❓WHAT HAPPENED: European Parliament President Roberta Metsola rejected a request for a minute of silence for slain conservative political organizer Charlie Kirk.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Charlie Kirk, Roberta Metsola, Sweden Democrats (SD) Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Charlie Weimers, Alternative for Germany (AfD) MEP René Aust, and other MEPs.
📍WHEN & WHERE: The proposal was made on Thursday, following Kirk’s assassination at Utah Valley University on Wednesday.
💬KEY QUOTE: “We have discussed this, and you know the President said no to a minute of silence,” said Vice President of the European Parliament Katarina Barley, of Germany’s Social Democratic Party (SPD).
🎯IMPACT: The rejection sparked protests from conservative and populist MEPs.
European Parliament President Roberta Metsola has blocked a request for a minute of silence honoring Charlie Kirk, the U.S. political organizer and founder of Turning Point USA slain at Utah Valley University on Wednesday. Metsola gave the excuse that such tributes are typically announced at the opening of the European Parliament’s plenary sessions, but this had already occurred on Monday, days before Kirk’s assassination.
Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Charlie Weimers, of the populist Sweden Democrats (SD) party, had proposed the minute of silence for Kirk, aiming to underscore the importance of free speech. The proposal was supported by conservative and populist political blocs in the parliament, including the Europe of Sovereign Nations (ESN).
“His murder reminds us of the importance of safeguarding fundamental freedoms, even in democratic societies,” commented ESN chairwoman René Aust, of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
The left-liberal and establishment-right politicians in charge of the European Union’s mock legislature—which cannot actually put forward of repeal EU laws—remained obstinate, however, with Vice President of the European Parliament Katarina Barley, of Germany’s Social Democratic Party (SPD), telling MEPs who raised the issue: “We have discussed this, and you know the President said no to a minute of silence.”
BREAKING: Left-wing MEPs in the European Parliament refuse to observe a minute’s silence for Charlie Kirk. pic.twitter.com/i1t0lBzFyn
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) September 11, 2025
Image: European Union 2017 – European Parliament.
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