Letter: Our leaders — federal and state alike — should be working to bridge divisions, not deepen them

The shooting death of Charlie Kirk was a despicable act and a devastating tragedy for his wife and two children.

Gov. Cox initially urged restraint in the rhetoric surrounding this case, yet later echoed the president in framing the attack as the work of the “radicalized left.” That narrative ignores similar tragedies attributed to extremists from the other side of the spectrum, such as the recent murder of the Minnesota House speaker.

The evidence so far suggests this defendant, like others in senseless acts of violence, is a mentally unstable young man who spent countless hours in the darker corners of the internet and immersed himself in violent video games. This is not the profile of an organized political operative, but rather of someone lost in isolation and instability.

The case