WASHINGTON — House Republicans and a handful of Democrats gathered in the Capitol on Monday for a prayer vigil honoring the life of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, in an unusual ceremony that reflected how his assassination has divided the two political parties.

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., used the occasion to call for civil political discourse of the kind that he said Kirk embodied, even as President Donald Trump and top administration officials said his killing would prompt a vast crackdown on the left. The top Democratic leaders skipped the observance mourning the death of a figure who was reviled by many progressives because of his divisive remarks about race, transgender rights, feminism and Islam.

“The sadness for so many of us turned to anger,” Johnson said from the podium flan

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