In Pittsburgh speech, Shapiro says political violence ‘has no place in our society’

Less than a week after conservative activist Charlie Kirk was assassinated during an event at Utah Valley University, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro denounced political violence in an address to the 2025 Eradicate Hate Global Summit in Pittsburgh, where he recounted his own brushes with violence in Harrisburg while calling on Americans to see their “common humanity.”

Shapiro, who was the target of an arson attempt at the Governor’s Residence on April 13 – just hours after celebrating Passover with family and friends – said Tuesday that political violence “has become far too common” in American society. 

“Political violence doesn’t only affect those who are directly targeted or their loved ones. It affects all of us. It tears at the fabric of American society and the fundamental principles that this nation was founded upon – a nation where civil disagreement should be welcome, because we know that discourse can lead to progress,” the governor said. “That is how we perfect our union, and that is what we’ve done over the last two-and-a-half centuries.”

“We understand that when you hear speech you disagree with, the answer to that is more speech, not violence,” Shapiro said.

Shapiro echoed a similar message from the days following the attack on the governor’s mansion, when an assailant hopped the fence on the property, broke into the building with a hammer, and set the building ablaze using homemade Molotov cocktails. Police say the alleged perpetrator, Cody Balmer, admitted during an interview that he would have beaten the Democratic governor with his hammer if he had encountered Shapiro inside the residence.

During his speech, Shapiro highlighted a slew of politically motivated violent incidents that have shaken the United States in recent years, including last year’s assassination attempt against then-candidate Donald Trump in Butler; the murder of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York City in December 2024; the targeted killing of a Democratic state lawmaker, Minnesota House of Representatives Speaker Melissa Hortman, and her husband in June; as well as the murder of Kirk, who was gunned down on Sept. 10 while speaking to students at Utah Valley University. 

“This type of violence has no place in our society, regardless of what motivates it or who pulls the trigger, who throws the Molotov cocktail, or who wields the weapon,” Shapiro said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s coming from one side or from the other, directed at one party or another, one person or another. It is all wrong, and it makes us all less safe.”

Shapiro was introduced by former Gov. Tom Corbett, a Republican, who said the issue of political violence isn’t partisan. “Preventing hate-fueled violence is not a partisan issue,” Corbett said. “It is one that requires all of us around this country, and around the world, to work together.”

In an effort to combat such violence, Shapiro said his wife, First Lady Lori Shapiro, suggested that the Department of Education develop a digital literacy toolkit to help give children the skills needed to discern fact from fiction on the internet. 

The governor also said it’s important that constituents feel listened to and like the government is working for them, not against them.

“There’s a deeper issue at the root of this dangerous rise of political violence. Too many people don’t believe that our institutions and the people in them can solve problems anymore. They feel alone, ignored, shut out by a government that isn’t working for them,” he said. “We must get stuff done and restore people’s faith that government can be a force for good in their lives.”