After Charlie Kirk's killing, MAGA world mourns, but some say 'we're at war'
As voices across the political spectrum call to lower the temperature following the shooting death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk on Wednesday, many in the MAGA world are mourning his loss, with some enraged and escalating their rhetoric online.
Across social media, some of the most popular voices in the pro-Trump movement are calling for a crackdown on Democrats and for the Trump administration to take action in the aftermath of the killing.
In private, peers of Kirk say they are shocked and horrified by the shooting -- with some MAGA influencers telling ABC News they may be hesitant to do public events in the future -- but they are also equally angry and demanding consequences.
"This will be the real turning point," one person told ABC News.
"The best way President Trump can reinforce Charlie's legacy is by cracking down on the Left with the full force of the government," said Laura Loomer in a post on X after Kirk's death was announced.
"No mercy. Jail every single Leftist who makes a threat of political violence," Loomer added.
In an earlier post, she wrote that "we must shut these lunatic leftists down. Once and for all. The Left is a national security threat."
Meanwhile, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who has largely avoided politics in recent months, posted that "the Left is the party of murder" and added "if they won't leave us in peace, then our choice is fight or die."
Conservative activist Christopher Rufo called for a J. Edgar Hoover–style campaign to target the "radical left." Hoover, as head of the FBI, led a sweeping, controversial crackdown amid the civil rights movement through surveillance and other means to target political groups.
"The last time the radical Left orchestrated a wave of violence and terror, J. Edgar Hoover shut it all down within a few years. It is time, within the confines of the law, to infiltrate, disrupt, arrest, and incarcerate all of those who are responsible for this chaos," he wrote on X.
Pro-Trump influencer Joey Mannarino, who has over 600,000 followers on X, urged Trump to take an El Salvador–style approach -- a reference to the country's controversial campaign of mass arrests and suspended civil liberties, which drew accusations of authoritarianism and human rights abuses.
"Trump has to go full Bukele. Now. Fill the jails up with these terrorists," Mannarino said.
Elsewhere, on Steve Bannon's podcast, MAGA figure Jack Posobiec called for retribution.
"There's never going to be another Charlie Kirk, but there's never going to be another assassin to take out someone like the way they did because of what comes next will be swift, quick and it will be retribution," Posobiec said.
One word in particular was echoed by leading voices in the MAGA movement: "War."
Lone time Trump ally Bannon called Kirk's death an assassination, remembering Kirk as a "warrior."
"Charlie Kirk did not die," Bannon said on his WarRoom show Wednesday, adding, "Charlie Kirk was assassinated today in Utah."
In the conversation with Posobiec, Bannon said that his friend Kirk was a "casualty" whose life was taken in cold blood.
"Charlie Kirk is a casualty of the political war," Bannon said. He also said, "We are at war in this country and you have to have steely resolve."
Others echoed Bannon's sentiment.
"THIS IS WAR," the account Libs of TikTok posted on X after the shooting. The post has more than 78,000 likes.
Venture capitalist and Musk ally Shaun Maguire said in a post, "We're not supposed to say this but the truth is we're at War."
And far-right radio host Alex Jones speaking in a video he posted on X declared, "we're at war."
Some prominent Republicans, however, called for an end to political violence on both sides of the political aisle.
Former President George Bush released a statement saying, “Violence and vitriol must be purged from the public square. Members of other political parties are not our enemies; they are our fellow citizens,” he wrote.
In the immediate aftermath of Kirk’s killing, House Speaker Mike Johnson said during an appearance on Fox News “We have got to turn the heat down a little bit. We got to have civil discourse." “That's what's so important for us to remember," Johnson said. "We shouldn't regard one another as enemies. We're fellow Americans, and we should have vigorous debate, but it cannot lead to political violence. It's just too much."
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise told CBS the day after the shooting, "we cannot let what happened yesterday be the norm."
"Unfortunately, we've seen politics degrading where some people feel if they disagree with you politically, they've got to try to go and eliminate those people," Scalise said. "That is not what America is. You know, we solve our differences at the ballot box."
