Dupage Policy Journal

Kevin Coyne, DuPage County GOP chair, blamed divisive political rhetoric for the assassination of Charlie Kirk, calling it part of a pattern of escalating violence. 

Kirk, co-founder of Turning Point USA and Illinois native, was fatally shot Sept. 10 while speaking at a university event in Utah.

Coyne responded to Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s comments blaming President Donald Trump’s rhetoric for emboldening extremists.

DuPage County GOP Chair Kevin Coyne | Facebook / DuPage County Republicans

“Pritzker’s rhetoric following the shooting—and leading up to the shooting—is completely unacceptable,” Coyne said. “He said verbatim that ‘Republicans should not know a moment of peace.’ It’s a veiled threat, and he and the activists that he panders to have been using canceling intimidation for quite some time now. We’re just seeing the next step, where it’s going from more tacit, veiled intimidation to acting out.”

Pritzker had said, “I think there are people who are fomenting it in this country. I think the president’s rhetoric often foments it.”

Pritzker has in recent weeks at least twice called actions by Trump and other conservatives “threats to democracy.”

U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) also condemned Pritzker’s remarks.

“I just can't express how sickening I find listening to every syllable of that,” Hawley said of Pritzker’s comments.

U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) addressed the shooting on X, writing:

“I am done with the rhetoric this rotten House and corrupt media has caused. EVERY DAMN ONE OF YOU WHO CALLED US FASCISTS DID THIS. You were too busy doping up kids, cutting off their genitals, inciting racial violence by supporting orgs that exploit minorities, protecting criminals, and stirring hate. YOU ARE THE HATE you claim to fight. Your words caused this. Your hate caused this. Charlie. His family. Those kids. No one deserved this.”

MSNBC analyst Matthew Dowd faced criticism after suggesting that Kirk’s rhetoric contributed to a divisive environment and was later fired.

“He's been one of the most divisive, especially divisive younger figures in this, who is constantly sort of pushing this sort of hate speech,” Dowd said. “You can't stop with these sort of awful thoughts you have and then saying these awful words and not expect awful actions to take place.”

Coyne highlighted the risks of escalating rhetoric, saying it demonizes opponents and can lead to violence.

“The pattern has been clear: they demonize those they don’t agree with to the point that violence seems like a natural effect of the rhetoric they use,” Coyne said. “When you call somebody a Nazi, I don’t think there’s too many people who would feel bad about Nazis being murdered—or Hitler being murdered. They’re putting tags on people that allow the unhinged to very easily rationalize hurting them, and they do it deliberately.”

Coyne said conservative leaders routinely face online abuse and threats.

“I think any Republican leader or anybody of note deals with pretty much incessant online abuse, harassment,” Coyne said. “I've been sent messages again usually from anonymous pages saying I should be dead. Lots of candidates and Republican candidates and officials have dealt with that.”

Coyne described Kirk’s death as both a tragedy and a possible turning point for conservative activism.

“(Kirk) was just terrific,” Coyne said. “He was a tremendous leader, inspired millions of young people to appreciate freedom in our country, and it’s an unspeakable loss.”

“I hope this inspires our young people into action,” he added. “I mean, I think that's what Charlie would have wanted—not for people to be scared into silence, but to use this as a wake-up call about what we're against politically, which is a whole lot of people who think you should be erased if you don't think like they do, which is a complete contradiction to what our country should be about. We should embrace freedom and freedom of speech, and really take the great work Charlie did to the next step and grow the movement he started. He turned millions of our young folks Republican or to embrace conservative ideas; hopefully, this leads to, you know, a whole lot more Charlie Kirks being born as a result of this really terrible incident.”

Kirk, born in Arlington Heights and raised in Prospect Heights, launched Turning Point USA from a garage in Lemont before relocating the group to Arizona. He built it into a national organization with thousands of campus chapters and a $92 million annual budget. He was known for his close ties to President Trump and frequent references to his Illinois upbringing.

Kirk is survived by his wife and two young children.