'We cannot let evil win': Minnesota Sen. Julia Coleman on uptick in political violence
Well-wishers pay their respects at a makeshift memorial at the national headquarters of Turning Point USA shown after the shooting death of Charlie Kirk, the co-founder and CEO of the organization, during a Utah college event Wednesday, Sept. 10, in Phoenix.
Ross D. Franklin | AP
Go Deeper.
Create an account or log in to save stories.
Like this?
Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.
Audio transcript
[MUSIC PLAYING] NINA MOINI: Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist who helped rally young people in support of President Donald Trump, was fatally shot on a college campus in Utah yesterday. Political violence, of course, has been top of mind in Minnesota since the shootings of two Democratic lawmakers and their spouses this summer. Former House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, were killed in that attack. Kirk was scheduled to speak at the University of Minnesota later this month, as part of his American Comeback Tour. Republican State Senator Julia Coleman, who represents Carver County, called him a mentor and a friend. And she joins me now on the line. Senator Coleman, thank you for your time this afternoon.
JULIA COLEMAN: Thank you for having me.
NINA MOINI: I'm sorry for the loss of your friend and mentor. How are you doing today? Would you like to tell us a little bit about how you knew Charlie Kirk?
JULIA COLEMAN: Yeah, the grief, it comes in different waves. And the reality hits at different points in time. I was very young and idealistic and about 10-ish years ago, I found a job at this new conservative organization that was based in Illinois at the time and applied. I interviewed with Charlie and was one of his first hires. And he was running Turning Point USA out of his parents' garage still at that point.
And I just remember him really teaching me how to reach young people and trained me, literally, to show up at college campuses. I founded Turning Point USA at the University of Minnesota. I just showed up. He said, you're going to bring a folding table and your ideas, and just show up and dialogue with people, because that's what this country needs. And so it's important for me that people know that he's not just this hot takes political pundit, that he is actually a human that genuinely wanted us to just talk to each other more.
NINA MOINI: And I think that you both were around the same age, correct? Mr. Kirk gone at 31 years old. How do you think he was able to reach so many conservative youth, in particular? Do you think it was showing up, like you were saying, and engaging with people?
JULIA COLEMAN: He understood how to talk to young people. And so prior to Charlie Kirk, there were very few people that weren't over 60, talking about the good old days of Reagan or the Founding Fathers. He looked like us. He talked like us. And yes, it was weird having a boss that was a year younger than me. And he was able to talk to kids the way right where they're at and the way they speak because he was one of them.
He never went to college himself. But he would go talk to literally anybody on any campus. And while he is gone, and there's these huge shoes to fill, he trained thousands of more people other than me to do this. And there are probably, I would imagine, 48 people currently under his employment that are putting up tables at college campuses today, because that's what he taught them to do.
NINA MOINI: What do you say to people who might look at just the events of the past couple of days, the events over this past summer here in Minnesota, and it just feels like things are getting too common? Of course, a lot of questions still about what happened here. The shooter is at large here in this instance, still. But we're three months out from the political attack in Minnesota. And Minnesota. Senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette Hoffman, were seriously injured that day, too. And they said in a statement that this was only the latest act that our country cannot continue to accept. It just feels like it's becoming far too common. What do you think needs to change to get to a place of civil disagreement?
JULIA COLEMAN: Well, first of all, the public and media need to stop rewarding bad behavior, need to stop rewarding airtime to people that are spewing at the mouth when they're debating. They need to stop making the fact that if you say something super negative, it's going to go far further reach and reshares than if you say something positive. And so, one, it needs to stop being rewarded. Two, when I hear people tell me today that they are losing hope-- and I feel you.
There was a moment yesterday where I thought, if I don't stop, my kids will grow up without a mother. I feel that despair too. But I also encourage people, if you want this country to go in a different direction, it is your personal responsibility, every single person's personal responsibility to make that happen. It is by sharing positive content.
It's by not just showing up on Election Day, but actually working to select candidates that speak positively and say they will work with the other side. It is by holding your media accountable and saying, why can't you show them getting along? Because it does happen. I promise you, it does happen. But does it ever get covered? Not really. It's every single person looking at themselves. And if there is an America you want, then you have to be that America.
NINA MOINI: And Charlie Kirk was not an elected official. He was an activist. He went and he shared his opinions. But he was highly visible, of course, in the Republican Party. Many of his viewpoints have been called hateful by some and not by others who agree with him.
State Senator Omar Fateh, who's running for mayor of Minneapolis, released a statement calling this act horrifying and condemning it. And this was after Charlie Kirk had made some comments about Fateh that he and other Minneapolis politicians had condemned as Islamophobic. So where do you think the vitriol is coming from online? And what needs to change in order to make that happen? Do you think it's just a case of nasty keyboard warriors? Do you think elected officials are egging this on both sides? What do you think?
JULIA COLEMAN: Door knocking can be grueling. But what I like about it reminds me the internet isn't real life. And when I go door knocking, which I have since the assassinations, people say, I just want you guys to get along. And I just want to see work get done. And even if they don't agree with me, they're not saying things that maybe they would from behind their keyboard. And so it's refreshing to just maybe put your phone down today and just go talk to people. You'll feel a lot better.
NINA MOINI: I know we've been talking a lot at the state level about just better ways, and at the national level, of identifying people who may be plotting these types of attacks, before they go through with it, before it's too late. On a state level, we know Governor Tim Walz may call a special session to talk about gun legislation. And we know that Republicans have released some of their own priorities as well around school fortification and mental health, not around new gun legislation, as I understand it. What do you think needs to change in terms of policies around guns and mental health at the state level?
JULIA COLEMAN: It's such a multifaceted approach because all the major shootings that have happened recently, they were all different types of firearms. And some were obtained legally and some not legally. And we still aren't quite sure what's going on yet in the Charlie Kirk case. And I have to be reminded that you cannot legislate away evil. But you can try to protect the world from it. And so it's a multifaceted approach.
Don't get me wrong. I'm a Republican. I love the Second Amendment. But I have authored legislation. I heard earlier on the show them talking about going after the woman in the Burnsville shooting. That was my bill to make it increase the penalty for straw purchases. And we absolutely need to keep guns away from bad people. But what if they present as a good person? That's when we have to start talking about protection, whether it's protecting our kids at school, protecting us at the Capitol.
And my biggest fear out of all of this is outdoor political events are over, between what happened to the president and what happened to Charlie. And I'm concerned what that's going to do for our ability to spread messages to people other than online. And so it's a multifaceted approach. Yes, we have to have more mental health resources. But some people will never take them. And so at the end of the day, yes, let's talk about guns, yes, let's talk about mental health. But I also want to make sure we're talking about protecting people and then what our own personal responsibility is, each and every individual American, for treating each other better.
NINA MOINI: Are those conversations that you're having among members of your party and other politicians about-- when you said outdoor events are over, what do you mean by that? You're feeling like they just are not-- shouldn't be held anymore?
JULIA COLEMAN: I don't see any big political figures, whether they're elected or they're speakers like Charlie, having an outdoor event anymore. It's too dangerous. I watched my friend take a bullet to the jugular yesterday, online. And as soon as I saw him hit, I knew he's gone. That was a hunting rifle. I guarantee it. And same thing happened to the president. And so I am concerned that we are going to see the end of these outdoor, let's go out into the public, events until this calms down.
NINA MOINI: What message do you have? You mentioned that Charlie Kirk had-- I think you said 48 people, or dozens and dozens of people, that had trained with him, as you had, to go out and engage with people, indoor, outdoor, college campuses, wherever. Do you have a message that you want to share for people who are maybe looking at all of this violence and thinking, well, I don't want to use my voice anymore? I don't want to protest. I don't want to run for office. Why would I do that? Why would I expose myself to all of these dangers? What message would you send to people?
JULIA COLEMAN: My message would be, we cannot let evil win. We cannot let the evil in this nation win. And if we are the generation-- we will not be the generation that will allow this great American experiment to fail. We will not be the generation that lets free speech die with Charlie Kirk. And so my advice would to be bolder, be louder, no matter what side of the aisle you are on. Speak up. Keep running. Keep fighting, because if all the good people go to the shadows, I'm really concerned about who's going to step up to the plate then.
NINA MOINI: All right, Senator Coleman, thank you for your time this afternoon. I appreciate it.
JULIA COLEMAN: Thank you very much.
NINA MOINI: That was Republican Senator Julia Coleman representing Carver County.
JULIA COLEMAN: Thank you for having me.
NINA MOINI: I'm sorry for the loss of your friend and mentor. How are you doing today? Would you like to tell us a little bit about how you knew Charlie Kirk?
JULIA COLEMAN: Yeah, the grief, it comes in different waves. And the reality hits at different points in time. I was very young and idealistic and about 10-ish years ago, I found a job at this new conservative organization that was based in Illinois at the time and applied. I interviewed with Charlie and was one of his first hires. And he was running Turning Point USA out of his parents' garage still at that point.
And I just remember him really teaching me how to reach young people and trained me, literally, to show up at college campuses. I founded Turning Point USA at the University of Minnesota. I just showed up. He said, you're going to bring a folding table and your ideas, and just show up and dialogue with people, because that's what this country needs. And so it's important for me that people know that he's not just this hot takes political pundit, that he is actually a human that genuinely wanted us to just talk to each other more.
NINA MOINI: And I think that you both were around the same age, correct? Mr. Kirk gone at 31 years old. How do you think he was able to reach so many conservative youth, in particular? Do you think it was showing up, like you were saying, and engaging with people?
JULIA COLEMAN: He understood how to talk to young people. And so prior to Charlie Kirk, there were very few people that weren't over 60, talking about the good old days of Reagan or the Founding Fathers. He looked like us. He talked like us. And yes, it was weird having a boss that was a year younger than me. And he was able to talk to kids the way right where they're at and the way they speak because he was one of them.
He never went to college himself. But he would go talk to literally anybody on any campus. And while he is gone, and there's these huge shoes to fill, he trained thousands of more people other than me to do this. And there are probably, I would imagine, 48 people currently under his employment that are putting up tables at college campuses today, because that's what he taught them to do.
NINA MOINI: What do you say to people who might look at just the events of the past couple of days, the events over this past summer here in Minnesota, and it just feels like things are getting too common? Of course, a lot of questions still about what happened here. The shooter is at large here in this instance, still. But we're three months out from the political attack in Minnesota. And Minnesota. Senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette Hoffman, were seriously injured that day, too. And they said in a statement that this was only the latest act that our country cannot continue to accept. It just feels like it's becoming far too common. What do you think needs to change to get to a place of civil disagreement?
JULIA COLEMAN: Well, first of all, the public and media need to stop rewarding bad behavior, need to stop rewarding airtime to people that are spewing at the mouth when they're debating. They need to stop making the fact that if you say something super negative, it's going to go far further reach and reshares than if you say something positive. And so, one, it needs to stop being rewarded. Two, when I hear people tell me today that they are losing hope-- and I feel you.
There was a moment yesterday where I thought, if I don't stop, my kids will grow up without a mother. I feel that despair too. But I also encourage people, if you want this country to go in a different direction, it is your personal responsibility, every single person's personal responsibility to make that happen. It is by sharing positive content.
It's by not just showing up on Election Day, but actually working to select candidates that speak positively and say they will work with the other side. It is by holding your media accountable and saying, why can't you show them getting along? Because it does happen. I promise you, it does happen. But does it ever get covered? Not really. It's every single person looking at themselves. And if there is an America you want, then you have to be that America.
NINA MOINI: And Charlie Kirk was not an elected official. He was an activist. He went and he shared his opinions. But he was highly visible, of course, in the Republican Party. Many of his viewpoints have been called hateful by some and not by others who agree with him.
State Senator Omar Fateh, who's running for mayor of Minneapolis, released a statement calling this act horrifying and condemning it. And this was after Charlie Kirk had made some comments about Fateh that he and other Minneapolis politicians had condemned as Islamophobic. So where do you think the vitriol is coming from online? And what needs to change in order to make that happen? Do you think it's just a case of nasty keyboard warriors? Do you think elected officials are egging this on both sides? What do you think?
JULIA COLEMAN: Door knocking can be grueling. But what I like about it reminds me the internet isn't real life. And when I go door knocking, which I have since the assassinations, people say, I just want you guys to get along. And I just want to see work get done. And even if they don't agree with me, they're not saying things that maybe they would from behind their keyboard. And so it's refreshing to just maybe put your phone down today and just go talk to people. You'll feel a lot better.
NINA MOINI: I know we've been talking a lot at the state level about just better ways, and at the national level, of identifying people who may be plotting these types of attacks, before they go through with it, before it's too late. On a state level, we know Governor Tim Walz may call a special session to talk about gun legislation. And we know that Republicans have released some of their own priorities as well around school fortification and mental health, not around new gun legislation, as I understand it. What do you think needs to change in terms of policies around guns and mental health at the state level?
JULIA COLEMAN: It's such a multifaceted approach because all the major shootings that have happened recently, they were all different types of firearms. And some were obtained legally and some not legally. And we still aren't quite sure what's going on yet in the Charlie Kirk case. And I have to be reminded that you cannot legislate away evil. But you can try to protect the world from it. And so it's a multifaceted approach.
Don't get me wrong. I'm a Republican. I love the Second Amendment. But I have authored legislation. I heard earlier on the show them talking about going after the woman in the Burnsville shooting. That was my bill to make it increase the penalty for straw purchases. And we absolutely need to keep guns away from bad people. But what if they present as a good person? That's when we have to start talking about protection, whether it's protecting our kids at school, protecting us at the Capitol.
And my biggest fear out of all of this is outdoor political events are over, between what happened to the president and what happened to Charlie. And I'm concerned what that's going to do for our ability to spread messages to people other than online. And so it's a multifaceted approach. Yes, we have to have more mental health resources. But some people will never take them. And so at the end of the day, yes, let's talk about guns, yes, let's talk about mental health. But I also want to make sure we're talking about protecting people and then what our own personal responsibility is, each and every individual American, for treating each other better.
NINA MOINI: Are those conversations that you're having among members of your party and other politicians about-- when you said outdoor events are over, what do you mean by that? You're feeling like they just are not-- shouldn't be held anymore?
JULIA COLEMAN: I don't see any big political figures, whether they're elected or they're speakers like Charlie, having an outdoor event anymore. It's too dangerous. I watched my friend take a bullet to the jugular yesterday, online. And as soon as I saw him hit, I knew he's gone. That was a hunting rifle. I guarantee it. And same thing happened to the president. And so I am concerned that we are going to see the end of these outdoor, let's go out into the public, events until this calms down.
NINA MOINI: What message do you have? You mentioned that Charlie Kirk had-- I think you said 48 people, or dozens and dozens of people, that had trained with him, as you had, to go out and engage with people, indoor, outdoor, college campuses, wherever. Do you have a message that you want to share for people who are maybe looking at all of this violence and thinking, well, I don't want to use my voice anymore? I don't want to protest. I don't want to run for office. Why would I do that? Why would I expose myself to all of these dangers? What message would you send to people?
JULIA COLEMAN: My message would be, we cannot let evil win. We cannot let the evil in this nation win. And if we are the generation-- we will not be the generation that will allow this great American experiment to fail. We will not be the generation that lets free speech die with Charlie Kirk. And so my advice would to be bolder, be louder, no matter what side of the aisle you are on. Speak up. Keep running. Keep fighting, because if all the good people go to the shadows, I'm really concerned about who's going to step up to the plate then.
NINA MOINI: All right, Senator Coleman, thank you for your time this afternoon. I appreciate it.
JULIA COLEMAN: Thank you very much.
NINA MOINI: That was Republican Senator Julia Coleman representing Carver County.
Download transcript (PDF)
Transcription services provided by 3Play Media.