Van Jones is addressing a surprising DM he received from Charlie Kirk just one day before his death.
The 57-year-old CNN host and author revealed that he received a direct message from the late right-wing activist, who was shot and killed at a Utah college speaking event earlier this month.
Keep reading to find out more…
“He and I had been sparring publicly over the killing of a Ukrainian refugee and its relationship to race,” Van wrote for CNN.
“He said the gruesome killing of a White woman by a Black man was motivated solely by anti-White hatred. I denounced those comments on CNN as unfounded. He went on TV and denounced MY denunciation. Then he unleashed a firehose of tweets, challenging my argument. Kirk’s pushback sparked an online torrent of racist death threats against me, the likes of which I have rarely seen. Things were seriously heading off the rails. Then — in the middle of all this — Charlie Kirk reached out.”
The direct message was then revealed as a screenshot, showcasing a message from September 9, one day before the shooting.
“Hey, Van, I mean it, I’d love to have you on my show to have a respectful conversation about crime and race. I would be a gentleman as I know you would be as well. We can disagree about the issues agreeably.”
“Unfortunately, before I could even respond, Charlie Kirk was killed — seemingly assassinated for the words he’s spoken, though the killer’s exact motives are still being investigated,” Van wrote.
“I’ve taken issue with many of those words — sometimes strongly — but never his right to speak them. Never his right to express those views and then go home to his family. That is a sacred American benefit. So it was not hard for me to condemn his murder — immediately, without qualification and in unconditional terms.”
Later on, Van wrote on social media: “Today’s attack on Charlie Kirk is absolutely horrifying and heartbreaking. He fought with words not weapons. There is no place for political violence in our society and those responsible must be swiftly brought to justice. My prayers are with Charlie’s loved ones, the traumatized students at Utah Valley University and all who have been impacted by this senseless act.”
Find out which other celebs have publicly mourned Charlie Kirk‘s death.
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