© 2025 Boise State Public Radio
NPR in Idaho
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
KLCZ in Lewiston is currently experiencing an outage.

Charlie Kirk's death highlights the rise of violence in American politics

A well-wisher adds flowers to a makeshift memorial set up at Turning Point USA headquarters after the shooting death at a Utah college on Wednesday of Charlie Kirk, the 31-year-old founder and CEO of the organization.
Ross D. Franklin
/
AP
A well-wisher adds flowers to a makeshift memorial set up at Turning Point USA headquarters after the shooting death at a Utah college on Wednesday of Charlie Kirk, the 31-year-old founder and CEO of the organization.

Yesterday, Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk was murdered while speaking on a college campus in Utah.

And last night, a crowd gathered on Idaho’s statehouse steps to remember Kirk.

This is another incident in a growing chapter of recent political violence in America, from shootings to vandalism, and we wanted to have a conversation about political polarization and attitudes towards political violence in American politics today.

Jeffrey Lyons, associate professor at the School of Public Service at Boise State University, joins Idaho Matters to talk more.

Stay Connected
As Senior Producer of our live daily talk show Idaho Matters, I’m able to indulge my love of storytelling and share all kinds of information (I was probably a Town Crier in a past life). My career has allowed me to learn something new everyday and to share that knowledge with all my friends on the radio.

You make stories like this possible.

The biggest portion of Boise State Public Radio's funding comes from readers like you who value fact-based journalism and trustworthy information.

Your donation today helps make our local reporting free for our entire community.