Charlie Kirk responds to audience question about forming militias: “You need to have systems and backup plans of self-sovereignty”

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Citation From the August 13, 2023, Turning Point USA Faith event at the Seattle Revival Center

AUDIENCE MEMBER: What's your take on the Torben Sondergaard case and should we be organizing militias?

CHARLIE KIRK: Should we be forming militias — that's a loaded question, right. I believe firmly the bad guys are trying to provoke us into a civil war. But so don't take that bait. At the same time, as long as you are lawfully and peacefully assembling with your neighbors to prepare for potential tyranny or for widespread chaos, I think you're within your constitutional rights. 

But just understand that the bad guys will try to infiltrate militia groups, they'll have feds come into chat rooms to try to instigate and provoke violent activity from the American right to try to provoke a Patriot Act 2.0-type response, right?

But honestly I don't love the term militias just because it gets misinterpreted by the media but that's actually a constitutional term, right? But after the Floyd riots of 2020 if people arm up and they start to have some sort of agreement with neighbors like hey, if there's widespread looting and arson and you know, we're going to stand with each other. 

I think that's actually really healthy and it shows we are going to have some sort of social contract against society falling apart. The media will misinterpret what I'm saying as oh, Charlie wants some sort of factions to be developed in the country. That's not what I'm saying. 

What I'm saying though is my goodness, we are living through the highest crime wave and we're just supposed to sit and take it. Like, no America — you need to have systems and backup plans of self-sovereignty, God forbid, our entire society falls apart, and/or our government becomes even more tyrannical and authoritarian.

And I'll close with this. The Second Amendment is not about deer hunting, it’s not about protection against robbers, that’s helpful. It's against, God forbid, the government becomes tyrannical. That's why we have the Second Amendment.