Legal Defense Fund (LDF) President and Director-Counsel Janai Nelson issued the following statement in response to the fatal shooting of self-described right-wing activist and media personality Charlie Kirk:
“Today’s fatal attack on Charlie Kirk is a horrific and appalling marker of escalating violence in the public sphere. In a healthy democracy, we must be able to debate, argue, and disagree without resorting to violence. Political violence is never acceptable, but tragically, it has become increasingly common in our society. Whatever our differences, we must never lose sight of our shared humanity. LDF condemns Mr. Kirk’s killing and all political violence in the strongest possible terms, and we share our sincere condolences with Mr. Kirk’s family. We hope that this tragic event, along with the politically-motivated killings of Minnesota State House Leader Melissa Hortman and her husband, and the brutal attack on Minnesota State Senator John Hoffman and his wife earlier this year, will encourage dialogue across ideological and other differences about how to solve the escalating political violence and violent rhetoric in our country.”
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Founded in 1940, the Legal Defense Fund (LDF) is the nation’s first civil rights law organization. LDF’s Thurgood Marshall Institute is a multi-disciplinary and collaborative hub within LDF that launches targeted campaigns and undertakes innovative research to shape the civil rights narrative. In media attributions, please refer to us as the Legal Defense Fund or LDF. Please note that LDF has been completely separate from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) since 1957 — although LDF was originally founded by the NAACP and shares its commitment to equal rights.
