Democrats, GOP agree: Free speech is headed the wrong way | Opinion

When Charlie Kirk was assassinated while speaking in front of a crowd of college students on Sept. 10, something fundamental changed in our country. 

The conservative activist’s horrific murder, allegedly for his views, galvanized partisan divisions that had been forming for a long time. 

Hatred on both sides of the political aisle was on full display in the wake of his senseless killing – and has continued since. 

Perhaps, given what’s happened in 2025, it’s not surprising that most Americans are fearful about the future of free speech – one of our most important and fundamental rights. A new poll from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression offers some perspective on where we are as a country. FIRE’s National Speech Index is updated quarterly. 

Most people are worried about expressing their views 

The poll, released Nov. 13, found a record number of Americans believe that free speech is headed in the wrong direction. As we near the country’s 250th birthday, that’s concerning to hear. 

Each survey since January 2024 has asked respondents this same question: “When it comes to whether people are able to freely express their views do you think things in America are heading in the RIGHT or WRONG direction?”

This time, 74% of Americans said they thought free speech is headed in the wrong direction. That number had jumped 10 points since the July survey. 

No doubt, Kirk’s killing had a role in that jump.

Overall, increasing pessimism about speech was felt across the political spectrum. Since July, the survey found that Democrats who think things are heading in the right direction fell to 11% from 17%; independents fell to 19% from 31%; and Republicans fell to 55% from 69%.

“In the last three months, America watched as Charlie Kirk was murdered for simply debating on a college campus, followed immediately by a wave of censorship of those who opposed his views,” Nathan Honeycutt, FIRE research fellow and polling manager, said in a statement. “It’s no surprise that a record number of Americans of all parties now think that it’s a dire time for free speech in America.”

Kirk and his organization, Turning Point USA, worked to get in front of college students on campuses around the country. Kirk, 31, didn’t want to hide behind a Republican bubble – he wanted to teach other young people about conservative ideals and challenge them to think more critically about what they believe.

He was doing this when he was fatally shot. 

Most Americans agree that political violence is a problem

No wonder other conservatives are feeling more pessimistic about free speech. Why take the risk? 

On the other side, liberals have felt attacked in the wake of Kirk’s assassination for expressing their views. 

A recent Reuters report estimates that about 600 people have been fired or otherwise punished for things they said about Kirk since his death.  

Many of these sentiments were indeed ugly, and it’s fair to question the judgment of someone who celebrates the murder of a fellow human being over differing political views.  

Yet, given Kirk’s close ties with President Donald Trump, comments from the administration about going after speech it didn’t like about Kirk’s death crossed a line – and got to the heart of why we have a First Amendment in the first place. 

It exists to create a barrier between the government and us. 

If there’s a bright spot in the speech survey, it’s that Americans seem to agree that political violence is a problem across the partisan spectrum. While 57% said it's a problem among progressives, 56% said the same of conservatives. And 58% agreed that political violence is “at least somewhat” a problem among all groups. 

To FIRE’s Honeycutt, this indicates that “the public is less interested in pointing fingers and more interested in fixing the toxic culture of hostility in our politics.”

During a week in which we’re supposed to count our blessings, I’m grateful for that. 

Ingrid Jacques is a columnist at USA TODAY. Contact her at [email protected] or on X: @Ingrid_Jacques