Return to Transcripts main page

Laura Coates Live

Trump Ally Charlie Kirk Shot Dead at Event in Utah. Aired 11p- 12a ET

Aired September 10, 2025 - 23:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[23:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LAURA COATES, CNN HOST AND SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Good evening. I'm Laura Coates. A manhunt now entering its ninth hour for the assassin who gunned down conservative activist Charlie Kirk. His murder in broad daylight has sent a chill across this country that is once again grappling with the horror of yet another act of political violence.

Charlie Kirk was just 31 years old, a father of two young children, and one of the most influential names in conservative politics. He was shot and killed in front of thousands of onlookers at Utah Valley University.

And a short time ago, President Trump addressed his murder in a video statement from the Oval Office.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Charlie inspired millions. And tonight, all who knew him and loved him are united in shock and horror. This is a dark moment for America. Charlie Kirk traveled the nation, joyfully engaging with everyone interested in good faith debate. His mission was to bring young people into the political process, which he did better than anybody ever.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: Kirk helped bring huge numbers of young people into Trump's camp. That's what he was doing when he was killed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: He was on the first stop of his tour type of event when he debates anyone willing to engage with him. This was him throwing out MAGA hats to his fans before he started speaking.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: He was shot about 20 minutes later. Kirk was asked a question about transgender shooters right before the attack. Now, I'm going to play the video with a warning that it is very hard to watch. The video freezes right before Kirk is hit, but the audio keeps going.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN: Do you know how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years?

CHARLIE KIRK, POLITICAL ACTIVIST, AUTHOR, PODCAST HOST: Too many.

(APPLAUSE)

UNKNOWN: (INAUDIBLE). Now, vibe is lot, right? I'm going to give you some credit. Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years?

KIRK: Counting or not counting gang violence?

UNKNOWN: Great!

(GUNSHOT)

UNKNOWN: Get down! Get down! Get down!

UNKNOWN: What the fuck!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: Unbelievable. Right now, police, they're scrambling to find the shooter.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: Investigators said earlier tonight that a person of interest was in custody, but that person was questioned and then released. Police believe the shot came from a long distance, potentially from a roof. And you can see here a map of the area where it all happened. Aerial video shows crime tape on the top of one of the nearby buildings.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: And we're just getting this video, which shows a person running on the roof of that same building around the time that Kirk was shot.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: Now, back here in Washington, D.C., President Trump has ordered American flags to be lowered to half-staff until Sunday. And Kirk's killing has sparked condemnation from across the political spectrum, all across the country, in fact. Some of the most emotional is from Utah's governor, who got emotional during a news conference earlier this evening.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. SPENCER COX (R-UT): Nothing I say can unite us as a country. Nothing I can say right now can fix what is broken. Nothing I can say can bring back Charlie Kirk. Our hearts are broken. We desperately need leaders in our country. But more than the leaders, we just need every single person in this country to think about where we are and where we want to be.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: Let's begin with CNN's Ed Lavandera. He is on the scene in Orem, Utah. Ed, thank you for being there to give us the latest. We understand that law enforcement released a statement just moments ago. What are they saying?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, they're kind of walking us through the initial moments after the shooting and a number of people that were taken into custody. It's confusing, but I will walk you through it. Essentially, uh, two different people either apprehended or taken into custody and questioned, and both of those people turned out not to be, uh, the -- the persons of interest that investigators were looking for.

[23:05:06]

So, the bottom line in those chaotic moments as thousands of people were fleeing the shooting scene, uh, a people were apprehended, taken into custody, questioned, and they turned out not to be connected with this, which means, at this hour, there is still a very much intense massive manhunt for the culprit of this shooting here on the campus of Utah Valley University.

And we are just on the edge of campus and trying to give you the best possible vantage point that we can, Laura. And you can see here, this is kind of one of the entrances into the southern edge of the campus. And just behind those buildings that you see so lit up right now, behind those buildings is the courtyard area where the shooting took place, where Charlie Kirk was gathering and the massive group of students that had come out to listen to him and watch him today.

And if you look up on the distance there, you'll see a flashing yellow light. And beyond that, you're going to see the peak of a building, and that is the building where we have seen and there has been a focus from investigators, that in the moments after the shooting, there was someone seen running across the rooftop of that building.

And investigators here this evening have acknowledged that that is something they are looking at, and one of the key pieces of video evidence that we have seen so far from the shooting. But in these chaotic moments, as thousands were running from the scene, fleeing the area, that gunman and that suspect was able to get away.

And to kind of give you a sense of where we're at, we're on the southern edge of the campus here. On the other side of the campus is a residential neighborhood, some massive parking lots. And this is one of the busy thoroughfares along the southern edge of the campus. And there's also, just here on the western edge of the campus, is the interstate that runs north and south through Utah. If you make a right here, it takes you up to Salt Lake City. Just kind of pointing that out because as we try to, like, figure out what might have happened and what were the kind of the scenarios at play here that allowed this suspect to flee the scene in those chaotic moments, that could be something that factors in.

There is an area where, presumably, this gunman could have gotten into a vehicle and fled the scene relatively quickly and not get tied up in residential neighborhoods or chaotic streets. You know, there does seem to be some exit points if that gunman, as we have seen, it was able to leave the area.

But a very active scene tonight here on the campus. We see law enforcement vehicles all over the place. You see a great deal of activity in those buildings behind us. This is as close as we can get at the moment. But, you know, some key pieces of information coming here as this manhunt for this suspect continues to intensify this evening here in Utah. Laura?

COATES: So helpful to set that stage and really interesting to think about where the investigation goes next. Ed Lavandera, thank you so much.

I want to bring in CNN chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst John Miller, former Minneapolis police chief, Medaria Arradondo, and CNN law enforcement contributor and retired FBI supervisory special agent Steve Moore.

Let's get right into this part, John, because one thing that Ed just talked about, the different points of egress, shall we say, the highway located nearby, the chaos of a scene of people trying to get away from a shooting. We're in the ninth hour now of a manhunt. And it appears that there's that new video that appears to have somebody running on a roof right after the shooting. But given all those factors, how difficult is this investigation at this juncture?

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Well, it's a lot more difficult than it appeared to be a few hours ago when they had what they thought was a reasonable suspect in custody. But that suspect washed out through the early stages of the investigation.

So, now, Laura, they have to step back and they have to really start from square one, which is expand the video canvas that they're doing on campus to see not only can they pick up the gunman fleeing the scene, that person dressed in dark clothes seeing running across that roof. But can they go backwards and see if they can find in earlier videos maybe that person's arrival and maybe attach them to a car?

Not only does the university have video cameras in different places around the university, but the parking system there works with license plate readers that record when the cars come in and go out. If the person came in a vehicle, that would mean -- that parking lot is right behind the -- is right behind fence that you would have had to climb over to get onto that roof to walk to that perch where that shot they believe was fired from. The car presents an opportunity.

What they didn't find at the scene was the weapon.

[23:10:00]

So, by not leaving that rifle behind, that's one thing that they can't match to the bullet if they recover that bullet. But by taking it with the suspect, um, that may mean, if they find the right person and they do the right searches and they're able to obtain that weapon, they can match that to the bullet, which is going to be major evidence against --

COATES: Yeah.

MILLER: -- somebody in custody. But the point is that's a lot of process that they're going to have to --

COATES: Right.

MILLER: -- go through while getting the videos from the public, relying on tips from the public, and looking at the threat picture around Charlie Kirk to see -- was there anybody who was popping up in that threat picture that needs to be looked at.

COATES: That threat picture, Chief Arradondo, is probably in the infancy at this point in time, trying to understand the full threat scope here. But this idea of the location, the roof, obviously, a very important point of interest. The authorities believe the shooter fired from a building roof about 200 yards away. That's quite a distance. And, of course, he was underneath the tent, as we've seen from the footage as well. What does that combination tell you about this shooter?

MEDARIA ARRADONDO, FORMER MINNEAPOLIS POLICE CHIEF, AUTHOR: Well, uh, Laura, my good friend, John, had mentioned this earlier. This was certainly not a spontaneous rageful incident.

COATES: Hmm.

ARRADONDO: This was certainly pre-planned. The person had to certainly know the layout of what was going to occur in terms of that outdoor pavilion, as noted.

I don't know if the shooter knew this ahead of time. But as you watch the video, Charlie Kirk is actually sitting there on stage, on a chair. There's really no person in front of him. There are certainly thousands of people out there. But that elevated distance, certainly able to have the time and also the skill to take off that shot, to get that shot off. He did not attempt to shoot anyone else --

COATES: Yeah.

ARRADONDO: -- which is -- which is very clear that this was a calculated political assassination here. And so, all of those things.

You know, as John mentioned, too, you know, access to that campus facility, that building, was a key card access. That parking lot is very key, too. Clearly, this was an assassin that did not want to engage with law enforcement, to go out sort of in a shooting fight with local law enforcement, wanted to get away, wanted to have an escape route. And so, as John mentioned earlier, that vehicle is going to be very important, you know.

And so, it's -- again, I was hoping that earlier, when they had at least two persons of interest, that we might have a possible suspect. But it's not uncommon, when law enforcement is initially going to that scene, to question people, that there may be some -- something in terms of reasonable suspicion, that they might have stop them, detain them. They obviously interviewed these two individuals, but they're no longer in custody now.

COATES: And on that point, Steve, I want to bring you in because at first, law enforcement seemed confident about a person of interest that they had. But now, we know that two people who were questioned were eventually released. And I just wonder, given the threat picture, the prospect of sort of crowdsourcing the information and investigation, electronic surveillance, how do these initial stutter steps and possibly false leads, how do those hurt or slow the investigation?

STEVE MOORE, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CONTRIBUTOR: Well, it slows the investigation down in the very early stages. But you have to do that. When you have people saying, I saw this guy or I saw that guy, you have to follow up on those.

But Laura, this is not going to be, I believe, a whodunit. I was an agent for two years in Utah. And one of the things, when we were working on fugitives, that we learned was that there's only the 80 and the 15 that goes through Salt Lake City. If you take the 80 westbound, you're in the -- you're in the Nevada desert for eight hours of driving.

COATES: Hmm.

MOORE: If you take it eastbound, uh, it's a very short -- uh, relatively short trip over towards Colorado. What we always had going was the Utah Highway Patrol would take 80 east and west. And even if they didn't see a suspicious car, they knew every plate of any car that left.

If you went north, you were going to sparsely populated Idaho. And if you go south, you're not going to hit anything until Las Vegas. People in Cedar City would hate me for saying that. But, um, it really is extremely tough for somebody to get out of Utah without having their plates, their cars photographed, noted. So, first of all, I don't think that's going to be a whodunit.

Secondarily, this person, to make that shot, was up on that roof many times, casing it at least two, probably three times, and at least once after the tent was set up.

[23:15:04]

And if the tent was set up the day before -- because he's got to know where his shot lines were. He's a sniper. You can't just say it. So, he just has to know, uh, he -- that he has been on that roof, and cameras have caught him coming to that roof.

COATES: Really thinking about the casing of it and the ability to plan. Premeditation, John, continuously comes to mind. Unsurprisingly. That this was, of course, John, premeditated. This was not a knee-jerk reaction at all, it seems.

But you mentioned the bullet. We don't have the gun. It was not anywhere where law enforcement has retrieved it. How important is the bullet if they're able to recover that and trying to link it even without the gun itself? Can -- can authorities use forensics in some way in that instance even without that weapon?

MILLER: Well, the bullet has two ends. One is the shell casing, which is ejected from the gun when it's fired. And the other is the projectile, what we would call the bullet that went into the victim, Charlie Kirk here, and may have come out the other side. We don't know if it was recovered at the hospital. If not, they'll have to recover it at the scene.

That bullet is going to be valuable when they recover the gun, hopefully, because it gives them something to match it to ballistically. Absent that, it will just tell them what the caliber and perhaps the manufacturer of the bullet was.

But take a step back on that, Laura, because we're going to learn something about the offender in this case by that crime scene.

If that offender not only left with the gun but stopped to pick up that shell casing, which could be matched to that gun and could be matched to any other crimes that gun was involved with, uh, you're dealing with someone who has the basic characteristics of a sniper, meticulous, careful, patient, involved in precision and preparation, which generally makes them a very organized offender, not the kind of offender you want in a case where you're under pressure to get those answers quickly, usually someone who may be better at covering their tracks.

COATES: Unbelievable. Thank you, everyone.

I want to bring in an eyewitness to this horrific shooting, Tyler McGettigan. Tyler, what a day. As I understand it, you were actually standing in line to ask Charlie a question when the shooting happened. Can you describe what you saw, what you heard?

TYLER MCGETTIGAN, WITNESS TO CHARLIE KIRK'S SHOOTING: Yeah. So, I was standing in line with other people who wanted to ask questions. We were talking about the questions that we had, debating, you know, how we were going to, you know, approach Charlie with our questions. We had people, you know, left, right, all sorts of political persuasions, just having a good time. And then we heard a single shot.

COATES: Hmm.

MCGETTIGAN: And I was looking in Charlie's direction when I heard it. I saw his head tilt back, and he fell backwards in his chair.

COATES: Did you immediately know --

MCGETTIGAN: And that's -- that's what I saw.

COATES: Did you immediately know where the shot was coming from or how close it was? Anything?

MCGETTIGAN: Not really. It sounded like -- it sounded like it came from a little bit up higher and kind of across the way directly from Charlie. So, if he was on the west, the shooter was -- would have been to the east, is what it sounded like --

COATES: Hmm.

MCGETTIGAN: -- from where I was at.

COATES: When you saw his body react, can you just describe what his security detail or others around him did to try to help him?

MCGETTIGAN: I didn't see much of that. I did see them kind of jump up. But, by that time, you kind of realized what happened.

COATES: Hmm.

MCGETTIGAN: And a lot of people around me were reacting. And so, I kind of went along with the crowd and had to stay with the flow. You know, people wanted to get out of there, understandably.

COATES: Of course.

MCGETTIGAN: And so, the flow was away. I had to turn away and walk.

COATES: Of course, to get to safety. I mean, I wonder if you can go back a little bit with me because everyone is wondering about the security. I mean, this was an open-air venue. We've seen some of the video and the photographs from the scene area. Um, did you encounter any security screening when you walked in, ticket checking, metal detectors, anything like that?

MCGETTIGAN: I don't think really like that. No. They -- they had tickets for the event with a barcode. I still have mine, a barcode and --

COATES: Hmm.

MCGETTIGAN: -- what have you, a QR code. And they never asked. You know, there was no check-ins or anything to see those. They didn't -- they didn't scan those. It was just walk in through the -- through the lobby, and then into the middle.

[23:19:58]

COATES: Did you see a big campus law enforcement presence or police officers or anything there?

MCGETTIGAN: Yes, yes, I did see police officers and -- you know, throughout the event. Some were stationed on High Point. I think some were around in the crowd. So, there was a decent amount of police there.

COATES: You know, you are 31 years old. That's Charlie's age. You went to this event, I understand, and you were expressing with the goal of being able to engage with Charlie during his quintessential Q&A's that he has with the audience. He's famous for them. You never got that chance.

MCGETTIGAN: That's right.

COATES: And I wonder how --

MCGETTIGAN: No, I did not.

COATES: -- you're processing what happened in this moment, what happened to him.

MCGETTIGAN: Well, I mean, obviously, this kind of thing, this kind of violence towards people for their ideas, I think, is unacceptable.

COATES: Hmm.

MCGETTIGAN: We should be able to have a debate. You know, people should be able to ask Charlie questions, and he should be able to answer them without this fear that someone is going to try and stop them if they continue.

COATES: I'm so sorry for what you witnessed. It must be completely shocking and just unbelievable. Tyler McGettigan, thank you for being here.

MCGETTIGAN: Thank you for having me.

COATES: So sad for his wife and family. There's more ahead in the breaking news ahead, including the condemnations from across the political world. Congressman Greg Landsman, a target of political violence himself, is going to join me next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[23:25:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COATES: Bipartisan outrage tonight in reaction to the assassination of Charlie Kirk. Former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, who survived an assassination attempt, writing on X, "Attacks against political or ideological opponents are cowardly and un-American, and must be universally condemned."

Louisiana Republican Congressman Steve Scalise, who survived a shooting in 2017, also reacting, saying --quote -- "It's past time for the incendiary rhetoric to come to an end, and we must see universal condemnation of this gruesome act."

It was just three months ago that state lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her husband were gunned down in my home state of Minnesota. That alleged killer listed numerous politicians as possible targets. And sadly, my next guest was also on that list.

Ohio Democratic Congressman Greg Landsman joins me now. Congressman, it's such an eerie sensation to even say that you were on any kind of list like that, and I can't imagine what your reaction today was when you saw and heard about this horrific shooting.

REP. GREG LANDSMAN (D-OH): I think my reaction was similar to everyone's, which was there's an -- sort of an immediate grief that comes over you. Almost a disbelief, too. Um, how can this happen even though we've experienced it? And then you -- you want everyone to know that it's -- it's horrific.

COATES: Hmm.

LANDSMAN: That everyone should be feeling an enormous amount of pain for what happened, uh, and sorrow. And if you're a praying person, you pray for his family, his wife, his children, the people who loved him.

COATES: Hmm.

LANDSMAN: And you hope that our leaders, all of them, uh, do universally condemn this. That everyone says this is wrong. The only way out of this is if everyone says, we're going to do better. And that means toning down the rhetoric. It means getting more serious about mental health and keeping guns out of the hands of dangerous people, protecting gun owners, but keeping guns out of the hands of dangerous people. Just charting a new course where this is not our reality because this is a nightmare.

COATES: We look to lawmakers in some ways as debate-based role models. And there was a moment today that -- there was an attempt to have a moment of silence in the legislative chamber. I want you to hear what happened and just recall that moment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ANNA PAULINA LUNA (R-FL): You all caused this!

UNKNOWN: Let's -- let's -- let's (bleep). Wait a minute. Wait a minute. The House will be in order. The House will be in order. The House will be in order.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: Now, when you see that, and you know Americans are watching that, and wondering how to turn that temperature down, how to have civil disagreements, that's got to give you pause.

LANDSMAN: Yeah, it did, although I was in the House chamber, and I also saw most everybody else trying to take a seat --

COATES: Hmm.

LANDSMAN: -- as a way to demonstrate calm. And there were more people saying, shh, let's not do that. And, you know, there's a time when emotions run high. COATES: Hmm.

LANDSMAN: But what was being offered was a moment of prayer. And I'm a praying person.

COATES: Uh-hmm.

LANDSMAN: It helps me. And when I pray, I hear kindness and grace. I don't ever hear anger or retribution.

[23:30:02]

And I -- I think for those who are -- who pray, this is one of those moments where praying is going to be very, very helpful.

COATES: Yeah.

LANDSMAN: And ultimately, you know, just sitting quietly and letting yourself feel this is going to help us get through this and in a way where we're better off. I mean, if that's possible, and I think it is. And I want the message or at least the -- the sort of path forward to be one where we -- we recognize this is happening across the board. It's political violence. It's school shootings.

COATES: Hmm.

LANDSMAN: We just lost children again. I mean, the number one cause of death for children -- you know, for children, is gun violence. We have the capacity to fix this. We have the capacity to have our politics be better. We have the capacity to solve the mental health issue. Uh, you know, getting guns out of the hands of, uh, dangerous people. We have the capacity to be better. And I think most people want that.

COATES: I hope people do. And totally the way forward is what you described. People have had a very visceral reaction, however, to the president of the United States, who blamed some of the rhetoric on what he called the radical left for Kirk's murder. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: For years, those on the radical left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the world's worst mass murderers and criminals. This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that we're seeing in our country today and it must stop right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: What do you hear from the president?

LANDSMAN: I choose to lead by example. The example that I choose is to, uh, appreciate the fact that people are in pain, that this was horrific, uh, that political violence doesn't just, uh, hurt one side, it hurts everybody. To keep a ledger is unproductive.

COATES: Hmm.

LANDSMAN: And that in the end, we're all in this together. I'm hearing or tuning in to those folks on both sides that are saying this is horrible. Pray for his family --

COATES: Yeah.

LANDSMAN: -- and let's stop. Like we can do better. And those are the folks that I think most Americans are going to tune in to. And my only other piece of advice is, at least for a little bit, get off social media. Just be with your loved ones and -- and -- and try to stay off social media as long as you can because I think it pulls you away from the people who are going to help you through this.

COATES: I'm actually thinking about his family tonight.

LANDSMAN: Yeah.

COATES: Young father. Thank you, congressman.

LANDSMAN: Thank you.

COATES: Up next, how Charlie Kirk became one of his generation's biggest conservative stars. Two of his friends, including one who mentored him when he was just a teen, are going to join me next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[23:35:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COATES: We continue to follow breaking news. Police actively searching for who killed conservative activist Charlie Kirk on a college campus today in Utah. College campuses are where Kirk built his brand of debating anyone all across the political spectrum. His Turning Point USA organization blossomed to more than 800 campuses in the 13 years after he started it.

It was a remarkable rise for a man with humble beginnings in suburban Chicago. He was a college dropout, but soon became a self-made millionaire, thanks to the books that he wrote, speaking engagements and, of course, his popular podcast, "The Charlie Kirk Show." He was unapologetic for views and commentary that often roiled the left and motivated the right.

President Trump credits Kirk for helping him mobilize a new movement of young conservative voters to the polls just last year.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: And a man who's got an army of young people, Charlie Kirk, is here.

(APPLAUSE) And I want to thank Charlie. Charlie is fantastic. I mean, this guy. Don't believe the stuff when you hear the kids are liberal. They're not liberal. Maybe they used to be, but they're not anymore.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: Well, Kirk was a son, a husband, and a father to two young children. Two people who knew him very well are joining me now, former Illinois Republican congressman, Joe Walsh, and political strategist and senior advisor of Our Republican Legacy, Rina Shah.

I know shellshock is one way to describe what so many people are feeling, knowing what has happened today. Joe, especially for you, you were kind of a father figure to him. You've known since he was 16 years old. Just 31 today, the day that he has died. What are you feeling tonight?

JOE WALSH, PODCAST HOST, FORMER ILLINOIS REPRESENTATIVE: I feel like I lost a son. He was like a son to me. And that may be an odd thing to say because for the past seven years, he and I have been on opposite sides politically.

COATES: Yeah.

WALSH: But I met him when he was 16 years old. I was off to Congress. He was in my district. I helped him launch Turning Point USA. I was his political mentor. He was quite literally a son to me. And this was his life. At 16, Laura, he had the go and the smarts of a 30 to a 40- year-old.

[23:40:01]

And he was a political young mastermind. And then when Trump came along, and he and I divided, we would go at each other on social media, but always generally respectfully. And even though I abhorred a lot of his views, up until today, he was a son to me. It's just -- it's just so sad.

COATES: I mean, one of the things that he was so compelling at doing was debating.

WALSH: Uh-hmm.

COATES: Was to really essentially go toe-to-toe and speak his views and his truths. And he was doing just that when he was killed. And Rina, I mean, what was it about him that drew so many people in the conservative spaces, especially young people? What was it about his magnetism?

RINA SHAH, CEO OF RILAX STRATEGIES, GEOPOLITICAL ADVISER, POLITICAL STRATEGIST, SENIOR ADVISOR OF OUR REPUBLICAN LEGACY: Well, first off, my deepest condolences to the Kirk family, especially to Erika, who was by his side for the past few years, visible and invisible support as part of the Turning Point USA family that grew in numbers that people couldn't believe. And tonight, you know, two babies were tucked to bed without their father, never to see him again simply because he expressed his First Amendment right. He never ran for office. As far as I recall, he never had those aspirations. The Charlie Kirk I met a decade ago was a bit of a wallflower in certain circles in this town at cocktail parties. He'd listen and he'd watch, and he'd ask questions. And that is what I quite liked about him.

He was a younger millennial. I'm an elder millennial. I sort of felt like a big sisterly role in communicating with him, largely by DMs on Twitter. We eventually lost touch, but I watched him and he watched me. And, of course, we diverged in our viewpoints as well. I did not support President Trump.

But I saw what he was building because he wasn't just debating, Laura. He was having conversations. And yes, they were tough conversations. They were uncomfortable conversations. In some ways, he was a dissident because he was saying what other people weren't. He was saying sometimes what was unpopular for people around his age.

And I think that was the magic, is that he went to the campuses. And how ironic that he himself was a college dropout. But going to campuses and simply saying, I'm here to have the conversation --

COATES: Yeah.

SHAH: -- tapping that and getting people to show up, and they showed up over and over again in wards.

COATES: And -- and President Trump credits him in many respects for trying to help get that young persons' vote out. I mean, you can just see how much ground was covered for Trump between 2020 and 2024 alone. Just thinking about this, I mean, how important, do you think, his voice was for this political generation? And, frankly, Democrats took notice as well, trying to tap into whatever that je ne sais quoi was.

WALSH: Laura, think about this. He was killed at 31, 31 years old. He was the leader of a movement, a movement in this country that had huge impact. Young men are voting Republican now in huge credit because of what he did. He was relentless. His impact -- and again, politically, he and I would fight, but, Laura, you're both right, the other side was always watching him and trying to learn from him because he had such great impact.

COATES: When you look ahead in terms of what can be learned from this, you see the tone and tenor, even in Washington, D.C., more somber than I recall. And we've had a number of tragedies just this year alone. And there's something about this that has a somber tone among Capitol Hill. Why do you think this is it?

SHAH: Because he's a private citizen. I think if Charlie were with us today, and I wish he were, uh, it is shocking to think that a life can be snuffed out simply because you raised your voice and spoke your mind. That is not supposed to happen in the United States. And he would lead with that, but he would say politically-motivated assassinations cannot become the phrase of the year. And we have to figure out why thousands of people would sign a petition for him to not come to campus, to not hear the other side, to just not hear it. And I think that is the legacy Charlie leaves. No matter what you may thought about him, maybe you didn't like his style, maybe you didn't like the way he carried himself, maybe he said things that actually personally hurt you, but those were his views, and he was a private citizen.

And what I worry about now moving forward is that we have a growing -- as you know very well, we have a growing crop of political creators in this country that are independent voices. And I am worried for each one of my friends that have massive following.

WALSH: Laura, that's what's so jarring. It's the political assassination of a private citizen. That's what's so jarring.

COATES: We're all stunned by the news. It continues to develop. A manhunt still underway. Joe, Rina, thank you. And I'm sorry, especially your personal loss here.

[23:45:00]

We have a lot more tonight as this manhunt more than nine hours in continues for the assassin who killed Charlie Kirk. His murder is now raising all sorts of questions about a culture and society where this happens, let alone keeps happening. Insight from two experts who have studied extremism and political violence is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COATES: You know what? Tonight, we got to confront this harsh reality, that political violence in this country is becoming more and more common.

On your screen right now are just some of the notable instances we've seen in just over a year. There was the assassination attempt on President Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania. There was a second attempt on his life just two months later. The CEO of UnitedHealthcare was gunned down in the streets of New York. The home of Pennsylvania governor, Josh Shapiro, was set on fire.

[23:50:02]

Two Israeli embassy staffers were killed at the Capitol Jewish Museum. The speaker of the Minnesota House, Melissa Hortman, was murdered at her home along with her husband. That same gunman also shot and wounded another state senator and his wife. And today, the assassination of Charlie Kirk is, of course, not an exhaustive list. It doesn't even begin to account for the many mass shootings that have taken place.

Joining me now, Matthew Dallek. He is a political historian at George Washington University. Also here, Donell Harvin, the former chief of Homeland Security and Intelligence for Washington, D.C. Welcome to you both. Matthew, can you orient us? How did we get to this point? MATTHEW DALLEK, POLITICAL HISTORIAN, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: Well, first of all, I think we've been in a really dark place for about a decade. We're living through the most politically-violent era since the 1960s and 70s. You've got to go back 60 years, probably.

COATES: That's why you're saying something.

DALLEK: Yeah. I mean -- and -- and, you know, I don't know how we get out of it. In terms of how do we get to this place, I think a lot of things. One factor, though, is, you know, the rhetoric, the political rhetoric. It's not just that it's heated, but it's dehumanizing.

And it's also this idea that the other side is the enemy within. And if you talk about the other side as the enemy within, it enables some people, mentally-ill, to take steps and commit these horrific acts of violence. So, it's one factor. You have social media as an accelerant. There's a lot of other --

COATES: Yeah.

DALLEK: -- reasons, but -- but I think we're in a bad spot, obviously.

COATES: The dehumanization aspect of it, it piqued your curiosity, particularly, I think, for the same reason.

DONELL HARVIN, FORMER CHIEF OF HOMELAND SECURITY AND INTELLIGENCE, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: We've talked about that on this exact show. So, when that dehumanization without authorization leads to acts of violence, we call that stochastic terrorism. If you spend enough time saying this person or this group of people are bad enough and people take an action on that, then it's a problem.

And, as you talked about, we -- no one has talked about the actual issue that we've seen on the intelligence side over the last decade, as you mentioned the decade, and that's this -- the radicalization of people, particularly young people, online through social media and how these algorithms draw them towards this hate.

COATES: Why does the condemnation that we are seeing -- but today, for example, we've seen condemnation from both sides of the aisle on any number of extraordinarily violent acts. Why is the condemnation not (INAUDIBLE)?

DALLEK: It's such a great question. I think because they are competing with a lot of these other voices, many of them online, that are not condemning this or they're saying this means war. So, you have a ratcheting up effect.

And in years past, I think it was a little bit easier for, let's say, a Bill Clinton, during the Oklahoma City bombing, to go to Oklahoma City and say this kind of hate and extremism is unacceptable. And this is not what American politics can be about. And that was a powerful speech, a powerful voice that carried. It's much harder for those voices, I think, to resonate with people now. COATES: The age of Charlie, 31 years old. His appeal to younger populations in particular. Talk to me about the rising concerns when you've got a young population and appear assassinated.

HARVIN: Yeah. So, we were actually in class tonight when this broke and we're talking about this. People like Charlie Kirk, they appeal to younger generation and they bring them into a fold. A lot of these people feel like they have no sense of community. They have -- you know, they're kind of left out there. And he gives them a focal point to really focus their political aspirations and other things towards.

Without him, you know, there could be anger in that population, and that's not the population you want angry because that's the population that we track in intelligence that are really committing a lot of these acts of violence. I'm not saying they're going to. What I'm saying is that you have a population that really requires a lot of attention when things like this happen, and they can become vicariously traumatized.

COATES: The idea of just the infancy of the investigation, now what? Ten-hour lead in terms of a manhunt underway. But we know that there has been a ripple effect when there has ever been an assassination or an attempt in this country. Contextually, as the historian at this table, what is the aftermath of an assassination due to a society?

DALLEK: So, look, I think part of it depends on how society reacts.

COATES: Uh-hmm.

DALLEK: And a lot of times, these attempts or these murders can polarize the society further. Um, you know, in the 1960s, John F. Kennedy, some people marked the divisions really of the 60s and 70s on John F. Kennedy's killing.

COATES: Hmm.

DALLEK: And then, of course, Martin Luther King, more than 100 cities burned. Robert F. Kennedy gave an incredible speech, calming tensions in Indianapolis. But then, of course, he was gunned down. So, um, you know, the aftermath is really important, what people say, what they do, because it's how we kind of make meaning of this really senseless, horrific act.

[23:55:05]

COATES: And it's difficult to draw these parallels because each of the assassinations you mentioned, unique in their own ways and distinct. And yet, that common and connective tissue of where we go from here, I think, is lingering in all of our minds.

Thank you both so much for trying to help contextualize --

HARVIN: Thank you.

COATES: -- what has happened on this day. And thank you all out there for watching. CNN's live coverage continues with Omar Jimenez after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)