Florida Dem state rep claims Charlie Kirk 'was not assassinated'

A Florida Democratic state representative sparked controversy on Wednesday with comments about the killing of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk. In a statement, the lawmaker questioned the use of the word “assassination” and framed Kirk’s death in terms of gun violence rather than being political. The comments came during the chamber's debate on a bill that would designate October 14 as the Charlie Kirk Day of Remembrance in the state. The bill later passed.

“We want to talk about exercising free speech, let’s ball,” the representative said. “So the First Amendment protects free speech. We don’t need this day of remembrance for a man that was mediocre and racist — and I say mediocre at best. He was not a Floridian. He had no ties to Florida other than owning property. We have a number of Floridians, both individuals and organizations, that promote free speech that is not divisive like this individual was,” said Dem Rep. Ashley Viola Gantt on Wednesday.

The representative claimed she was vouching for precise language when discussing violent deaths. “If we want to talk about free speech, let’s talk about being precise with our words. When we hear ‘assassination,’ that’s typically related to a person in a political position. Charlie Kirk died from gun violence. Okay.”

“We continuously advocate for gun policy legislation that would ensure that people who probably shouldn’t have a gun don’t have a gun. So was his passing tragic for those who love him? Absolutely. There is no denying that. But he was not assassinated, and words being accurate matters. It was a death by gun violence. That is an issue here in the country that we should all be on the same page about addressing.”

The comments also touched on racial framing of crime statistics, with a suggestion that it should be talked about through the lens of white on white crime. “And if we want to talk about free speech, you know, a lot of people say that was some white-on-white crime. Why are we addressing it in that regard? What are we doing about white-on-white crime?”

Finally, the representative questioned whether Kirk should be publicly honored by the state. “So Charlie Kirk was not someone that children in the state of Florida should be subjected to honoring,” she said.