Charlie Kirk was a national leader of young conservatives. His murder on Sept. 10 was shocking, and its implications will reverberate throughout America and perhaps down through history.

Much information will come out in the coming weeks, but Gov. Spencer Cox (R-UT) has called the shooting a “political assassination.” While the particulars of the motive are not yet known, it is already clear that the shooting was a political act and one that fits into an alarming recent pattern of conservatives being murdered for their beliefs.