Moment of silence for Charlie Kirk on Capitol Hill spirals into partisan shouting match

['Staff Writer', 'Ana Ceballos Is A Washington Correspondent For The Los Angeles Times. She Covers The White House', 'Congress. Before Joining The Times', 'She Was A State Government', 'Politics Reporter For The Miami Herald', 'Where She Covered The Administration Of Gov. Ron Desantis With A Focus On Immigration'] Los Angeles Times 2025-09-11 00:00:00

House Speaker Mike Johnson talks to reporters before opening the floor at the Capitol in Washington on Thursday. Republicans and Democrats came together on the House floor on Wednesday to hold a moment of silence in honor of Charlie Kirk, just as news broke that the magnetic youth activist had been shot and killed. The event quickly spiraled after a request to pray for Kirk from Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado led to objections from Democrats and a partisan shouting match. The incident underscored the deep-seated partisan tensions on Capitol Hill as the assassination of Kirk revives the debate over gun violence and acts of political violence in a divided nation. “Political violence has absolutely no place in our nation,” she said in a post on X.