Overview

• In a Sept. 27 New York Times interview, Penn said he disagreed with almost everything Charlie Kirk believed but insisted “we need that guy” to sustain open debate.
• Penn argued that political violence becomes a “fashion” countered by treating sincere ideological opponents as interlocutors and by recognizing differing views as “valid opinions.”
• He said Kirk’s killing “seems different” from other recent shootings and cited abortion as an example where deeply held views should be tolerated in civil discourse.
• An NME report published Sept. 29 quoted Penn saying he was not surprised such an attack would occur in the current climate and that he is still processing its implications.
• Kirk, 31, was shot and killed Sept. 10 while speaking at Utah Valley University in Utah, and police have charged 22-year-old Tyler Robinson in the case.