By Isabel Keane

Copyright independent

Longtime Republican strategist Karl Rove slammed those looking to politicize the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, stating that using it to justify retaliation against political rivals is “wrong and dangerous.”

Conservatives have been pointing fingers at liberals ever since Kirk, 31, was shot and killed while speaking at Utah Valley University last week. Authorities have charged 22-year-old Tyler Robinson with the killing, without indicating anyone else was involved.

President Donald Trump has also placed the blame on liberals, claiming, without evidence, that “most of the violence” is on the left. While the charging document against Robison says he “intentionally” shot the right-wing influencer due to a “belief or perception regarding Charlie Kirk’s political expression,” prosectors stopped short or providing a specific motive.

Despite this, right-wingers have followed suit with their blame game, claiming that an unspecified “they” is responsible for Kirk’s death – something Rove referred to as “a disturbing and growing undercurrent in our national conversation.”

In a Wall Street Journal op-ed, Rove noted that there is a a “pronounced emphasis on ‘they’ and ‘them.’”

“Charlie would be alive but for ‘them.’ ‘They’ killed him. ‘They’ are responsible for his death. ‘They’ must pay,” he noted.

“No. Charlie Kirk wasn’t killed by ‘them.’ ‘They’ didn’t pull the trigger. One person did, apparently a young man driven by impulse and terrible hate,” Rove continued.

“If there were a ‘they’ involved, law enforcement would find ‘them’ and the justice system would hold ‘them’ accountable. But ‘he’ and ‘him’ are the correct pronouns for this horrendous act,” wrote Rove, who was a senior adviser and deputy chief of staff to President George W. Bush.

Rove later notes, “We aren’t helpless automatons whose actions are dictated by others.”

“Using Charlie’s murder to justify retaliation against political rivals is wrong and dangerous. It will further divide and embitter our country. No good thing will come of it,” he wrote, adding, “It is also an insult to his memory.”

Rove concluded: “Above all, it needs to be repeated. Violence has no role in our country’s politics. Now or ever. Reasoned discourse is essential to our democracy. Charlie Kirk understood that. Let’s hope it’s a message his eulogists honor.”

After a lone gunman shot Trump in the ear last summer, Kirk uploaded a YouTube video titled: “They tried to kill Trump.”