Taylor.

Paper Retracts Claim That Suspected Kirk Killer Was ‘Left on Everything’ 

The Guardian has retracted quotes from a source said to have known Tyler Robinson that claimed the alleged Charlie Kirk shooter was “really leftist.”

Was Charlie Kirk a martyr?
The idea of making Charlie Kirk a martyr never would have occurred to me because he espoused an ideology I find unacceptable and un-Christian. He didn’t deserve to die, but dying doesn’t make one a Christian martyr.

Also See: Charlie Kirk was no King; Charlie Kirk in his own words

Trump's niece warns his 'violent rhetoric' has gotten country to 'dangerous crossroads'
Donald Trump's niece, Mary Trump, said he is "directly" to blame for "divisiveness, anger and violence in this country," which has led to a rise in politically-charged crime.

UMC Bishops Issue Statement Condemning Political Violence
Every day, we are besieged with acts of violence across the globe. From Gaza to Goma to Orem to Evergreen. We grieve with families, communities and nations as they bear the weight of the pain and grief that violence leaves in its wake. The assassination of Charlie Kirk reminds us of the urgent need to address the growing threat of political violence.

We unequivocally condemn this act of violence and all violence. Violence dehumanizes victims and perpetrators. We call upon all people to reject the divisive rhetoric that fractures community. The most recent school shooting in Colorado summons us again to work to make schools safe places, to equip children to manage difference and disagreement nonviolently and to reduce the easy access to guns.

Also See: Life, Death, and Empathy

School shooting suspect fascinated with mass shootings and neo-Nazis, according to ADL
A teenager suspected in a shooting attack at a Denver high school that left two students in critical condition reportedly was fascinated with previous mass shootings, including Columbine, and expressed neo-Nazi views online.

The Charlie Kirk shooting has overshadowed the Evergreen High School shooting in which the suspect wounded two student, one of whom is in critical condition, and then turned his gun, a revolver, on himself and later died from the self-inflicted gun shot wound.

The American Age of Rage
We are living in what can only be called an Age of Rage — a moment when political violence has become as normalized in public life as school shootings, homicides among Black men and the loss of civil rights once taken for granted.