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Jay Leno calls Charlie Kirk assassination the 'death of free speech'
By Hanna Panreck
Published September 14, 2025
Comedian Jay Leno called the assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk the "death of free speech" during an interview on Wednesday, denouncing the fatal shooting.
"It’s not a random shooting. I mean, it’s the death of free speech, to think that you are so illiterate and so stupid you can’t answer verbally and you have to shoot somebody with a gun to ‘win the argument,’" Leno said during an appearance on the "Tim Conway Jr. Show."
Kirk was assassinated on Wednesday while speaking during a campus event at Utah Valley University.
"When I was in school, lively debate was unbelievable, to have the SDS, the Students for Democratic Society, debate somebody else," Leno continued. "I can remember when James Baldwin debated William F. Buckley at Oxford University. It was just fascinating.
Jay Leno attends the private unveiling of the Meyers Manx electric automobile at Little Beach House Malibu Aug. 8, 2022, in Malibu, Calif. (Michael Tullberg/Getty Images)
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"This is a political assassination of a man who I didn’t necessarily agree with, but I certainly enjoyed listening to. Because, ‘Oh, I didn’t know that, OK?' And I didn’t have to agree on everything," Leno said. "I mean, we’re at a point in this country where, if you don’t agree with everybody on everything, you take out a gun, and you shoot them?
"Especially on a college campus," Leno lamented.
He also brought up the Kent State shootings in 1970, when the Ohio National Guard shot and killed four students and injured several others protesting the Vietnam War.
Host Tim Conway said watching a good debate was like watching a boxing match and should be entertaining for both sides.
Charlie Kirk attends a TPUSA event in Arizona in 2024. (Rebecca Noble/AFP via Getty Images)
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Leno agreed and added, "And, a lot of times, when you watch something by Charlie Kirk, it might enforce your own beliefs more or it might change your mind.
"But at least it gets you thinking," Leno said. "At least you're thinking about what's going on."
Leno said he enjoyed listening to "the other side" because it was how he got smarter.
The comedian and former host of "The Tonight Show" reiterated that the shooting marked, in his view, the death of free speech.
Comedian Jay Leno speaks at the 26th Annual White House Correspondents' Weekend Garden Brunch at the Beall-Washington House April 27, 2019, in Washington, D.C. (Paul Morigi/Getty Images)
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Authorities identified the suspect as Tyler Robinson, 22, of Utah. He was taken into custody Friday after his father alerted police, and he faces aggravated murder charges, according to prosecutors.
In a live stream from Kirk's office Friday, his widow, Erika Kirk, said her husband’s work and message — centered on faith, patriotism and moral conviction — will not die.
She said his mission will become "stronger, bolder, louder and greater than ever," encouraging young people to join or create Turning Point USA chapters if there is not one in their area.
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Fox News' Alexandra Koch contributed to this report.
https://www.foxnews.com/media/jay-leno-calls-charlie-kirk-assassination-death-free-speech