Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York is rescheduling a weekend rally in Raleigh, North Carolina, after the assassination of MAGA influencer Charlie Kirk.
Speaking with reporters Thursday, Ocasio-Cortez said due to safety concerns and out of respect for Kirk, she would move the Sunday event with the North Carolina Democratic Party.
“From the moment I was elected, I have felt that I accept a certain level of risk in doing this job,” Ocasio-Cortez told reporters outside of the Capitol.
“But it is about the fact that the security protocols and the ways we think about it and conceive of it are for a bygone time. They’re not designed for stochastic time.”
Kirk, a 31-year-old conservative activist, was fatally shot Wednesday while speaking with college students at an event on Utah Valley University’s campus. The killing, which is being called a political assassination, has devastated the Republican community and sent fears through lawmakers about targeted political violence.
Ocasio-Cortez is known as a progressive Democrat who often generates debate and controversy with her views. Kirk, while not a lawmaker, had a similar reputation as a Republican advocate that created contentious debate with his views.
Another representative, Nancy Mace of South Carolina, has also canceled upcoming events in light of the shooting and told reporters she would have her firearm on her “all the time.”
Mace told reporters Thursday she is canceling all outdoor and public events for the foreseeable future, according to NBC News. That includes an upcoming event at a college campus. The South Carolina Republican is also known to generate intense controversy, especially online, because she is outspoken about her anti-transgender views.
The Independent has asked representatives for Ocasio-Cortez and Mace for comment.
Other lawmakers said they are worried about their own personal safety in the wake of the shooting.
Republican Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, who also serves as House Oversight Chair, told Axios that members of Congress will likely hold fewer outdoor events “in the short term.”
Democratic Rep. Jared Moskowitz, of Florida, said he stopped holding outdoor events earlier this year after receiving death threats.
“People are scared to death in this building,” Moskowitz said.
Ocasio-Cortez and other prominent Democrats have condemned the violence against Kirk and called for tighter gun control legislation. Many have expressed sympathy for Kirk’s wife and two young children.
Yet, some Republicans have resorted to blaming Democrats for inciting violence by using harsh language to push back against President Donald Trump and his agenda.
Ocasio-Cortez said, on Wednesday, that lawmakers should not point fingers and instead take action to prevent more shootings from occurring.
“The scourge of gun violence and political violence must end. The shooting of Charlie Kirk is the latest incident of this chaos and it must stop. We cannot go down this road. There is no place for it in America and we wish for his recovery,” she wrote on social media after the shooting.
