KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Following the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, U.S. Rep. Mark Alford announced on X Wednesday evening that he is putting a pause on hosting public events.
In February, a crowd overflowed a Belton, Missouri, coffee shop during a town hall-style event hosted by Alford.
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“Some of them (town halls) got a little bit heated, but nothing out of control and nothing we weren’t able to respond to with kindness and just listening," Alford said on Thursday.
Alford said he ran his Congressional campaign on being accessible to his constituents.
"Going forward, we typically have Mondays with Mark and meetings with people in coffee shops, I'm reluctant to even be doing that right now," Alford said.
Park University associate professor of political science Matt Harris noted in the wake of Kirk's death, politicians on both sides of the aisle have postponed or canceled public events.
"I think this just speaks to why political violence is damaging to democracy, because part of having a democracy is this idea of open discussion, debate, dialogue," Harris said.
U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver of Missouri said on Thursday he thinks both Democrats and Republicans might become "more reclusive in an attempt to protect themselves at least in terms of physicality."
"This is not in the best interest of the country," Cleaver said on Thursday. "We ought to be accessible. We ought to be able to go in, sit down, and speak to our constituents."
Cleaver agrees with his counterpart. They say politicians need to be careful with their words.
“We’ve got to turn down the temperature, the rhetoric in America, and stop demonizing one another," Alford said. "This political violence that is going on is not just unacceptable, it’s reprehensible.”
Alford said tele-town halls are an option, but are not the most effective.
“At this point, I don’t see another way to do this and maintain our safety while in the field," he said.
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KSHB 41 reporter Lily O’Shea Becker covers Franklin and Douglas counties in Kansas. Share your story idea with Lily.
