The Michigan House of Representatives adjourned early Wednesday afternoon after news that conservative commentator Charlie Kirk had been shot in Utah began spreading on the House floor.
The House had been discussing legislation to increase penalties for blocking roads and highways for protests. Debate ended without a vote, and the chamber held a prayer for Kirk and his family and adjourned a short time later.
Kirk was shot while speaking at the first event on his American Comeback Tour, at Utah Valley University in Orem. He died hours later.
Kirk helped shape a conservative political movement that pushed the Republican party to the right and delivered the support of young voters who helped propel President Donald Trump into office.
On Michigan campuses, members of Turning Point USA — the conservative student organization co-founded by Kirk in 2012 — said Kirk's death motivated them to continue their advocacy.
Evan Reister, the president of the Turning Point chapter at Northern Michigan University, said that was true even as the shooting cast "a significant darkness" over the movement.
"I think students are scared. I think students are incredibly sad that something like this happened to their leader and a prominent political leader in our culture and our society," said Riester.
Still, he said, "our leaders are more willing and more excited to step up and continue this mission in honor of Charlie Kirk and organize like we never have before."
Trump ordered the American flag to be flown at half-staff after Kirk died. In Michigan, Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer followed suit, ordering state flags to be flown at half-staff.
"I am thinking of Charlie Kirk, his family, and the community at UVU after the horrific shooting that took place earlier today,” Whitmer said in a statement. “Political violence of any form is unacceptable and must be condemned."
"We settle our differences at the ballot box, not through violence. We all have a role to play in coming together and standing up against any and all forms of hatred and violence," said Whitmer.
Whitmer was herself a target of planned political violence, having been the subject of a conspiracy to kidnap her and, prosecutors alleged, abandon her on a boat in Lake Michigan.
The suspected shooter remained at large Thursday, and law enforcement authorities had not named a motive, but many political leaders expressed a belief that the attack was politically motivated.
Michigan Republican Party Chairman Jim Runestad said Kirk's killing was part of a "wave of political violence gripping our nation."
"No American should fear for their life because of their faith or their political views," Runestad said in a statement.
Michigan House Democratic Leader Representative Ranjeet Puri said members of his party had received death threats after the shooting.
"No member of this legislature or any other political body should live in fear of political retribution in the form of violence," he said in a statement. "They should be allowed to speak of and act on their convictions regardless of political disagreement."
The state House is scheduled to hold its next session at noon on Thursday. The Legislature is approaching an October 1 deadline for passing a state budget to avoid a partial government shutdown.
The Michigan Public Radio Network's Colin Jackson and Michigan Public's Steve Carmody and Sneha Dhandapani contributed reporting.
