Welcome back to the Homefront. I'm your host, Reid Galen. Today, I want to share a few thoughts on what we saw in Utah on Wednesday, if you're hearing this on Thursday or later. I wrote this over on Substack as well, so you can read it over there if you'd prefer. But just let me give you a few thoughts. As a wave of

insurrection crashed against the United States Capitol four years ago, I got a text from a

friend of mine in Egypt asking if I was okay. I wasn't, I told him. He'd witnessed to Rear Square

in 2011 and wrote back, quote, once political violence infects a country, it's very hard to

get it out again. And that's, I think, guys, what we're seeing now. In Orem, Utah yesterday, the

flywheel of violence claimed its latest victim. Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, speaking to a

crowd of about 3,000 people, students at Utah Valley University, a single shot rang out,

knocking Kirk backward and off his stool. And I can tell you guys, having seen it, if it comes up on

your feed, don't see it.

Around the same time, one stayed over in Evergreen, Colorado, there was another school shooting,

the 9th of 2025, where students were killed or wounded, according to Education Week.

Three students are in the hospital, two in critical condition.

Now, I've written a fair bit on the scourge

that is gun violence in America, and I won't repeat my raw feelings here. After driving my 15-year-old

home from school yesterday, though, my soul was worn thin. Why are we okay with children dying or people

being killed for their political beliefs? She asked me. What is wrong with us? She looked over at me.

Are you going to answer? I don't have an answer for her or myself or anyone listening or seeing this,

that she has to ask that question both enrages and crushes me, that she told me that the new wing of

her high school features bulletproof glass in the classrooms makes me scream at the wind.

To say there's no place for political violence is necessary in moments like this.

However, the words belie the reality of our time.

There is political violence in America, and we'll see more of it.

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