Bipartisan group of lawmakers hold vigil for Charlie Kirk

Members of Congress from both political parties offered prayers and remarks Monday evening at a vigil for Charlie Kirk in the House of Representatives.

Dozens of Republicans filled in the Capitol’s Statutory Hall alongside a handful of Democrats.

“We can never live in fear,” House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., said. “We can never let what people think drive them—not to debate—but to try to resort to political violence. That can never be accepted as the norm. It goes against everything that our country was founded upon.”

Scalise, a victim of political violence himself, was shot in 2017 while at a sporting event.

The vigil was led by U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. Notably, the chamber’s top Democrats, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and his leadership team, were not in attendance.

Who was Charlie Kirk? Kirk, 31, had led one of the country’s foremost youth-centered political organizations, Turning Point USA. He was shot and killed last Wednesday at an outdoor debating event on the campus of Utah Valley University. Authorities have held Tyler Robinson, age 22, on suspicion of being the gunman who shot Kirk.

Kirk was known for many viral social media clips in which he argued social, policy, and worldview issues, often with college students. His organization and efforts aligned closely with the Trump administration’s views.

What’s the context of the vigil? Although only a small group of Democrats came to the event, the bipartisan show on Monday came as both parties have called for a renewed emphasis on collaboration in the wake of Kirk’s death.

But the assassination also sparked heated debate over acceptable political rhetoric, gun rights, political extremism, and more—issues over which Republicans and Democrats differ. Last week, lawmakers on the House floor clashed over whether the chamber should be allowed to pray over the matter. The shooter’s motives have also prompted debate online, leading lawmakers to worry about the temperature of the political discourse and the possibility of additional political violence.

Although lawmakers across the board have fiercely condemned the attack, they differ in their analysis of the attack and their ideas for how Congress can help the country move past the moment.

Dig deeper: Here’s what lawmakers told me on the day of Kirk’s death—and their differing views on what it means for the country.