Lawmakers in the European Parliament engaged in shouting and desk-banging on Thursday after a request by right-wing members to observe a minute's silence for slain US activist Charlie Kirk was denied and many left-leaning MEPs refused to take part.
The request, submitted in writing to Parliament President Roberta Metsola by Sweden Democrats MEP Charlie Weimers, sought a formal silent tribute similar to one observed in the US Congress. The chair of the plenary session told Weimers his attempt to yield speaking time on the floor to carry out the minute of silence could not proceed because the request had been denied for procedural reasons, leading to vocal exchanges and scenes filmed in Strasbourg.
Video of the chamber shows right-wing MEPs attempting to quiet colleagues who spoke over the proposed silence; some banged desks and shouted. Weimers said in his written request that "our right to freedom of speech cannot be extinguished" and later accused the Parliament of bias when the minute was not permitted. Italy's Northern League called the decision "politically shameful and morally unacceptable."
Centrist French MEP Nathalie Loiseau posted on X that "Charlie Kirk didn't deserve to die," adding that whether the parliament should honour him was a separate question and linking to Mr. Kirk's public criticism of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The European Commission said it "condemns all forms of violence, and we offer our sincere sympathies to the families of the victims."
The dispute in Strasbourg took place amid an ongoing US investigation into the fatal shooting of Kirk, a 31-year-old conservative activist and ally of President Donald Trump. Police in Utah said a sniper fired a single shot from a high-powered rifle and that the weapon was later recovered in woodland near Utah Valley University. Authorities said the suspected shooter is believed to have fled from a roof and blended in on the campus; investigators described the suspect as appearing to be of "college age." Federal, state and local agencies are working on multiple active crime scenes, police said.
Utah Governor Spencer Cox called the killing "a dark day for our state" and described it as a "political assassination." President Trump announced he would posthumously award Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
The confrontation in the European Parliament underscores divisions among lawmakers over how to respond to acts of political violence and whom to honour in the chamber. Some MEPs pointed to a precedent in 2020 when the Parliament observed a tribute to George Floyd, whose killing by a US police officer sparked global protests; others said the circumstances and public positions of the person in question should inform any parliamentary gesture.
Parliamentary officials cited procedural rules in explaining why the minute of silence request was not approved during the session. The episode added to tensions between the Parliament's political groups at a time when right-wing parties across Europe maintain close political ties with figures in the US Republican Party.
MEPs involved in the exchange declined further comment on the record during the session. The criminal investigation into Kirk's death remained active and ongoing in the United States, with law enforcement continuing to process crime scenes and follow leads, officials said.