A Democratic congressional hopeful from Evanston mocked Charlie Kirk on social media hours after the right-wing activist was assassinated.

Bethany Johnson, a first-time candidate running for the 9th District seat now held by Democratic U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, posted a photo of a CNN alert about Kirk’s Sept. 10 murder with the caption “Gosh must be rough.”

Johnson’s posts, which appeared on Facebook and Instagram, also featured the transposed text “Charlie Kirk spent his career advocating for political violence against minorities.” Johnson is transgender.

The two Republican candidates in the 9th District race criticized Johnson’s posts.

“This is not only a blatant lie but also an act of defamation against a man who dedicated his life to faith, freedom, and uplifting young people,” Island Lake resident Rocio Cleveland said in an email.

Cleveland also referred to Johnson using a slur for transgender people and other disrespectful language and encouraged Johnson “to repent of your sins.”

The other Republican candidate in the 9th District, Chicagoan Mark Su, said Johnson’s post should be “condemned.”

Kirk advocated “peaceful debate, not violent conflict,” Su said in an email. He called Johnson’s posts “fake and misleading.”

Kirk was fatally wounded during a public event at Utah Valley University. A Utah man has been charged.

Some of Johnson’s Democratic rivals responded to her posts about the shooting, too.

“Political violence against anyone, including people we profoundly disagree with, is always unacceptable and can’t be tolerated in a functioning democracy,” said Kat Abughazaleh of Chicago.

Another Chicago Democrat, Sam Polan, said harmful and hateful rhetoric “erodes the trust the public should be able to place in its leaders.”

“Those who ask for that trust must hold ourselves to a higher standard,” Polan said. “Every elected official has a responsibility to lower the temperature and coarseness of our national discourse.”

Democrats Justin Ford of Chicago and Nick Pyati of Evanston expressed sympathies for Kirk’s family.

Rather than commenting directly on Johnson’s remarks, a campaign representative for Skokie Democrat Bushra Amiwala referred to Amiwala’s Sept. 10 denunciation of political violence.

Other candidates couldn’t be reached.

When asked via email to respond to the comments from other candidates, Johnson accused people of whitewashing Kirk’s legacy after his death. “I definitely don’t condone his murder, but I also will not mourn the man,” Johnson said.

“I feel bad for Charlie Kirk’s family, but I also felt bad for them when he was alive because they had to have Charlie Kirk as a part of their family,” Johnson said in the email.

In all, 19 candidates are seeking the nomination in the 9th District, which encompasses parts of Cook, Lake and McHenry counties. Schakowsky, of Evanston, isn’t seeking reelection.

https://www.dailyherald.com/20250924/nation-and-world-politics/democratic-congressional-candidate-mocked-charlie-kirk-after-assassination/