Pompeo: Americans Must Never Give In to Political Violence

The murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk has rightly captured the attention of the nation. From the near-fatal attempt on President Trump’s life last year to the fire-bombing of Governor Josh Shapiro’s residence in April, to the cold-blooded killing of Kirk, the trend of political violence appears to be accelerating – leaving a trail of grief, confusion, and anger in its wake.

I’m just about old enough to remember the time in the 1960s and 1970s when political assassinations and domestic terrorism became disturbingly common and inevitably justified by extremists of all stripes as the only way to force “change” on a society that had disappointed them in some way or another. It’s a dehumanizing, intellectually corrupt, and profoundly evil worldview – and one that has no place in the United States of America.

Whenever one of these incidents arises, there seems to be no shortage of pundits suggesting that the victims brought these actions upon themselves because of their views or position in public life. This shallow analysis affirms the central premise of all assassins and terrorists: that speech or policies that you disagree with should not be debated but extinguished.

The fact that Charlie Kirk was targeted while speaking at a college – a location that should be a haven to speak freely – is a grim reminder that these perpetrators are at odds with that core freedom. Mr. Kirk built a successful youth movement around the premise that respectful debate is the way to change hearts and minds – welcoming young people of all stripes to engage with him. As he said in a chillingly prescient video now circulating online, “When people stop talking, that’s when violence happens.”

Unfortunately, the threat of political violence is something I can speak to from personal experience. For several years, I have lived under threat of assassination from the Iranian regime as a result of the tough policies I pursued during my time in the first Trump Administration. As any of Iran’s other targets will tell you, the cloud of anxiety it creates for you and your family never goes away, and it is designed to scare you into silence and submission. This is the underlying logic of all acts of political violence – to raise the costs of expressing certain ideas, or pursuing certain policies, to an unacceptable level. It is based on the cold calculation that fear is the greatest motivator for the majority of people.

There’s a palpable sense that this trend of political violence is only going to get worse. Every American must do their part to ensure that we turn back from the precipice and toward what President Lincoln described as “the better angels of our nature.”

We must begin by rejecting the nihilism and moral equivalency that justify and feed political violence. Charlie Kirk wasn’t just a public figure – he was a human being, a man with young children who will now grow up without their father. Any ideology that justifies ending his life because of political disagreement must be called out and refuted; and any individual who acts on such a rationale must face the full force of the law.

We must also reaffirm our commitment to the freedoms that these evildoers hate so much and embrace our commitment to free speech and the peaceful exchange of ideas. Speech is not violence; violence is violence – just as human beings are not avatars of a political system, they are human beings. We will only find our way out of this political toxicity by returning to our First Principles. If we fail, we won’t need adversaries like Xi Jinping to destroy our country – we’ll be well on the way to doing it ourselves.

Finally, we need prayer. After the horrific mass shooting at a Minneapolis Catholic school last month, that city’s mayor snidely dismissed calls to pray for the victims as empty and futile gestures. In fact – as Catholic Bishop Robert Barron said – “In times of tragedy, prayer is not a passive act but a powerful call to action and reflection.” All Americans should be storming the gates of heaven with this humble request: Lord, please save us all from our worst impulses, grant us courage, and continue to bless America.