Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) on Friday reportedly called the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk a “horrific and vile attack,” but at the same time dismissed efforts to honor his legacy as “reckless” and “partisan.” Her remarks underscored a growing divide among Democrats about how to respond to the assassination of one of the country’s most prominent young conservatives.
Speaking on the House floor, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez acknowledged that condemning the “depravity” of Kirk’s “brutal” murder was “a straightforward matter, one that is especially important to help stabilize an increasingly unsafe and volatile political environment where everyday people feel more at risk.” Yet she argued the resolution adopted Friday to honor Kirk’s life was less about unity and more about politics.
“Today’s resolution only underscores the majority’s recklessness by choosing to author this condemnation and honoring on a purely partisan basis, instead of uniting Congress in this tragedy with one of the many bipartisan options to condemn political violence and Kirk’s murder,” she said, pointing to a prior resolution honoring the late Rep. Melissa Hortman.
The House ultimately passed the measure in a bipartisan 310-58 vote, with 95 Democrats joining Republicans to commend Kirk as a “courageous American patriot” who “boldly lived out his faith with conviction, courage, and compassion.” Thirty-eight Democrats voted “present,” and 58 voted “no.” Ocasio-Cortez was among those in opposition.
The resolution, authored by Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), also condemned all forms of political violence, praised law enforcement for pursuing Kirk’s killer, and extended condolences to his wife, Erika Kirk, and their children.
For Ocasio-Cortez, however, the debate was less about Kirk’s assassination than about free speech. She accused President Trump and the Federal Communications Commission of “weaponizing” the tragedy after ABC indefinitely suspended comedian Jimmy Kimmel for comments about Kirk’s death.
“It is equally important that Congress does unite to reject the government’s attempt to weaponize this moment into an all-out assault on free speech across the country, all in the name of Charlie Kirk,” she said. “President Trump and the FCC are now cynically threatening to shut down ABC and any outlets who give airtime to the administration’s political critics.”
Calling the move a “disgusting attack on the American people and the very First Amendment rights that define us as a country,” Ocasio-Cortez also criticized ABC. “It is also the ABC Corporation’s responsibility to refuse to embolden and participate in this corruption and escalation of censorship.”
At the same time, she took aim at Kirk himself, citing his past criticisms of the Civil Rights Act and his comments after the assault on Paul Pelosi. “Today, we should be clear about who Charlie Kirk was,” she said.
Conservatives argue her position — condemning the murder but refusing to support a resolution honoring Kirk — highlights how the left struggles to extend basic recognition to those outside its ideological fold, even in the face of political violence.
[READ MORE: Fetterman Rebukes Democrats for Fixating on Kimmel Suspension as Shutdown Looms]
