This article is written by the Creative Director of ANARKISS, O.B.

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I just need to say this clearly, so it’s documented:

Charlie Kirk is not a martyr. He is the result of the culture he helped create.

And on September 10, 2025 at approximately 12:23 pm MDT, a single bullet cut its way through the air and found its target at his neck. A death, in Charlie’s own words, worth it:

 I think it’s worth it, I think it’s worth to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God‑given rights, Charlie Kirk, 2023.

And now, in a twist of horror, he dies by the very logic he upheld.

Quickly in the aftermath of his death, websites likecharliesmurders.com,worked to condemn over 30, 000 American citizens exercising their freedom of speech to criticize Charlie’s rhetoric and offer no sympathy for the dead. 

Best said by Rolling Stone, “The MAGA right says Charlie Kirk is a martyr for freedom of expression, but still want people to lose their jobs for criticizing his rhetoric.”

Right-wing figures, such as Laura Ingraham and President Trump, are calling him a ‘martyr for freedom of speech’ while, in the same breath, demanding people be fired for speaking critically about him. It’s not about freedom – it’s about control. Control and condemnation for being on the ‘wrong’ side. We see that control echoed in the media itself: ABC, owned by Disney, canceling Jimmy Kimmel after his remarks; Paramount Global, which owns CBS, refusing to renew Stephen Colbert after his criticism of Trump. Different parent companies, same result, corporate media disciplining dissent and protecting power.

Jackson Lahmeyer, a pastor and founder of “Pastors for Trump”, said that, “The attack on Charlie was spiritual in nature and an attack on the very institution of the church” (CNN). Churches, under the direction of ‘spiritual leaders’ were quick to influence and worship Kirk, a man who’s ideologies were the exact opposite of what the Christian Bible stands for. But Christian Nationalism has never been about christianity, but rather white control and supremacy, especially in the Southern States of the U.S., where racism and homophobia run deep. 

Quickly after Kirk’s death, President Trump issued a Proclamation, for flags to be flown at half-staff for Charlie Kirk. No such honor was given earlier this summer when a Democratic lawmaker was assassinated in the state of Minnesota. An assassination Trump said he is ’not familiar’ with. 

Let that sink in.

This isn’t just about one man dying:

It’s about what his death is being used to represent.

We’re watching selective empathy in real time.

We’re watching the state elevate far-right ideologies into symbols of nationalism.

We’re watching the escalation of ‘us v them’ ideology.

We’re watching the normalization of fascism, dressed up in grief.

So no – Charlie Kirk is not a martyr. He is a mirror.

And the worst part is, he’s a mirror for the far-right Christian Nationalism that’s on the rise in the United States, and with it, Project 2025.

^ This piece uses existing news coverage as collage material: splicing together headlines, commentary, and imagery to interrogate the moment the United States is in. My intent is not to report the news, but to question how it is being told and weaponized. In the aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, we’re seeing him elevated as a “martyr for free speech,” while critics are silenced or punished. That hypocrisy is the subject of this work. I recognize the risk of publishing it, but art’s role has always been to challenge power, expose contradictions, and reflect back the culture we live in. That is the goal with this piece. – O.B.