Toxic rhetoric proliferates after Charlie Kirk killing

A stew of hyper-toxic rhetoric has surged through social media and American discourse after the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

A stew of hypertoxic rhetoric has surged through social media and American discourse after the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, inflaming a political environment that was already deeply polarized.

The most concerning messages, experts told NBC News, are proclamations from far-right activists, Republican politicians and conservative influencers about a coming civil war and the need for retribution or payback against the left for Kirk’s killing. The phrase “civil war” has spiked on social media and in Google searches.

“The Left is the party of murder,” Elon Musk posted on X to his 226 million followers, shortly after the shooting and before the gunman’s identity was known. He separately posted, “If they won’t leave us in peace, then our choice is fight or die,” without saying who “they” were.

While there had not been any known acts of violence connected to the Kirk killing as of Friday afternoon, the shooting sent a wave of fear across much of the U.S. political landscape. Many politicians are adding security in response to an uptick in death threats, and some canceled events and said they would be holding off on public appearances. The Democratic National Committee headquarters received bomb threats on Thursday and Friday, which authorities said turned out not to be credible.

On Friday, authorities said they arrested Tyler Robinson, a 22-year-old Utah resident, in connection with Kirk’s killing. Authorities also said he left behind bullet casings engraved with messages that included “Hey fascist! Catch! ↑→↓↓↓” in an apparent reference to a video game, among other references to obscure internet memes.