On Wednesday, conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot and killed while speaking at Utah Valley University. As of this writing, the shooter remains at large.
Kirk was a controversial figure, and his death quickly became a lightning rod for opinionated social media commentary. One Republican lawmaker suggested using the force of government to punish people for posting mean things about Kirk online—a clear violation of the First Amendment.
"I'm going to use Congressional authority and every influence with big tech platforms to mandate immediate ban for life of every post or commenter that belittled the assassination of Charlie Kirk," Rep. Clay Higgins (R–La.) posted on X. "I'm going to lean forward in this fight, demanding that big tech have zero tolerance for violent political hate content, the user to be banned from ALL PLATFORMS FOREVER. I'm also going after their business licenses and permitting, their businesses will be blacklisted aggressively, they should be kicked from every school, and their drivers licenses should be revoked. I'm basically going to cancel with extreme prejudice these evil, sick animals who celebrated Charlie Kirk's assassination."
