The Bartholomew County Democratic Party said a Facebook post over the killing of right-wing political activist Charlie Kirk that generated controversy this week was “ill-advised” and made by a person who did not have authorization to post.
The post, which has since been taken down, said “violent delights have violent ends” above a link to an Associated Press article about Kirk’s assassination.
Kirk, 31, was fatally shot while speaking at a Utah college event on Wednesday. Authorities have arrested Tyler Robinson, 22, of Utah as the lone suspect in Kirk’s killing.
“The person that posted that wasn’t really authorized to post it, and when I saw it and I saw the reaction to it, obviously, I had it taken down immediately,” said Bartholomew County Democratic Party Chair Ross Thomas “…It’s a Shakespeare quote from Romeo and Juliet. When you see the word ‘delight’ in talking about his shooting, it definitely puts people off understandably.”
“Certainly, at first glance, if you had no context for why you would use those words, it’s understandable (to be outraged),” Thomas added. “But as I said, it ends up being somebody trying to quote Shakespeare to make a point and missed the mark 100%.”
The phrase appears in dialogue by the character Friar Laurence in Act 2, Scene 6 of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.
The full dialogue is:
“These violent delights have violent ends
And in their triumph die, like fire and powder,
Which as they kiss consume. The sweetest honey
Is loathsome in his own deliciousness
And in the taste confounds the appetite.
Therefore love moderately; love live doth so;
Too swift arrives as tardy as too slow.”
The Facebook post, which Thomas said was taken down after about 45 minutes, caused outrage among some state and local Republicans.
Bartholomew Consolidated School Board member Logan Schulz, a Republican, said, “Local Democrat leaders should drive accountability within. This post is entirely disgusting and only enflames political violence. Regardless of your views, Mr. Kirk epitomized bringing public discourse and debate back to the public square. Bartholomew County Democratic Party you can and should do better! There needs to be some accountability for this violence sympathizing.”
The Indiana Republican Party reposted a screenshot of the Bartholomew County Democratic Party’s original post, saying, “This is disgusting. We sincerely hope the Indiana Democrats will remove and denounce whoever was involved in making this post.”
Thomas would not disclose who made the post, instead saying, “It’s the party’s Facebook (account).” However, he often used the pronoun “her” when discussing the individual who made the post.
“I think what her intention was, ‘Look, Charlie Kirk had a famous quote that said we have to accept a certain number of gun deaths in order to have our Second Amendment rights, and he was somebody that advocated those kind of things in a pretty strong way,’” Thomas said. “And I think her intention was to say, really, ‘the whole culture of violence and the whole gun culture leads to violence,’ certainly not that it was a good thing at all that somebody is shot or assassinated.”
Thomas appeared to be referencing a statement Kirk made at a 2023 TPUSA Faith event in which the former political activist is quoted as saying, “I think it’s worth to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God-given rights.”
“Certainly, it was not anybody’s intention on our part to make light of a shooting,” Thomas said. “…I’ll put our position on gun violence and the availability of guns for people who commit crimes against the Republicans’ (position) any time. Nobody on our side is pro-violence in any way.”
“Not just famous people, not just Charlie Kirk, anytime somebody loses their life to violence, it’s a tragedy, and it’s no more of a tragedy or less of a tragedy depending on your politics or you level of fame or anything like that,” Thomas added. “It’s a terrible thing. There’s no place in our politics for violence … and we absolutely condemn it.”
State and other local Democrats also condemned Kirk’s assassination.
The Indiana Democratic Party said, “We are horrified by today’s attack on Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University. We condemn political violence of any kind, anywhere in our country. No one should fear being a target for violence while expressing their first amendment rights. We are thinking and praying for Charlie and his family.”
Columbus City Council member Grace Kestler, a Democrat, said, “From Charlie Kirk’s killing to the heartbreaking school shootings this week, we are continuously confronted with the reality of violence in our world. It has no place in our society, and when lives are taken this way, we all lose something. My thoughts are with the families in mourning, and with all who are yearning for a safer, more compassionate future.”
Kirk was a conservative provocateur who became a powerful political force among young Republicans and was a fixture on college campuses, where he invited sometimes-vehement debate on social issues, The Associated Press reported.
Wednesday’s debate at Utah Valley University was billed as the first stop on Kirk’s “American Comeback Tour.” The tour was scheduled to stop at Indiana University in Bloomington on Oct. 21, according to the tour’s website.
President Donald Trump, who was joined by Democrats in condemning the violence, said he would award Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the U.S., The Associated Press reported.
Vice President JD Vance and his wife, Usha, visited with Kirk’s family Thursday in Salt Lake City. Vance posted a remembrance on X chronicling their friendship, dating back to initial messages in 2017, through Vance’s Senate run and the 2024 election.
Kirk’s casket was flown aboard Air Force Two from Utah to Phoenix, where his nonprofit political youth organization is based. Trump told reporters he planned to attend Kirk’s funeral. Details have not been announced.
Late Thursday, authorities arrested Robinson, capping a frenetic day-and-a-half search that just hours earlier seemed stuck when authorities pleaded for tips and leads from the public, according to wire reports. The assassination captivated the public not only because of Kirk’s outsize influence in conservative political circles and his close connections with Trump but also because of the pressing questions it raised about the escalating toll of political violence that has spanned the ideological spectrum.
Authorities have yet to reveal a motive, but they did describe evidence they recovered they said shed potential light on the slaying.
That includes engravings on bullet casings recovered from the high-powered rifle believed used in the attack, including one that said, “Hey, fascist! Catch!” according to Utah Gov. Spencer Cox.
