The Sean Hannity Show opens with the shocking assassination of Charlie Kirk on a Utah college campus, an event that has left millions grieving. Sean frames this tragedy as a targeted attack on free speech, describing Kirk as a patriotic voice and a man of deep faith whose loss echoes nationwide. The show features tributes from figures like President Trump, who awarded Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and Vice President J.D. Vance, who shared moving, personal memories. With law enforcement pursuing the suspect who has been identified as a college-aged shooter, with evidence suggesting political motivation. Hannity highlights both the outpouring of support for Kirk's family and the broader crisis facing civil discourse in America. This episode serves as both a memorial to Charlie Kirk and a call for unity and resolve in the face of violence.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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The phrase New York's finest and New York's bravest means something now, doesn't it?
This is a time to reflect and be thankful for where we are today.
We will rebuild New York City.
She steals.
Yet after America was attacked, it was as if our entire country looked into a mirror and saw our better selves.
Thank you.
Twenty-four years ago, today, it's it's it seems like yesterday.
We all know where we were.
We all know what happened.
We watched that day unfold and this anniversary coming on the heels of the political assassination of a person that was one of the most gentlest souls ever.
Knew Charlie Kirk pretty well.
And had great conversations with him.
And all he wanted to do, you know, prove me wrong, inspire, you know, let's have a dialogue, a debate, what college campuses should be.
Twenty-four years ago today, we lost two thousand nine hundred and seventy-seven of our fellow Americans.
It led America into war.
We lost many more there.
We're still losing people to 911 related illnesses.
And the, you know, in the worst of times, and I remember saying this at the time, we saw the best in people.
Uh a city like New York, as politically divided as it could be, was a different place than it is today.
It was we were, you know, we were all united.
I'll never forget, you know, all the people.
It was all hands on deck to help the first responders.
And we're still losing people today to 9-11 related illnesses.
And our thoughts and our prayers go out to all of those families.
You know, my daughter was born 13 days prior to 9-11.
13 days.
She just turned 24.
And it's remarkable that time has passed.
And I I think in many ways, this country is has gotten worse off.
What happened the day that Donald Trump came down that escalator at Trump Tower with Melania, things have changed and they have gotten progressively worse.
You know, I'll I'll lay out the insanity of the left in response to this political assassination of Charlie Kirk.
We were expecting a press conference and an update from law enforcement, but apparently there are some new developments.
Our hope is the development is that they found this guy.
They have identified, I can give you the latest from this morning.
They, you know, went into great specificity and great detail that they are exhausting every lead.
We now have a video uh of the gunman.
We have pictures.
Uh we now know the gunman fled into a neighborhood.
We now know the suspect, you know, blended in with the college crowd, they believe.
Uh The law enforcement is confident that they will track them down.
I think that's probably they must be on a very close.
They've got to be on a lead here.
the weapon used to assassinate Charlie has been recovered in a wooded area.
Uh, they FBI is very clear.
They believe this to be a targeted assassination.
They don't believe the community at large is at risk.
The images now have been made public, a young person, and we're learning more and more over time.
There's no doubt.
I think the more and more we learn about this and we have videos of this guy on the roof, There were two videos I got late last night.
Didn't sleep much, I'm sure, like many of you didn't sleep much.
And I'm looking at these videos over and over again.
One, you can see somebody captured a video of somebody running on the roof.
And now that we have a picture of the suspect, it looked like the same type of clothing that was worn.
We'll know more, probably at some point during this program today.
And you know, we're going to discover what the motivation is.
One of the one of the targets has to be free speech, but I don't know, it may be a lot deeper than that.
I don't want to rush the judgment here.
But the FBI Salt Lake City Special Agent in charge, Robert Bowles said during a press conference that they have recovered the gun and that this is a college day shooter.
And you know, when we get more information on that, we will share it with you.
But we do have video capturing, you know, this guy lying in wait and then fleeing the rooftop after Kirk was shot.
Uh whoever fired that weapon from that distance had to either be a trained assassin or somebody that was very familiar with firearms and spent an awful lot of time practicing.
Not hard.
It wouldn't take a lot of time to become, you know, the the sophistication of the weapons that are used and high-powered rifles like this.
Um it's not hard to become a good shooter pretty quickly.
Uh the uh I'm glad that they released the images of this person, quote, they're calling it a person of interest, uh, but they FBI did release the images of this person.
They're asking for the public's help and identifying this person of interest in connection with the shooting.
If you haven't seen it, we'll put it up on Hannity.com.
You could take a look.
If you're in Utah, um, you know, please look and and see if you recognize this individual, uh, but believed to be college age, continues um the officials working around the clock.
I mean, it's an all hands-on-deck moment.
FBI saying they recovered it, the weapon, uh, a high-powered bolt action rifle.
Uh and they're convinced that that was the weapon that was used to kill Charlie.
Um, again, our prayers go out to his family.
It's I'm I'm sure they uh they all remain in a state of shock.
How could you not?
Uh and you know, the ammunition ammunition used by the assassin.
We Wall Street Journal reporting.
Investigators found ammunition engraved with expressions of transgender and anti-fascist ideology inside of the rifle.
Authorities believe was used.
And, you know, the older, you know, uh hunting rifle discovered in the woods, as I said uh just a moment ago.
Uh cops are saying that the first suspect in the shooting who they released was a well-known radical activist who confessed to the shooting.
Uh, I did talk to people that I know out in Salt Lake City that were very familiar with that individual.
That was the guy in the blue shirt that had been detained, and he'd actually said an arresting officer quoted him as saying that he shot him.
Uh, but it appears, and they've let him go, appears he didn't, even though he confessed to it.
Apparently, they obviously is suffering from some type of problems.
Uh, but these bullet inscriptions, I don't know what to glean from it, and I don't want to rush to judgment on it.
Um, certainly we'll know probably sooner than later uh what they were about.
Officials telling just the news.com they're making significant strides in solving all of this.
I think that's the reason for the delay in this press conference.
Uh supporters of Charlie Kirk have started a go send uh go fund with the aim of raising a million dollars for his family.
Uh and we can put a link to that on Hannity.com as well.
And uh President Trump has honored Charlie Kirk with the presidential honor of Medal of Freedom.
Uh it is amazing the response from around the world that has been coming in, and I'll give you some of the details of that.
Uh a lot of credit to Vice President uh J.D. Vance.
Uh the vice president and the second lady will fly to Salt Lake City to visit Charlie Kirk's family and friends.
And also, uh, according to a source, uh, Charlie's casket will be flown back on Air Force Two to Phoenix, Arizona, likely on Thursday night, along with his family.
That would be tonight and turning point headquartered in in Phoenix.
Friends and followers gathered at headquarters and held a vigil.
Uh the pres the vice president shared a very deeply personal remembrance of Charlie.
He was deeply touching, and he was a close confidant of J.D. Vance.
They were longtime friends.
And uh I'll get to that in a little bit of uh time as well.
The other development, um, you know, the thing that I you know really stands out to me, and I was talking to Don Jr. earlier, he'll be on TV tonight with me.
Dom was very close to Charlie.
And he's, you know, right.
Look at what he's lived through.
Look what his family has lived through.
We heard from Eric yesterday.
And he I could just tell in the sound of his voice, it's like this has gotta stop.
They tried to kill his father twice.
They killed one of his best friends.
Charlie really admired Don Jr.
Uh, they did many, many events together, like Eric Trump, like the whole Trump family.
Look at what the whole Trump family has had to live through.
And this is the saddest part of all, and we'll get into the politics of this and the insane rhetoric of the left, even today.
You know, I have a I have a whole packet here of left-wing madness.
And people just absolutely losing their mind.
You know, it it is um, all right.
Yeah, MSDNC did fire their analyst Matthew Dowd.
We played those comments yesterday.
You have a trans-DC comic celebrating Charlie Kirk's assassination.
Thoughts and prayers, you Nazi bitch.
I mean, what kind of person would respond this way to a 31-year-old, you know, husband and father of two young children being assassinated, and all he had wanted to do was have a dialogue with the left.
Prove me wrong.
That's it.
What a brilliant genius idea.
Anyway, we have a lot more to get to today.
Thoughts and prayers, obviously, with, and they do mean something for those on the left saying, Oh, I'm sick of thoughts and I'm not sick of thoughts and prayers.
I'm praying for our country.
I'm praying for Charlie.
I'm praying for his family.
I'm praying for his friends, I'm praying for his relatives.
They deserve our prayers.
And he was a strong Christian and a strong believer.
All right, I just got a call.
I spoke to um uh law enforcement on the ground.
They still believe that the assassin is still at large.
Uh, the press conference has been delayed.
There is progress being made.
I'm not getting specific answers, but the but my source just told me that the person is still at large, the person of interest.
We'll continue to follow it.
We'll update you.
We'll have updates on the 9-11 remembrances around the country.
You'll get your calls in as well.
800-941.
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When I told people, I was making a podcast about Benghazi.
Nine times out of ten, they called me a masochist, rolled their eyes, or just asked why.
Benghazi, the truth became a web of lies.
It's almost a dirty word.
One that connotes conspiracy theory.
Will we ever get the truth about the Benghazi massacre?
Bad faith, political warfare, and frankly, bullshit.
We kill the ambassador just to cover something up.
You put two and two together.
Was it an overblown distraction or a sinister conspiracy?
Benghazi is a rosetta stone for everything that's been going on for the last 20 years.
I'm Leon Mayfock from Prologue Projects and Pushkin Industries.
This is Fiasco Benghazi.
What difference at this point does it make?
Yeah, that's right.
Locker up.
Listen to Fiasco Benghazi on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Americans do not yet have the distance of history.
But our responsibility to history is already clear to answer these attacks and rid the world of evil.
I hear people say we don't need this war.
We protest this war, and it's not a war athlete that's laughter.
But I say there's some things worth fighting for.
We are very grateful and thankful that we live in a country where there's freedom of speech, that people who are either for or against a war can speak out.
What about our freedom?
Everything has went black.
And this piece of ground.
Everything came down black.
We didn't get to keep them by back and down.
Glass up popping.
People got hurt.
They say we don't realize the mess we're getting in.
Oh, there it goes.
There it goes.
Here it goes.
Before you start to preach and let me ask you this, my friend.
Have you forgotten?
Oh my god.
Oh, the next building.
Oh my gosh!
Another plane just to it.
The explosion is in the forgotten.
I saw this plane come out of nowhere and just cream right into the side of the Twin Tower, exploding through the other side.
There's been an act of war declared upon America by terrorists.
You forgotten.
I can hear you.
The rest of the world hears you.
And the people who knock these buildings down.
I'm gonna hear all of us.
I'm gonna die.
No, no, no, no, no, no.
I'm gonna die.
I'm gonna say your prayers.
I'm gonna die.
I'm Burning.
Have you forgotten?
There are dozens of residents that are sitting on the hills behind the Pentagon, almost like they're waiting for the Fourth of July fireworks, but instead, they're staring dumbfounded at what like what looks like a war zone.
I mean see bodies flying out of the sky, and you can't do nothing about it.
You tell me.
There's no words to describe what's going on out there.
Have you forgotten?
America's a nation full of good fortune.
With so much to be grateful for.
But we are not spared from suffering.
In every generation, the world has produced enemies of human freedom.
They have attacked America.
Because we are freedom's home and defender.
Have you forgotten?
And the commitment of our fathers is now the calling of our time.
Twenty-four years ago today, 9-1101.
2,977 of our fellow Americans were murdered that day by radical Islamas.
uh on the heels of the political assassination of a really truly special and great American Charlie Kirk.
You know, I have in front of me an ex post of Charlie Kirk.
Let me read it to you.
Assassination culture is spreading on the left.
Forty-eight percent of liberals say it would be at least somewhat justified to murder Elon Musk.
You know, fifty-five percent said the same about Donald Trump and California activists are naming ballot measures after Luigi Mangioni.
The left is being whipped into a violent frenzy.
Any setback, whether losing an election or losing a court case justifies a a maximally violent response.
Wow.
Now we played for you yesterday, won't play it again today.
The the idiocy on MSDNC, this this one of their contributors, I guess, Matthew Dowd has been fired as a result of his idiotic comments.
Uh we played J.B. Pritzker blaming Donald Trump.
I mean, it it the left has absolutely positively lost their mind.
Matthew Dowd suggesting that Kirk's own rhetoric bore responsibility, hateful thoughts lead to hateful actions.
You have another MSDNC reporter, Alan Smith, wondering if conservatives might now do something similar to take over Washington as it did in response to Doge, the Doge staffer getting mugged.
Um, you know, when when you close your presidential argument with that's you know, Donald Trump is a racist and a Nazi and a fascist and Hitler and Stalin and Mussolini, what what what else is there left on the menu to serve up in terms of rhetoric and vitriol?
It is incredible.
Even by the way, MSDNC's, I guess, new president, because that they're breaking off from MBC.
Inappropriate, in a insensitive, and unacceptable.
Have they been listening to the rest of their on air people?
You know, why are they airing the likes of you know AOC and company?
Listen to what AOC had to say.
Republicans voting against gun control.
You have no right to blame anybody else.
Let's let's immediately turn this into a gun debate.
even though the Second Amendment can't be any more clear.
And I'm sure on the Fight the Oligarchy tour with Grandpa Bernie, as they flew around on their private jets, that they had armed security everywhere they went.
Listen.
People can finger point all they want.
Look at the record.
Look at the actions of what we are doing.
I don't think a single person who has dedicated their entire career to preventing gun safety legislation from getting passed in this house has any right to blame anybody else but themselves for what is happening.
Wow.
That is really ugly, twisted, and sick.
You know, Donald Donald Trump getting the blame repeatedly, January 6th references.
These are the same people.
Didn't didn't utter a word when 574 riots took place in the summer of love, summer of 2020.
574 riots, dozens of dead Americans, thousands of injured cops.
They were hit with bricks, bottles, Molotov cocktails, and billions in property damage.
Not a word.
No, the person they end up supporting and voting for, they're not going to stop writing.
They shouldn't stop writing.
We're not going to stop.
They're not gonna stop.
And that's they're not this is a movement.
I'm telling you.
They're not gonna stop.
And and everyone beware, because they're not gonna stop it is they're not gonna stop before election day in November, and they're not gonna stop after election day.
And that should be everyone should take note of that on both levels.
That this isn't they're not gonna let up, and they should not.
And we should not.
Oh, okay.
No criticism uh of that.
None at all.
Really?
Let me keep going.
Seth Moulton blaming Republicans.
Trump pardoning January sixth.
They can't just keep going and going and going.
Democratic strategist Joy Cheney, you know, saying that that Charlie Kirk wasn't admired and loved by all on BBC.
And we'll go back to MSDNC.
Now, I just, you know, read to you the comments of their new president saying it's inappropriate and insensitive, unacceptable to blame Charlie.
Okay, well, let's listen to some of their other programming.
And Nicole Wallace, uh I don't no idea what happened to her.
Used to be a Republican, but probably just loves a career in television, like Liberal Joe.
But listen to these comments with her and a guest.
Democrats across the board are saying we need to come together.
We need to turn down the rhetoric.
We need to stop this political violence.
No, they're not.
It's shocking to me that so many Republicans are not doing that.
Not following the lead of Speaker Johnson, but actually following the lead of Donald Trump, who's just trying to, you know, call out uh extremist left-wing groups.
Blame this on Democrats.
We heard that from my colleague uh Nancy Mace before we even know who the shooter is.
That's not a way uh to solve this problem.
If the president is serious about stopping political violence, then maybe he should start by rescinding the parties for all the domestic terrorists who came to the Capitol on January 6th to kill cops, to kill Speaker Pelosi, the skill to kill Vice President Pence.
Let's have an honest conversation about the origins of this political violence and why it has risen so dramatically since Donald Trump's first term.
We need to have that conversation if we're serious about stopping it.
It is a really shocking moment, you know, and I was thinking um, you know, I've never shared a Trump post in my life.
Uh I I will contemplate sharing this one.
But what I will say with the caveat, he wasn't admired and loved by all.
Um, so that that's that's an exaggeration, but the truth is it doesn't matter.
It doesn't matter.
All right.
I'm just gonna be agents.
There's only so much of this that I really can take.
But I mean, how prescient uh of Charlie Kirk's assassination culture is being spread.
The amount of rage and hate and insanity is is beyond the pale.
And the left, they're not gonna stop because they won't even acknowledge the basic fundamental things that they are saying.
You know, that is wrong on so many different levels.
I mean, I can give you more and more examples of this.
You know, as an article, MSDNC failed, you know, the moment after, you know, by bl we didn't even know if we was alive or dead at the time.
You know, it's it's unreal.
Then you have Pritzker, and you have AOC in the squad.
These are the leaders of this party.
Where are the moderate voices?
Do they exist anymore?
You have a trans DC comics writer, Gretchen Felker is the name.
Martin celebrates Charlie Kirk's assassination, thoughts and prayers, you Nazi bitch.
MSDNC suggesting the FBI pivot to illegal immigration, which contributed to the Kirk's murder.
What does that mean?
Uh it's just sad.
Jasmine Crockett dismissing the illegal immigrant murder victim as a random dead person.
So heartfelt.
Unbelievable.
I know a lot of you probably feel like I do.
I I I just um I'm numb to it at this point.
It is dehumanizing.
And if you don't think calling people repeatedly Nazi fascist fascist, racist, Hitler-Stalin, Mussolini has an impact on people's brains, it does.
People are very suggestible.
And these thoughts get in their head.
And then by the time they act on murderous impulses, they actually believe in their twisted minds that they're doing good.
That's why it's gotta end, but it's not going to.
The left won't stop.
I'm convinced.
Uh, maybe I'm a fatalist here.
800 941 Sean is on number if you want to be a part of the program.
Um, you know, it's uh it's pretty amazing.
Let me get a couple of calls in here.
Steve in Texas, Steve, you're on the Sean Hannity show.
Uh, thanks for calling.
Right.
Hey, it's a great honor to speak with you, and thank you for taking my call today.
Um, Charlie Kirk once famously said, when discourse ends, violence begins.
And now that we've literally seen this.
What can we do if the left isn't willing to have that discourse and come to the table?
I mean, we can't stoop down to their level, but we can't let them keep doing the violence that they're that they just showed us yesterday either.
Like w when's it gonna end?
It's gotta end some way, and I just feel like we're stuck in between a rock and a hard place.
Understand that there's an there is a motive here, and that is intimidation.
They they the problem is is they ran up against people that are not gonna be intimidated.
I'm not gonna be intimidated, Charlie was never gonna be intimidated.
You know, what other person on the face of this earth, Donald J. Trump, you know, comes within a millimeter of dying, uh, being shot in Butler PA has another assassinate uh would be assassin at his West Palm Beach golf club, you know, uh Trump International.
And, you know, his his response is to stand up and say fight, fight, fight.
I think you followed that courageous example.
Charlie Kirk led a courageous.
He went into a hostile environment after hostile environment, you know, you know, prove me wrong to have a discussion, a dialogue in these indoctrination centers around the country did so much good.
It was a such a brilliant idea on his part.
Remember when I ran into him at the White House uh the last time I was there, I said, What what you did for this campaign is incalculable in terms of the support and help.
And he did it out of bravery.
You never cower.
You know, our our framers, our founders, every soldier, every man, woman, and and child, every first responder 24 years ago.
You know, they were all heroes.
Land of the free, home of the brave.
That's how we live.
That's how we roll.
Amy Kentucky, thank you, Amy, for calling.
Hey, Sean, thank you for taking my call.
Um, I just want to know if you agree with me.
If this seems different than any of the political violence that happens before, I think it's a real turning point.
Um, where we realize that what they're capable of and what they will actually do, the link still go.
Even different than the assassination attempt attempt on President Trump, because they actually killed Charlie Kirk for doing nothing but commute trying to communicate.
And so it's scary because he's leading behind two beautiful little girls and a beautiful wife, and I just wonder what's gonna happen to them.
Um, you know, I I hope God holds them in his heart and just is with them.
I pray I all our love, all our prayers, all our th thoughts are with them.
Um I I'm sure there's going to be, you know, efforts to help the family, especially if they're in need.
I don't but they probably are not.
I mean, Charlie was successful, but you know, I'll gladly support anything that anybody brings up at the appropriate time.
And we'll look as a matter of fact, there's something up there now on what is it, GoFundGo?
It's called give send go.
Give send.
Give send go.
I don't know.
Go send go, give send go.
No, gofund me is corrupt and they do bad things.
Go find send go is Christian-based and they're great.
Okay.
Um, but we have a link up there if people want to donate.
I will be donating.
And, you know, but you know, understand if you're in the public eye, and it's not something we talk a lot about, and maybe I maybe I need to.
You know, I've been doing this, you know, on the radio I started many, many years ago, decades ago.
I'm gonna be coming up on my 30th uh 30 complete years on Fox, starting my 31st year in October.
And, you know, a lot has happened.
Botwas, white powder, all of it.
I just don't talk about it on the air.
This is not new, and it's not gonna stop those of us that feel strongly about our views.
They're not gonna silence us, they're not gonna intimidate us.
And that is part of the goal Of the radical left.
And we're gonna win in the arena of ideas because we have better ideas.
And we're gonna fight.
And we're gonna learn.
And we're gonna fight smart.
And we're not gonna be like them.
We don't have to be like them.
You know, look at how the media legacy media mob.
I said it died on election day.
It did die on election day.
Pretty amazing.
Because people don't trust them.
And they earned all of that distrust.
And they earn it more every day with their coverage like yesterday.
800-941 Sean is our number if you want to be a part of the program.
Back the latest in the investigation with John Solomon as we continue our coverage of the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
You want smart political talk without the meltdowns?
We got you.
And I'm Carol Markovich.
And I'm Mary Catherine Hamm.
We've been around the block in media and we're doing things differently.
Normally is about real conversations.
Thoughtful, try to be funny, grounded, and no panic.
We'll keep you informed and entertained without ruining your day.
Join us every Tuesday and Thursday, normally on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
And I'm Ted Cruz.
Three times a week we do our podcast, Verdict with Ted Cruz.
Nationwide, we have millions of listeners.
Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, we break down the news and bring you behind the scenes inside the White House, inside the Senate, inside the United States Supreme Court.
And we cover the stories that you're not getting anywhere else.
We arm you with the facts to be able to know and advocate for the truth with your friends and family.
So down a verdict with Ted Cruz now, wherever you get your podcasts.
