More than 100 US philanthropies and institutions, including the Ford Foundation and George Soros's Open Society Foundations, have signed an open letter condemning “acts of political violence” following the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk last week. The letter also pre-emptively opposes an expected Trump administration crackdown on left-leaning funding.
The groups denounced the recent murders of Kirk and of Melissa Hortman in Minnesota, stating such acts “have no place in our democracy”. The letter, published on Medium, emphasised that “no one should fear for their safety simply for expressing their views” and warned against attacks on organisations for carrying out their missions.
The statement comes after Vice-President JD Vance, standing in as host of the Charlie Kirk Show podcast, linked “leftwing extremism” to Kirk's assassination. Vance criticised the tax treatment of Soros's and Ford's foundations, pointing to a Nation article that he claimed justified Kirk's death. The White House deputy chief of staff, Stephen Miller, pledged to use “every available resource” against unnamed leftwing groups accused of promoting violence.
However, the Nation's president, Bhaskar Sunkara, denied receiving funds from the Open Society Foundations, and both foundations said they do not currently fund the publication. The article's author, Elizabeth Spiers, said her piece “explicitly stated that no one should ever be killed for their views”.
The administration is expected to send top officials, including President Trump, to Kirk's memorial service in Arizona. The philanthropies' letter seeks to form a collective front against what they see as attempts to exploit political violence to restrict charitable giving and free speech.
