'Enormous' Increase In Threats Seen Since Charlie Kirk Killing, Pritzker Says

CHICAGO — Though he believes the Illinois State Police are the "best in the country," and that he and his family feel safe, Gov. JB Pritzker said Monday his office is receiving an increase in threats following last week's fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

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"The number of threats that have come in over the last few days has been an enormous multiple of those that were coming in the days before," Pritzker said following a roundtable at City Colleges of Chicago to discuss how federal deployments are impacting students. "And we've seen it increase in threats in the state of Illinois over the last seven to eight years, at least since I've been governor."

Kirk, 31, a native of Arlington Heights, was shot and killed last Wednesday during an event on the campus of Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. The Wheeling High School graduate is survived by his wife and two small children.

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Pritzker specifically called out President Donald Trump, who has blamed the shooting on the "radical left" and seemingly refused an opportunity to slow the current political divide in the country, during a Friday morning appearance on "Fox and Friends." Pritzker is calling for a bipartisan effort with regard to this endeavor.

"Most importantly, this should come from the top, yet with each new crisis in recent years, we are reminded that we cannot rely on President Trump to tamp down the anger and the passion in the aftermath of political violence," Pritzker said. "Instead, he actively fans the flames of division as he did on Friday, regularly advocates violence for political retribution and in more than one case, declares we are at war, not with a foreign adversary, but with each other. I don't believe any of that. Our people are not at war with one another."

A suspect in Kirk's shooting was arrested and taken into custody Friday. Tyler Robinson, 22, of Utah, has been identified as the suspect arrested and accused of killing Kirk.

Robinson, who is currently in the Utah County Jail (Spanish Fork), has been charged with suspicion of aggravated murder, felony discharge of a weapon causing serious bodily injury, and obstruction of justice. The charges carry the possibility of the death penalty.

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"We see there are people who not only act violently, but those that encourage that kind of violence," Pritzker said. "Especially in this moment, we should be asking people to instead call for calm. That's what I'm doing. I think that's what our leaders should be doing across the board."

Pritzker noted that Illinois Senator Minority Leader John Curran, a high profile Republican in the state, issued a statement along with Democratic Illinois Senate President Don Harmon, "calling for calm." He added that he is still waiting for the same effort from the Republican leaders in the Illinois House of Representatives.

A number of memorial vigils were held for Kirk over the weekend, including several locally in Arlington Heights and Northbrook.

"Last week, as you all know, the assassination of Charlie Kirk added to that fear, both about gun violence and about being killed for speaking your mind," Pritzker said. "This is a moment when Americans must come together and say clearly that threats and political violence are not the answer."

The shooting came amid a spike in political violence in the United States across all parts of the ideological spectrum, reported the Associated Press. The attacks include the assassination of a Minnesota Democrat state lawmaker and her husband at their house in June, the firebombing of a Colorado parade to demand Hamas release hostages, and a fire set at the house of Pennsylvania’s Democrat governor, who is Jewish, in April. Trump himself was shot during a campaign rally last year.

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