In the wake of the high-profile killing of far-right figure Charlie Kirk in Utah, Wisconsin Representative Derrick Van Orden (R) has gone scorched earth online — firing off more than 550 posts on X in just five days, many of them openly calling for violence against Democrats and the press.
According to a Monday statement by the Wisconsin Democratic Party, Van Orden descended into a torrent of conspiracy theories and violent rhetoric, as reported by Huffington Post journalist Jennifer Bendery.
Within hours of the Kirk shooting, Van Orden was accusing Democrats of being “domestic terrorists,” claiming they had tried to assassinate Donald Trump, and bizarrely demanding an investigation into billionaire George Soros for what he called the “murder” of Kirk — despite zero evidence Soros had any connection to the incident.
Most shockingly, Van Orden has called for a second Civil War, and told his followers they should “enact violence against Democrats and the media everywhere,” according to Bendery. It’s not subtle. It’s not innuendo. It’s explicit.
In one post flagged by Bendery, Van Orden draws a direct line from the September 11 terrorist attacks to the recent Kirk shooting.
“Yesterday,” he wrote, “is the reason I will be at war for the next 20. I will not allow these leftist scumbags to take my country.”
It’s not clear who exactly Van Orden believes is trying to “take” his country — or how. What is clear is that he’s urging his supporters to fight back, literally.
Collateral Damage: Truth and Sanity
The facts don’t support the firestorm Van Orden is stoking. The two men suspected of attempting to assassinate Trump had previously supported him and have no tie to Democratic Party leadership, and certainly no Soros connection. That hasn’t stopped Van Orden.
Even the family of the alleged shooter in the Kirk case says the politics don’t line up with Van Orden’s narrative.
“My son, his dad, is a Republican for Trump,” Debbie Robinson, grandmother of the alleged shooter, told the Daily Mail. “Most of my family members are Republican. I don’t know any single one who’s a Democrat.”
So, what is Van Orden even talking about?
According to The Wisconsin Examiner, not much that’s original. The paper’s editor-in-chief slammed Van Orden in a column this week, accusing him of parroting Trump’s language and tactics almost word-for-word.
“Of course, it is Trump who has a long history of inviting political violence against Democrats and members of the press. Van Orden is copying him by escalating that rhetoric in Wisconsin,” the editorial charged.
Deafening Silence from the GOP
Perhaps more damning than Van Orden’s own words is the total silence from Republican leadership. No censure. No rebuke. No calls for him to cool it.
Philip Shulman, spokesperson for the Wisconsin Democratic Party, didn’t hold back.
“America’s most dedicated keyboard warrior, Derrick Van Orden, will not stop encouraging violence against Democrats and reporters — when is someone in his own party going to tell him to stop?”
So far, no one has.
In the words of the Wisconsin Democratic Party: “He is going completely unchecked by his own party as he pours gasoline on an open flame.”
And that may be the real story here. Van Orden is loud, unhinged, and extremely online. But what’s more terrifying is that nobody in his party seems willing to stop him.
He’s not an outlier anymore. He’s the echo.
