A moment of silence in the US house of representatives on Wednesday, held in response to the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, quickly descended into a heated partisan exchange, with Republicans and Democrats blaming each other for the political violence.The disruption unfolded shortly after house speaker Mike Johnson called for lawmakers to stand for a silent prayer in Kirk’s memory.“Please rise for a moment of prayer for Charlie Kirk and his family,” Johnson said, pausing legislative proceedings. Members from both parties and visitors in the gallery observed the silence.But immediately afterward, Republican representative Lauren Boebert requested a spoken prayer for Kirk, stating, “I believe silent prayers get silent results.” That request sparked objections from Democrats, some of whom shouted, “What about the kids in Colorado?” – a reference to a school shooting that had occurred earlier the same day, according to news portal AXIOS.Boebert later claimed she had planned to mention the Colorado shooting as well, but was interrupted.The situation escalated when Republican representative Anna Paulina Luna, a former Turning Point USA staffer and close ally of Kirk, pointed at Democrats and yelled, “You caused this!” Her accusation drew a loud response from across the aisle. Jahana Hayes of Connecticut, a member of the house gun violence prevention task force, responded, “Pass some gun laws!”Speaker Johnson repeatedly called for order as the shouting continued. “We will join for prayer right after this, OK?” he said, but tensions remained high.Lawmakers expressed dismay over the incident. “Political violence is scary for all of us, and … that type of backlash doesn’t help things,” Representative Susie Lee told Axios. She called the confrontation a reminder that “we need to turn the temperature down in this country.”Another Republican representative Dan Meuser called the incident “classless,” adding, “We had a couple on our side that should have kept their mouths shut… there were many on the Democrat side that needed to show their discontent and rudeness.”Democratic lawmakers also raised concerns about procedure, arguing that Boebert’s request for a spoken prayer on the House floor was a departure from protocol. “We don’t even do [that] for fallen members,” said Rep. Joe Morelle (D-N.Y.), ranking member of the house administration committee. “When you violate [procedure] and create exceptions, it then leads to this uneasiness.”On the other side, Luna told Axios that Speaker Johnson should still allow the prayer despite Democratic objections. “The fact that Democrats were not allowing the speaker to do a moment of prayer is really disgusting,” she said. “We should have been allowed to pray for Charlie.”
