With the killing of the charismatic conservative activist and podcast host, Charlie Kirk, America has once again been rocked by what could be another act of political violence.

There is, as of Thursday morning, no suspect in custody, and no motive for the shooting is known.

At the age of 18, Charlie Kirk founded “Turning Point Action,” a conservative get-out-the-vote and fundraising organization. Kirk was close to President Donald Trump and other members of the Trump family. Last night, Trump released a video commenting on Kirk’s shooting where he called him, “a martyr for truth and freedom.”

Dr. Lilliana Mason, a political scientist at the Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University, studies political partisanship. She joins Midday to discuss political polarity in the context of several high-profile instances of political violence in recent years.