Killing of Trump ally lays bare America's bloody and broken politics

Moments before the crack of a gunshot changed everything, thousands of students had gathered under clear blue skies at an idyllic Utah college to hear from a man considered a rock star in conservative campus politics.

As the 31-year-old Charlie Kirk sat under a tent, debating political opponents taking their turn at a microphone, many gathered on the lawns cheered – and some protested. Seconds later, they were all running in terror.

The activist was struck in the neck by a bullet, mortally wounded. The episode playing out as cameras rolled, some showing the murder in bloody detail.

The images will be hard to forget - particularly for the many young conservatives for whom Kirk held celebrity status. The leader of their movement, regardless of the ultimate motive behind his killing, will now be viewed as a martyr for the cause.

Kirk, in the past, had warned of what he said was the threat of violence from his critics – of which he had many, given his provocative style of conservativism. Nonetheless he was willing to travel to college campuses, where the politics frequently tilt to the left, and debate all comers.