FIRST ON FOX: A new bill could see part of the national capital renamed after slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk, introduced three months after his assassination.
Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., is introducing legislation to rename the area that until recently had been known as Black Lives Matter Plaza, she first told Fox News Digital.
“Black Lives Matter is a terrorist organization that wants to defund the police and take your speech away,” Mace argued. “And what I want to do on the three-month anniversary of Charlie Kirk’s political assassination is celebrate him and the First Amendment and freedom of speech by renaming the plaza after him.”
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Black Lives Matter is a far-left activist group that gained traction after the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis by a White police officer.
It is not designated as a terrorist organization, but people on the right and even some Democrats have criticized it for going too far with calls to “defund the police,” while questions have also been raised in the past about how it spends its funding.
A two-block area of Washington, D.C., was renamed Black Lives Matter Plaza by the city’s government in June 2020 amid nationwide protests over Floyd’s killing.
It was marked by a massive mural depicting the words “Black Lives Matter” in the middle of the street.
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That was reversed in March of this year after pressure from Republicans, including President Donald Trump, amid a crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts across the country.
Mace suggested she was not optimistic that her bill would get a House-wide vote but said she would “fight like hell” for it.
It comes three months after Kirk was assassinated while speaking at a college free-speech event in Utah. Both Republicans and Democrats have condemned the killing as a tragedy and an attack on free speech.
Prosecutors in Utah are seeking the death penalty against Tyler James Robinson, Kirk’s accused killer.
Mace’s bill is one of several pieces of legislation introduced to memorialize Kirk in the wake of his death.
“I think members of Congress have done their part, rank-and-file members. But there’s still more to do yet. And we need to make sure that we continue his legacy forever,” Mace said.
A resolution honoring Kirk passed the House of Representatives in September with support from all Republicans and 95 Democrats. Fifty-eight Democrats voted against it, while another 38 voted “present.”
