The shock in the US following the assassination attempt on Charlie Kirk is immense. US President Trump calls the right-wing conservative activist a"martyr," US Democrats express concern. The search for the perpetrator is ongoing.

US President Donald Trump has called the slain activist and podcaster Charlie Kirk a"martyr for the truth."

Shortly after the fatal shooting of 31-year-old Kirk in Orem, Utah, Trump announced his death on his online service Truth Social:"The great and even legendary Charlie Kirk is dead," it read. Trump then spoke out again, blaming the"radical left" for the attack: "For years, radical leftists have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the world's greatest mass murderers and criminals," Trump said."This rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism we see in our country today, and it must stop immediately," he added.

"My government will find all those who contributed to this atrocity and any other form of political violence, including the organizations that finance and support it," the president announced. He also ordered flags flown at half-staff across the country.

False claims and conspiracy theories

Kirk became known for his combative rhetoric as a teenager and was a regular on Fox News. He also wrote for the right-wing media network Breitbart.

He became even more popular with his podcast, The Charlie Kirk Show. He reached millions of people on social media, who shared his provocative views. He also spread conspiracy theories of the MAGA movement.

For example, he helped Trump popularize his false claims about the allegedly stolen 2020 presidential election among a young audience and sow doubts about the Democrats' coronavirus measures under Joe Biden.

Governor speaks of"political murder"

US Vice President J.D. Vance also commented on Kirk's death. At X, he commented that Kirk's events were some of the few places where an open and honest dialogue between left and right had taken place.

Utah Governor Spencer Cox, Republican, called it a"political assassination" and a "tragic day" for the United States.

MAGA activist:"A fuse has been lit in America"

Activists from Trump's MAGA (Make America Great Again) movement also described Kirk as a martyr who died for conservative values."We need a will of steel now. Charlie Kirk died on the front lines," said ultra-right ideologue and former Trump advisor Steve Bannon on the channel "Real America's Voice," where Kirk also had a show.

"A fuse has been lit in America," said Matt Boyle of the ultra-right website Breitbart News in a conversation with Bannon. He believes that the"American right, and especially young people," will not accept that one of their most important voices has been killed.

Leading Democrats condemn assassination attempt

Former President Biden and other Democrats also condemned the attack on Kirk."There is no place for this kind of violence in our country. It must stop immediately," Biden wrote on the online service X.

Former Vice President and presidential candidate Kamala Harris declared that political violence has no place in the United States. California Governor Gavin Newsom made similar comments, calling the attack on Kirk on the online service X"disgusting, abhorrent, and reprehensible."

Commemoration of the assassination of Martin Luther King

On CNN, David Axelrod, former advisor to former President Barack Obama, recalled the mood in the USA after the assassination of civil rights leader and preacher Martin Luther King in 1968.

Mike Johnson, Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives, told CNN that Kirk didn't hate anyone; instead, he"loved open debate." He was a champion of the idea of a free market of ideas.

Search for perpetrator is underway

Meanwhile, the search for the perpetrator continues. FBI Director Kash Patel initially announced the perpetrator's arrest."The person responsible for today's horrific shooting that killed Charlie Kirk is now in custody," the head of the U.S. federal police wrote on X.

Less than two hours later, however, Patel wrote:"The arrested suspect was released after being questioned by law enforcement. Our investigation is ongoing." According to authorities, another man was arrested, questioned, and subsequently released.

Kirk was an activist and podcaster, co-founder of the neoconservative organization Turning Point USA, and Trump's voice for youth. He opposed abortion, promoted Christian values, a traditional family model, and advocated for gun rights. On Wednesday, he was speaking at a Utah Valley University event in Orem, Utah, when he was gunned down.