‘Charlie Kirk did not deserve to die’: Fresno leaders speak out against political violence

FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – Leaders from both Fresno County and the City of Fresno came together on Thursday to collectively condemn political violence after what was described as the “slaying” of Charlie Kirk following his shooting death the day before.

As well as speaking out against the shooting death on Wesdnesday, they also asked the public to turn down the political tension both face-to-face and online.

“Every American must finally take a hard look in the mirror and confront our own selves for the political sins we have committed. We have to change how we respond to the people who disagree with us,” said Fresno City Councilmember Mike Karbassi.

“When you hear the statement by politicians, ‘I hear you. I see you,’ Frankly, that’s just a bunch of bull****. They don’t hear us. They don’t see us. That’s not going to save us,” he said to the room filled with members of the media.

Karbassi’s message, meant to be directly to the public, came at the meeting organized by him and Fresno County Supervisor Luis Chavez.

Also in attendence were Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer, Fresno County supervisors Nathan Magsig and Garry Bredefeld, as well as Fresno City Councilmembers Tyler Maxwell, Nick Richardson, and Nelson Esparza.

Following Kirk’s assassination, the 31-year-old leaves behind a wife and two children, ages 1 and 3.

“Two young children that will now have to grow up without a father,” said Dyer. “He said things that ignited the emotions of other people, especially those who did not agree with him, but Charlie Kirk did not deserve to die.”

Chavez, a Democrat, meanwhile says he helped organize the meeting partly because of horrific comments seen on social media.

“We are now in the space where we are celebrating somebody being violently murdered in front of us, and we can’t have that,” said Fresno County Supervisor Luis Chavez. “I’m talking about people that I know and respect that have been celebrating and commenting on that. I’ve never seen that before.”

The collected politicians asked the community to bring calm back to the community.

“It’s very important for us to remember that we are Americans first. Regardless of party affiliation, regardless of our backgrounds, we are Americans first and we need to stand united,” said Fresno County Supervisor Nathan Magsig.

Officials say this moment is a crossroads, and that from here, we can either move closer together as a country, or possibly continue on the path to further violence.