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ayanna pressley
Progressives—Who Reviled Charlie Kirk's Politics—Repudiate His Murder
"Unconscionable acts of violence should have no place in our country," said Congresswoman Ilhan Omar—whom Kirk wanted to denaturalize and deport. "Let's pray for no more lives being lost to gun violence."
Sep 10, 2025
Tuesday's assassination of far-right firebrand Charlie Kirk in Utah drew widespread condemnation from many of the same progressive figures who have previously decried his rampant bigotry, dismissal of gun deaths, and promotion of conspiracy theories including the "stolen" 2020 election.
"Political violence has no place in this country. We must condemn this horrifying attack," Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said on the social media site X. "My thoughts are with Charlie Kirk and his family."
Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) said on X that she was sending "sincere condolences to Charlie Kirk's family."
"Violence is unacceptable, always," she added. "Though I disagree with nearly everything he said publicly, I never lose sight of others' humanity. He was someone's son. He was someone's husband. He was a father to two young children. Praying for the [Utah Valley University] community impacted by this horrific act of gun violence."
Today’s act of political violence in Utah against Charlie Kirk is absolutely disgusting and unacceptable. We don’t have to agree on everything, but we should all agree on this: political violence is wrong, and has no place in our democracy
— Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett (@crockett.house.gov) September 10, 2025 at 12:47 PM
Another "Squad" member, Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.)—whom Kirk wanted to strip of her US citizenship and deport to Somalia—posted that "political violence is absolutely unacceptable and indefensible."
"Unconscionable acts of violence should have no place in our country," she added. "Let's pray for no more lives being lost to gun violence."
Kirk, the 31-year-old CEO and co-founder of the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA, was fatally shot during an event at Utah Valley University. The assassin's identity is still not known; The Washington Post reported that "a person of interest is in custody and being interviewed by officials."
Kirk's last words were a characteristically racist attempt to deflect an audience member's question about US mass shootings—one of which occurred at a Colorado high school on the same day as his assassination.
The irony of Kirk's murder was not lost on numerous observers, some of whom posted video of him saying in 2023 that "I think it's worth to have a cost of unfortunately some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment."
Still, even staunch critics of Kirk and his politics in the United States and abroad condemned his murder.
"There is never any place for violence in our politics," ACLU executive director Anthony Romero said in a statement. "The only way to work out differences in a democracy is to work them out together—peacefully through our political system."
"The ACLU condemns this horrific act and extends its sympathies to the family of Charlie Kirk," Romero added.
Scottish lawmaker and former First Minister of Scotland Humza Yousaf said on social media that "I couldn't have disagreed more with Charlie Kirk on virtually every political issue he debated."
"But that is the point, he debated," Yousaf added. "In any society, let alone a democracy, violence can never be justified. I hope God eases the suffering of his wife, children, family, and friends."
I'm horrified by the shooting of Charlie Kirk at a college event in Utah.Political violence has no place in our country.
— Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@zohrankmamdani.bsky.social) September 10, 2025 at 12:34 PM
Political violence must be condemned. Always.I’m praying for Charlie Kirk and his family.
— Nina Turner (@ninaturner.bsky.social) September 10, 2025 at 12:24 PM
Civil rights attorney and transgender rights activist Alejandra Caraballo was among those who expressed deep concern over the direction in which the nation is heading.
"We are in a 'years of lead' scenario where political violence has become normalized," she wrote on the social media site Bluesky. "This is not good for anyone and is deeply dangerous. This level of political violence is not compatible with a functioning society."
"I'm honestly terrified of what the right will use this as justification for," she said of Kirk's assassination. "They're itching to engage in violence against their enemies and this will give them the excuse to do so. This is why political violence is never acceptable. It just descends into uncontrollable chaos and more violence."
Correction: This article has been corrected to remove a quote erroneously attributed to Kirk.
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To Fight Famine, 100+ Dems Call on Rubio to Surge Baby Formula, Other Aid Into Gaza
"Parents know the pain of a hungry baby's cry," said Rep. Ayanna Pressley. "Imagine, instead of fumbling for a bottle, a military blockade is preventing you from feeding your child."
Aug 26, 2025
With the number of Palestinian children who have been killed by Israel's blockade on humanitarian rising each day, more than 100 Democratic lawmakers on Tuesday called on the Trump administration to show "moral clarity" and demand that the Israeli government allow "a massive surge in humanitarian aid to enter Gaza," including shipments of baby formula.
U.S. Reps. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) and Brittany Pettersen (D-Colo.) led 101 of their colleagues in writing to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, saying they were appealing to him not only in his "capacity as a government official but as a parent" as they warned that 20,000 children in Gaza have been treated for malnutrition since April, following Israel's decision to once again block all humanitarian aid from entering the enclave.
"Parents know the pain of a hungry baby's cry," said Pressley. "Imagine, instead of fumbling for a bottle, a military blockade is preventing you from feeding your child."
The letter came days after the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) announced last week that portions of Gaza are now experiencing a "Phase 5" famine—after months of ignored warnings from human rights groups and United Nations agencies that the enclave's human-caused starvation crisis was rapidly worsening.
Pressley, Pettersen, and their colleagues said that as of their writing, at least 85 children were among those that have starved to death in Gaza; on Tuesday the Gaza Health MInistry reported that at least 303 Palestinians, including 117 children, have been killed by Israel's blockade.
"Infants in particular are especially vulnerable to death by starvation and are dying of malnutrition," said the lawmakers. "The lack of food and aid writ large means mothers do not have the basic nutrition required to sustain breastfeeding, rendering formula the only option for infant survival in many cases."
They emphasized that the only aid operations Israel is currently allowing—the distribution of aid boxes by the US-backed, privatized Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF)—have "delivered only a tiny fraction of the aid that could be delivered by the previous UN-coordinated distribution system," and has not included the allocation of baby formula.
Seeking aid at GHF hubs has also proven deadly for close to 1,000 Palestinians, as Israeli soldiers have reported that they've been ordered to shoot at civilians who approach the sites—even as Israel and its top military funder, the US government, persist in claiming the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) does not target civilians.
The Trump administration has also continued to parrot claims that Hamas is to blame for the famine in Gaza, even after the IDF admitted in July that there is no evidence that the group is stealing or diverting aid.
Since late May, wrote the lawmakers on Tuesday, an average of just 69 trucks per day have brought humanitarian aid from the UN into Gaza—far below the 500-600 trucks needed to meet humanitarian aid.
"As a result, Gaza is currently facing a dire shortage of baby formula, depriving infants of what is their only hope against starvation," said Pressley, Pettersen, and their colleagues.
In July, primary care doctor and public health expert Yipeng Ge described how his colleagues "have had baby formula confiscated by the Israeli military as they enter Gaza."
"These are not isolated incidents, but a systemic policy of genocide," said the doctor.
UN agencies have emphasized for months that trucks filled with aid, including pallets of formula, are languishing just across Gaza's borders.
"This crisis is not one of funding or resources, but of access and political will," wrote the lawmakers. "While we push for a long-lasting resolution and we are devastated that previous ceasefires were not upheld, we believe it is absolutely necessary to prioritize the safe delivery of the pallets of baby formula, specifically ready-to-feed formula, sitting at the border of Gaza to ensure that we do not lose another newborn or infant to starvation."
"All crossing points should immediately be reopened for the entry of humanitarian aid and allowed to operate simultaneously and
consistently," wrote the lawmakers, "and the Israeli government must take additional steps to vastly scale up the amount of aid allowed in through existing crossings and expand movement and access for international aid organizations throughout the Gaza Strip must also be taken, so that they can deliver this aid without diversion."
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First-of-Its-Kind Lawsuit Seeks to Force Trump Administration to Release Epstein Files
"The only thing transparent about the Trump-Vance administration is how clearly they continue to disregard our nation's laws," said the head of the group behind the suit.
Aug 08, 2025
A pro-democracy legal advocacy group on Friday sued the U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation for not releasing documents concerning deceased child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein amid President Donald Trump's stonewalling and attempted deflection of all things related to his former close friend.
In a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Democracy Forward—which has lodged multiple Freedom of Information Act requests with the DOJ and FBI for Epstein-related material—accuses the Trump administration of violating FOIA by failing to produce the files. The suit seeks an order compelling the government "to produce the requested documents in an expedited manner, as required by public records laws."
Tanya Chutkan, the federal judge presiding over the suit, previously oversaw Trump's federal election interference case concerning his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential contest and his incitement of the January 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection.
BREAKING: We just filed a first-of-its-kind lawsuit demanding records related to the Trump-Vance admin’s handling of the Epstein Files.The only thing transparent about this administration is how clearly they continue to disregard our nation’s laws.
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— Democracy Forward (@democracyforward.org) August 8, 2025 at 6:52 AM
"In January 2024, unsealed court documents disclosed the names of dozens of powerful men with alleged connections to Epstein, including President Donald J. Trump, British Royal Prince Andrew, former President Bill Clinton, lawyer Alan Dershowitz, and others," the lawsuit states.
"This and other information raise persistent questions about what the government uncovered during the years of investigation into Epstein's criminal activity," the filing continues. "Accordingly, there is broad-based public pressure for the government to release that information by disclosing records that are often referred to as the 'Epstein files.'"
"There is widespread public speculation that the Epstein files contain a roster of powerful clients to whom Epstein trafficked underaged girls," the lawsuit adds. "This list has become known as the 'Epstein list' or the 'client list.'"
The suit notes that Trump said during his 2024 presidential campaign that he was inclined to release the Epstein files. The filing also references U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi's claim that the list was "sitting on my desk right now to review," and highlights reported "frantic scrubbing" of Trump's name from relevant documents by DOJ and FBI teams.
Furthermore, the lawsuit recounts Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche's recent meetings with Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's erstwhile procurer who is serving a 20-year federal prison sentence for child sex trafficking, and the Trump administration's subsequent transfer of Maxwell to a lower-security correctional facility. The suit also notes that Trump has refused to rule out clemency for Maxwell.
"President Trump has repeatedly said he would release the Epstein files, his spokesperson claims his administration is 'the most transparent in history,' and yet, they continue to hide from the American people," Democracy Forward president and CEO Skye Perryman said in a statement. "The only thing transparent about the Trump-Vance administration is how clearly they continue to disregard our nation's laws."
"Public records laws outline a clear and simple process that requires the government to immediately produce important documents in response to urgent public information requests, and yet again, this administration is ignoring the law," Perryman added. "The court should intervene urgently to ensure the public has access to the information they need about this extraordinary situation."
Trump's efforts to deflect and distract from the Epstein scandal have outraged even many of his hardcore supporters and resulted in calls for transparency from both sides of the political aisle. The president denies any wrongdoing related to Epstein, calling the controversy over the files a "hoax" while denouncing Republicans demanding transparency as "weaklings." Trump also sued The Wall Street Journal over reporting that he wrote a "bawdy" letter for Epstein's 50th birthday in 2003.
On Thursday, Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) led 15 Democratic colleagues in a letter urging House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) to hold a hearing with victims of Epstein and Maxwell.
Congress must stand up for Epstein’s victims, not protect his rich and powerful friends.@pressley.house.gov is demanding a public Oversight hearing to give these survivors the opportunity to share their stories with the American people.
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— Oversight Dems (@oversightdemocrats.house.gov) August 7, 2025 at 2:19 PM
"If we are to hold powerful people to account, our investigation must center the voices they tried to silence," the Democratic lawmakers wrote. "To ensure that our investigation is comprehensive and credible, we urge the committee to allow survivors the opportunity to provide their testimony if they wish to do so."
Pressley—a survivor of childhood sexual abuse and rape in college—told The 19th* that if Comer refuses to hold such a hearing, "I will remind people why it didn't happen and that those elected officials are on the side of predators, while the Democrats are on the side of survivors."
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