"Hey Van, I ..."

Arch-enemy publishes last message from Kirk

An official memorial service for Charlie Kirk will be held in Arizona on Sunday.(Bild: AFP/ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS)

The murder of US activist and political provocateur Charlie Kirk has shaken up the USA. Amidst the grief and anger, one of his fiercest opponents, the left-liberal CNN commentator Van Jones, of all people, has now revealed news that sheds new light on his final hours. 

Just one day before the deadly attack at Utah Valley University, Jones received a private message from Kirk. It was an unexpected offer of dialog - at the height of a bitter public dispute. The two had previously engaged in a fierce exchange of blows.

The trigger was the murder of a woman. The ultra-right-wing Kirk claimed that the murder of a black man was motivated purely by hatred of white people. Jones vehemently refuted this on CNN as unfounded.

The conflict escalated and, according to Jones' own account, he was subjected to a wave of racist death threats. The situation threatened to get completely out of control.

"Hey Van, I'm serious ..."
But then, in the midst of this storm, Kirk reached out. He invited Jones onto his show via direct message on X (formerly Twitter). His words: "Hey Van, I'm serious. I'd love to have you on my show for a respectful conversation about crime and race. I would be a gentleman, as I know you would be. We can disagree on the issue, but disagree amicably."

Before Jones could respond, Kirk was dead. The CNN commentator himself condemned the attack - without seeking to relativize it. "The attack is horrific and heartbreaking. He fought with words, not guns," wrote the left-liberal analyst. "I disagreed with many of his words, but never with his right to say them and return home safely to his family afterward. That is a sacred American value." Political violence, Jones said, has no place in society.

An official funeral service for Charlie Kirk will be held in Arizona on Sunday.(Bild: AFP/ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS)

Jones: Kirk would not have wanted this
He is all the more alarmed by the reactions to the murder. Kirk's death is being used to call for even more violence, to fantasize about civil war, to demand censorship and the suppression of dissenters.

"Stop!" warns Jones. "That's not the way Charlie Kirk dealt with differences of opinion." When their argument escalated, Kirk had opted for more conversation, not censorship. On more civility, not more venom. This legacy, says Jones, must be upheld.

Even if it often appears otherwise on television: most political opponents do not wish each other dead. "We debate hard. But we don't want bloodshed. We don't want any more funerals."

That very spirit of dialog was on the table when Kirk sent him the message, he said. "A coward's bullet robbed conservatives of an emerging talent, progressives of a worthy adversary and a family of a loving father." The USA now faces a choice: violence and censorship or the path of civilized debate.

US Vice President JD Vance called on US citizens to blow the whistle on employers who make disparaging remarks about Kirk.(Bild: AFP/DOUG MILLS)

Jones concludes with a clear message: "If we choose censorship and civil war, we can't blame that choice on Charlie Kirk! From his last 24 hours, I have proof that he wanted to go a very different way."