Charlie Kirk: SPD politician stops minute of silence for murdered US activist

The idea of ​​holding a minute's silence for US activist Charlie Kirk, who was killed in the state of Utah, caused a stir in the European Parliament. Conservative Swedish MP Charlie Weimers wanted to use part of his speaking time to honor Kirk's memory. The 31-year-old had been shot dead a few hours earlier during a discussion at a university. He succumbed to his severe injuries shortly thereafter.

But before the plenary hall fell silent, the vice president, SPD politician Katarina Barley, interrupted the proceedings and said: "Mr. Weimers, we have agreed – the President has rejected a minute's silence. We will therefore proceed." While left-wing and liberal MPs applauded, representatives of the right protested loudly and angrily rapped their desks.

Weimers had previously written to Parliament Speaker Roberta Metsola requesting the minute of silence. Barley explained that Metsola had rejected the request for procedural reasons. Weimers then accused Parliament of political bias and referred to the minute of silence held for George Floyd in 2020.

After the chamber had quieted, Barley declared: "The question of whether to observe a minute's silence is a prerogative of the President. There have been several requests, and all those requesting it have been informed that there will be no minute's silence." Prerogative means that it is the President's exclusive right to decide this.

The scandal continues to cause outrage on social media a day later. Videos of the verbal altercation in the EU Parliament are being shared on the X platform. The Italian Lega party called the decision "politically shameful and morally unacceptable." French MEP Nathalie Loiseau wrote that while Kirk didn't deserve to die, "whether he deserves to be honored by our Parliament is another question." The EU Commission simply stated that it condemns "all forms of violence."

A heated debate also erupted in the U.S. House of Representatives: When Republican Speaker Mike Johnson called on members to pray silently for Kirk, Democrats and Republicans engaged in loud arguments.