Sept. 17: How Charlie Kirk’s Assassination Is Resonating With Conservatives In The Valley

Support for this podcast comes from the Central Valley Journalism Collaborative, connecting communities with the resources, infrastructure, and networks to ensure a vibrant local free press. From KBPR in Fresno, this is Central Valley Daily. It's Wednesday, September 17th. I'm Elizabeth Archelian. The assassination of Charlie Kirk one week ago today shocked people on both sides of the political aisle. Charlie was killed not for anything that he did, but for what he believed and what he said. In the days since, people have voiced polarizing opinions of the conservative leader. We will break down how local leaders have responded in their call for civility with Fresno County supervisor Nathan Magsig. But first, these news headlines. A state leader in charge of air quality regulation is stepping down. Leanne Randolph will leave her role at the end of the month. Her term on the California Air Resources Board does not expire until next year. But Randolph is leaving amid calls for her to resign. She faced criticism after admitting air regulators do not take into consideration how regulations impact drivers when limiting tailpipe emissions. A group of UC Merced students staged a protest on Tuesday over the layoff of staff who led diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. KVPR's Rachel Livinol brings us this report. When students are under attack, what do we do? We fight the! Around 50 students, alumni, and a professor chanted and climbed up three flights of stairs in the administration building. They were calling for the reinstatement of three campus leaders and the centers that once ran DEI programs on campus. Jessica Alvarez McDaniels says it's not the same without the staff. It felt like my safest space in the Merced community was being teared apart. And students like Kelly Flores say they want to be heard about what... comes next. It was out of the blue and it was kind of like a stop in the face because they had done so much, they were doing so much for our program specifically. Students are circulating a petition in the meantime and they have a meeting with administrators later this week. UCMERSet officials declined our request for comment. With KVPR News, I'm Rachel Livenall. A week before conservative activist Charlie Kirk was assassinated in Utah last Wednesday, he spoke in Visalia. So did Bishop Joseph Brennan. He oversees the Catholic Diocese of Fresno. As KvPR's Carrie Klein reports, an interaction with Kirk left Brennan with a burning question. Charlie Kirk was evangelical, but he told Bishop Brennan he had been attending Catholic Mass with his wife. And then Brennan recalls Kirk said something strange and profound. He said, I'm very close. He said it that way. I'm very close. And Brennan's not sure what Kirk was trying to say. And it could have meant that, you know, I'm close to my Catholic pastor. I'm close to becoming a Catholic, or I'm close to the moment. You mean the moment of death? Yes.

But he also saw Kirk as a deeply principled Christian, and he says Kirk's death leaves questions about the future of open dialogue in this country. For KVPR News, I'm Carrie Klein. Former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger says a state push to redraw political maps is, quote, insane. The proposals being led by Governor Gavin Newsom, but his predecessor says voters should reject it in November. Campaigns for and against Proposition 50 are now in full swing, and if passed, would put aside an independent commission that oversees congressional districts. Gavin Newsom's push seeks to counter an effort by Republicans in other states who are seeking to tip the balance of power in Congress.

Support for Central Valley Daily comes from Body 20 in Fresno's Fig Garden Village, offering full-body electromustle stimulation training sessions. It's a high-tech time-efficient way to help preserve and rebuild lean muscle. Each 20-minute one-on-one session is guided by a certified coach using FDA cleared technology. Body20 accepts health savings account cards. More information available by searching the fig garden location at body20.com. And now to our main story. Today marks one week since conservative activist Charlie Kirk was assassinated while speaking to college students at Utah Valley University. That was originally supposed to be the first in Kirk's so-called American comeback tour of college campuses. Kirk co-founded Turning Point USA and was well known for hosting debates with college students around the country. He had just finished responding to a question on mass shootings when he was shot. Prosecutors have brought a murder charge against Kirk's alleged assassin Tyler Robinson. He appeared in court for the first time on Tuesday. Now, there's still a lot we don't know about the situation, but the killing of this leading conservative voice in the U.S. has undoubtedly left a deep mark on our public discourse. And where we go from here is a big question. Today we're speaking with someone who might help us understand what the feelings like on the ground right now and especially why Kirk's death is resonating around the country. I'm joined by Nathan MagSig. He's a member of the Fresno County Board of Supervisors and represents the 5th District, which encompasses Clovis and communities in the Sierra Nevada. Thanks for joining me, Supervisor. Thank you for having me. So to start, as I said, it's been a week since Charlie Kirk was killed and you're known as a conservative and Perhaps you can let us know, with Kirk being a big voice for the Republican Party, especially for younger voters, what have you sort of seen locally in the aftermath of his death and just how people are responding? Well, I can tell you on that day, as information was spotty about what took place, it was a shocking day. And then, of course, with the videos that came out, there was very graphic video that was put out because anytime Charlie Kirk would put on an event. thousands of people would come out and so there was videos that were put out and it was just absolutely horrifying within a matter of hours after it was learned that uh charlie had passed away from that assassin's bullet i heard from the young republicans here in the central valley asking for me to work with them to put some kind of vigil a prayer vigil together which actually took place this last sunday and so Still, I'm in shock today, even though it's been a week since that shooting. But I know this. Charlie Kirk was someone who wanted to inspire others. Whenever he would speak, whenever he would work with students, he wasn't there to lift himself up. He wanted to challenge students and their thinking. But faith was always at the center of everything that he did. And many elected officials, whether from the left or the right, They focus on themselves, but Charlie Kirk always wanted to hear from others who had a different opinion, and he would challenge people in their opinions. He was a great man, a great man of faith, and I know that I've been invited to a number of different events. We put on a vigil at New Covenant Church, and there's going to be more to come.

And as you indicated, you're quite familiar with Charlie Kirk, but maybe for folks who aren't, could you explain a little more why his death is being felt so deeply among folks in the Republican Party, just sort of what he represented maybe? Well, I'll tell you what he represented to me and why this has shaken me to my core. So first and foremost, this assassination was something that, again, every angle of that bullet hitting could be seen from people who were there at the rally recording. Charlie doing what he does. Also, too, the suspect who now is under arrest and being, charges are being brought against him as we learn more about things that he had inscribed on the bullets and how he had been indoctrinated and just had hate in his own heart. And it appears that he had planned this for weeks in advance knowing that Charlie was going to be at the university. That is shocking. Also knowing that Charlie Kirk had two young children and a wife that he leaves behind. And I am a father of three sons. And I lost my father when I was younger. My father died in a tragic accident. And so as I look at all of these things, the emotion of that day is amplified because first and foremost, Charlie was killed not for anything that he did. but for what he believed and what he said. And we have gotten to a level of discourse in our country, which is incredibly scary because we all need to be willing to listen to other people and even challenge what we believe. But if we choose to pick up, in this case a gun, to try to silence someone else, there's nowhere else to go. Where this leads to is really, unfortunately, all out. war when in reality what we need to be doing is sitting down challenging each other challenging our beliefs and learning from each other I want to note that last week, you and several other Fresno area elected officials did hold a press conference when the news came out that Charlie Kirk had been killed. At that conference, you said that as a county, as a state and a nation, we need to be turning down the temperature. What specifically did you mean by that? And how can we do that? Well, I'll tell you, I've seen many people turn into keyboard warriors even more so than what I've seen in the past out of this. So when I talk about turning down the temperature, it's about taking a deep breath. It's really internalizing, again, what we believe, and we need to get back to the fact that we are Americans first. And we live in a community, and we need to be neighborly with each other. We don't have to agree on every issue, but we need to... talk. We need to listen. And organizations, entities that try to feed on the negative and, you know, push people into positions where they are, they become angry and then move to actually hurting or killing others, it's unacceptable. These things have to stop.

a statement that Charlie Kirk has stated, but you don't look at the full context of what he was saying, that is wrong. So I would challenge you to go back and watch the full context of those videos where he was making those statements before we jump to any conclusions. And I have, and listeners can as well, there's more to Charlie Kirk than just the clips we've seen circulated online, to your point. Still... Comments he made, but you're right, there is additional context that we can't elaborate on in this moment. I want to pivot real quick to how things have been for you, because an unfortunate reaction to this event is that some elected officials have started to potentially change how they're engaging with the public. Has Charlie Kirk's assassination made you concerned at all for safety or how you made you think twice about how you're engaging with folks? Well. It's important for me as an elected. I cannot shrink back. I must always be bold. I will tell you that my wife is more concerned. And she pointed out to me some comments that were put on my social media, which the sheriff's department and law enforcement agencies had to follow up on, where individuals were threatening my life, making very clear they wanted to put a bullet between my eyes because of the fact that I'm a Christian and I'm also a Republican. And so... To me, that rhetoric needs to be toned down. But for me, I need to speak up and be even more bold. I've been an elected official for about 25 years. And first and foremost, when I look at others, regardless of party affiliation, at my core, I'm one who believes that everybody is on this planet for a reason. The value that people have are not the value that I assign, but the fact that God has created people in his image and given them unique gifts, I need to see people the way that God views people. And so I need to be more bold talking about my faith. But I also need to operate from a position of humility. And for me, as someone who does believe in the Bible and Jesus Christ is my personal Lord and Savior, when Jesus was here on earth, he didn't come for people to serve him. He served others, whether it was washing his disciples' feet, whether it was turning people away who wanted to stone a prostitute and telling folks, whoever is without sin cast that first stone, whether it was healing people who were blind, lame, rising people from the dead, he came to serve. And I need to have a similar heart as an elected official. And that's the position I need to be more bold about as I move forward. Nathan MagSig, supervisor for Fresno County's 5th District. Thank you for joining me. Thank you for having me. And that is today's show. Today's episode was produced by Jonathan Linden and KVPR with support from the Central Valley Journalism Collaborative. I'm Elizabeth Arcalian. You can find the latest local news anytime at kvpr.org.

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