Derrick Van Orden at an online press conference last year discussing crimes committed in his hometown by a Venezuelan immigrant. Van Orden's social media posts following the assassination of Charlie Kirk blame Democrat and journalists and predict 'civil war.'| (Screenshot via Zoom)
Fruitless thoughts and prayers. Familiar calls for de-escalating toxic partisanship. Promises to do something about the teen mental health crisis, violent video games, the epidemic of alienation and hopelessness. By now we are all accustomed to the ritual reactions to routine incidents of horrific gun violence that plague our country like no other wealthy nation on Earth, where firearms are the leading cause of death for children.
But if the usual, feckless responses to gun violence are maddening in a country that can’t get its act together to pass even marginal, commonsense gun safety measures, the reaction of Wisconsin U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden to the hideous assassination of rightwing provocateur Charlie Kirk this week was downright reprehensible.
As soon as the news broke that Kirk was shot while on stage at Utah Valley University, Van Orden began a stream of increasingly unhinged social media posts blaming Democrats and the media for the murder and declaring “the gloves are off.”
“The leftwing political violence must stop now,” Van Orden tweeted. In another post he wrote, “The left and their policies are leading America into a civil war. And they want it. Just like the democrat party wanted our 1st civil war.”
Contrast that with the statements from other Wisconsin politicians.
Wisconsin U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin said, “there is no two ways about this: political violence has no place in America. I am keeping Charlie and his family in my thoughts in this truly horrifying moment.”
Van Orden’s fellow Wisconsin Republican, U.S. Rep. Tony Wied said, “There is absolutely zero place for political violence in our country.”
“Violence against anyone because of their political beliefs is wrong. Violence against others is wrong,” Gov. Tony Evers said. “Violence is never the answer for resolving our differences or disagreements. Wisconsin joins in praying for Charlie Kirk and the Utah Valley community and first responders.”
None of those statements mollified Van Orden, who told reporters in the U.S. Capitol that “every one of you” is responsible for Kirk’s death.
Reposting a news clip of Democratic Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries, who called for the nation to de-escalate political violence and come together, Van Orden wrote, “Too late. You have sown the wind.”
“I am not sure they understand what they have done,” Van Orden ranted. “They missed in Butler, but it is on now.”
Never mind that in Butler, Pennsylvania, the would-be assassin who targeted President Donald Trump was a registered Republican. Or that, as Van Orden spewed accusations against Democrats and journalists, the identity of the shooter who targeted Charlie Kirk was still unknown. When a reporter pointed that out to Van Orden, he replied, “You know what? Knock it off.”
Actually, it’s Van Orden who needs to knock it off.
Seizing on political violence to try to stoke more political violence is as dangerous as it is disgusting.
Far from recognizing the human tragedy for all of us as our country descends into this nightmare, Van Orden capitalizes on murder, whether the victims are liberals or conservatives, imposing the same crude narrative about a war with violent leftists every time.
After the horrible double murder of Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark, Van Orden falsely characterized the suspected shooter, a right-wing religious fanatic whose list of intended targets included Democrats and abortion providers, as an anti-Trump protester who “decided to murder and attempt to murder some politicians that were not far Left enough for them.”
He seems to revel in the prospect of more violence. Unfortunately, his tone is matched by Trump, who issued his own threatening statement, politicizing the attack and claiming that it is part of a pattern of leftwing attacks on conservatives. “For years, those on the radical left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the world’s worst mass murderers and criminals. This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that we’re seeing in our country today, and it must stop right now,” Trump said. “My administration will find each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity, and to other political violence.”
Of course, it is Trump who has a long history of inviting political violence against Democrats and members of the press. Van Orden is copying him by escalating that rhetoric in Wisconsin.
Online, Van Orden’s belligerent posts got mixed reviews. Some people demanded that he explain what he means when he says “the gloves are off,” condemning him for encouraging hooliganism. “So you plan on using this to start Civil War II?” one person posted. “You don’t think things through before you say them.
You people fantasize about killing your fellow Americans like it’s a full-time job.”
Others celebrated his statements. “No other way to fix it at this point,” one of Van Orden’s followers replied to his post. “We need a 2-3 day national purge. We do business with whatever is left of the left.” Appended to the comment was a GIF celebrating Kyle Rittenhouse for shooting Black Lives Matter protesters in Kenosha.
It’s unlikely that Van Orden, who has been unwilling to face his own constituents at an in-person town hall will actually lead the violent attacks against his fellow Americans he fantasizes about online. But feeding that violent fantasy is clearly inspiring for some people. And that’s exactly why it’s got to stop.