The European Parliament on Thursday refused a bid to hold a minute of silence for Charlie Kirk, the U.S. conservative activist who was shot and killed while addressing students this week, citing parliamentary procedure and the timing of session submissions.
Swedish Member of the European Parliament Charlie Weimers, of the European Conservatives and Reformists group, asked colleagues to pause proceedings and "declare that our right to freedom of speech cannot be extinguished" after Kirk, 31, founder of Turning Point USA, was killed Wednesday while speaking at Utah Valley University. Several right-wing lawmakers backed the request, but European Parliament President Roberta Metsola denied it, saying tributes must be formally submitted at the opening of a plenary session and the required submission window had already passed.
Metsola said a tribute could still be scheduled when the full plenary reconvenes in October and offered condolences to Kirk's family. "Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife and young children — who were the bedrock of his life," she said. The decision provoked an immediate and vocal reaction on the chamber floor: when Weimers attempted to relinquish his remaining speaking time for a moment of silence, Vice-President Katarina Barley cut him off, prompting desk-banging protests from right-wing MEPs while centrist and left-leaning members applauded.
The shooting, which sent shock waves through U.S. political circles and on college campuses, prompted reactions from leaders abroad. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called the attack "a deep wound for democracy." In the United States, former President Donald Trump described Kirk as "the best of America." Authorities in Utah have been conducting a manhunt following the attack, and investigations were ongoing.
Outside the chamber, Hungarian Fidesz MEP András László accused Parliament of hypocrisy for declining the tribute, pointing to past occasions when the assembly had observed tributes, including one for George Floyd. Some lawmakers and supporters posted images online echoing the "I am Charlie" slogan that emerged after the 2015 Charlie Hebdo attack, drawing parallels in public messaging though not in circumstances.
The dispute highlighted tensions within the European Parliament over procedural rules, memorial practices and the political lines that often shape symbolic acts. Metsola framed the decision as adherence to established rules rather than a judgment on the significance of Kirk's death. Members of Germany's Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the French Identity and Liberty grouping supported Weimers' appeal, while centrist and left-leaning MEPs resisted turning the plenary into an ad hoc memorial.
Kirk, who built a profile mobilizing young conservatives and campaigning on college campuses with Turning Point USA, was 31. His death has elicited condolences and statements from political figures and organizations in the United States and Europe. The European Parliament's refusal to hold an immediate tribute adds to the diplomatic and political reverberations of the killing as investigations and security responses continue.
Parliament officials said the question of a future tribute could be revisited through formal channels ahead of the autumn plenary. Lawmakers on both sides of the chamber signaled the debate is likely to continue as the investigation into Kirk's death proceeds and as political groups weigh how to address high-profile killings in a polarized public environment.