SALT LAKE CITY — After making the official announcement that a suspect in the shooting of Charlie Kirk was in custody, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox shared a message aimed directly at the divided country and the younger generation who inherit its future.
“We can choose a different path. Your generation has an opportunity to build a culture that is very different than what we are suffering through right now," Cox said. "Not by pretending differences don’t matter, but by embracing those differences and having those hard conversations."
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'Find an off ramp,' Cox makes emotional plea for country to dial down hate
The shooting shook the community, and now both sides of the aisle are coming together to send a message of unity moving forward.
Former chair of the Utah Young Republicans, Zachary Wilson, and current president of the Young Democrats of Utah, Jack Davis, stood side by side Friday to express a shared goal.
Leaders on Utah's Capitol Hill call for a de-escalation of political vitriol and violence:
“I hope this is a wakeup call we can root out some of the ideology, the rhetoric, the tone that went into what happened two days ago," said Wilson. "I think we can model that here in Utah better than anywhere else."
“I think it’s time to lower the rhetoric," shared Davis, "move away from blame, and like Zach said, towards solutions about what are we actually going to do moving forward so it isn’t happening anymore."
The two were joined by dozens of other local leaders and community members who agreed that, regardless of political beliefs, now is the best time to unite.
“If we’re going to find a way to get rid of hate, we’re going to have to find a little bit more love when we leave here," said Ashley Bell with Redemption Holding Company.
