Strasbourg — The European Parliament on Thursday refused a request from far-right lawmakers to hold a minute’s silence for Charlie Kirk, the U.S. conservative activist who was fatally shot while speaking at Utah Valley University, provoking loud protests and heated exchanges in the hemicycle.
The call for a tribute was raised by Swedish MEP Charlie Weimers of the European Conservatives and Reformists group, who asked colleagues to pause proceedings and mark Kirk’s death as an attack on free speech. Parliament vice-president Katarina Barley and President Roberta Metsola rejected the request, with Metsola citing parliamentary procedure that such tributes must be scheduled at the opening of a plenary session.
When the chair blocked the appeal, far-right MEPs reacted angrily — banging desks, shouting and attempting to force the issue — while other lawmakers applauded the chair’s insistence on following rules of order. The disorder briefly interrupted business in the Strasbourg chamber and underscored deep political divisions among MEPs over how to respond to the killing.
The episode added a European dimension to the outrage and grief that followed Kirk’s shooting, which has reverberated across transatlantic political networks. Several nationalist and populist leaders in Europe characterized Kirk as a defender of free expression and accused the political left of contributing to a climate of hostility; some far-right MEPs argued the parliament’s refusal was politically motivated.
Parliament officials said condolences had been offered and that a formal tribute could be scheduled through the correct procedural channels at a later date. Meanwhile, the public and political fallout from the killing continued to play out across media and social platforms on both sides of the Atlantic.
