Members of the Communist Party USA and other anti-fascist groups burn an American flag on the steps of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver, Jan. 20, 2021. (Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images)
"The tragic assassination of Charlie Kirk shook the nation to its core, and it was the latest in a long list of examples of left-wing political violence," Schmitt said. "Many of these attacks come while Americans are exercising constitutionally protected core political speech."
Kirk’s death prompted a brief moment of reprieve from the typically volatile back-and-forth on Capitol Hill, with many lawmakers on both sides of the aisle calling for a toning down of political rhetoric.
However, as the government shutdown has continued, lawmakers are once again trading barbs as frustrations mount.
The recent "No Kings" rallies across the country renewed discussions among congressional Republicans about political violence among the left, which followed a recent roundtable held at the White House where President Donald Trump hosted independent journalists to share their experiences covering Antifa, a radical left-wing group that Trump recently designated a domestic terrorist organization.
Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., announced that he would hold a hearing to examine the rise of left-wing political violence in the wake of the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Knowles lauded Schmitt for holding the hearing in a statement to Fox News Digital, and said that it would serve as an important moment "to discuss how Congress can reassert order and hold to account the left-wing ideologues undermining our public square."
"This recent uptick in left-wing violence is the culmination of years — really decades — of consistent assaults on their opponents," he said. "A ‘free marketplace of ideas’ simply cannot exist when ideological bandits keep shooting up the marketplace."
Schmitt referenced both Kirk’s assassination and the University of Pittsburgh incident, along with protests that sprang up around the country following the death of George Floyd.
"The rise of political violence on the left is deeply disturbing and antithetical to American values, disturbs the free exercise of our constitutional rights and is a threat to our constitutional order," he said.
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"Yet, instead of calling out the obvious, the powers that be continue to deny the reality that political violence comes predominantly from one side of the aisle," he said. "As chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, I look forward to getting the American people the answers they deserve about the realities of left-wing political violence."
Fox News Digital reached out to Knowles for comment but did not immediately hear back.
Alex Miller is a writer for Fox News Digital covering the U.S. Senate.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/charlie-kirk-assassination-sparks-senate-hearing-left-wing-political-violence-schmitt-vows-action