'Follow the money:' GOP want Congress to investigate violence against conservatives

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(The Center Square) – Following the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, dozens of Republicans are urging congressional leaders to thoroughly investigate a “sustained breakdown of law and order … by anti-American ideology” across the country.

Led by U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, more than two dozen lawmakers have signed on to an open letter calling Friday for House leaders to form a Select Committee to Investigate the Left's Assault on America and the Rule of Law.

“In the wake of numerous attacks on our way of life, the destruction of the rule of law, and the murder of innocent Americans, prominent and unknown alike, we must take every step to follow the money and uncover the force behind the NGOs, donors, media, public officials, and all entities driving this coordinated attack,” Roy wrote. 

Kirk’s death sent shockwaves across the political sphere, with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle condemning the Wednesday afternoon shooting. The 31-year-old Turning Point USA founder and ally of President Donald Trump took a bullet to the neck while speaking at his “American Comeback Tour” on UVU’s campus. Police have taken the 22-year-old suspect, Tyler Robinson of Washington County, Utah, into custody. 

Roy and others view Kirk’s assassination as part of a tirade of recent violence partially enabled by either Democratic rhetoric or Democratic policies. 

Earlier this month, Republicans blamed the fatal subway stabbing of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on Democratic “soft on crime” policies, given that the accused perpetrator, Decarlos Brown Jr., was roaming free in North Carolina despite 14 prior arrests.

President Donald Trump himself survived two assassination attempts from lone gunmen in 2024, though the exact motives of the first shooter remain unclear.

Establishing a select committee on what Roy calls “the coordinated global network funding and fueling this attack on Americans” would grant full subpoena powers to Congress and allow for more in-depth investigations into these and similar attempts. Trump and Republicans particularly want to “follow the money” behind paid protestors at conservative events.

“We can no longer pretend to be bound together by shared ideals when a well-funded, vitriolic cadre of our fellow Americans and foreign interests are at war with the very values of faith in God, fidelity to our Constitution, and respect for the principles of liberty and Western Civilization that define us as Americans – including, notably, the free speech practiced and exemplified by Charlie Kirk,” Roy concluded.

A handful of Democratic lawmakers signed a statement Friday condemning the violence against Kirk and any political figure.

“We may have our differences, but we are unified in our condemnation of these attacks,” the lawmakers said.