GOP Bill: Black Lives Matter Plaza to Become 'Charlie Kirk Plaza' Three Months After Assassination

Conservative firebrand Charlie Kirk, gunned down three months ago while defending free speech on a Utah college campus, is now the centerpiece of a Republican counteroffensive against the lingering symbols of the 2020 Black Lives Matter summer.

Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., introduced legislation Tuesday to strip the name "Black Lives Matter Plaza" from a two-block stretch of 16th Street NW in Washington, D.C., and rename it "Charlie Kirk Plaza."

The South Carolina Republican pulled no punches in an interview with Fox News Digital.

"Black Lives Matter is a terrorist organization that wants to defund the police and take your speech away," Mace declared. "And what I want to do on the three-month anniversary of Charlie Kirk's political assassination is celebrate him and the First Amendment and freedom of speech by renaming the plaza after him."

The plaza, originally renamed and painted with a massive yellow "Black Lives Matter" mural by the District government in June 2020, had the mural removed and the name reverted earlier this year under Republican pressure.

Mace acknowledged the bill faces long odds for a full House vote but vowed to "fight like hell" for its passage.

Kirk, 31, was assassinated Sept. 10 while speaking at Utah Valley University.

Utah prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for accused killer Tyler James Robinson.

In a separate move, Florida Republican Sen. Jonathan Martin advanced a bill through committee Tuesday that would establish Oct. 14, Kirk’s birthday, as "Charlie Kirk Day of Remembrance," placing the slain activist alongside Ronald Reagan as the only individuals with statutory observance days in Florida.

Martin grew emotional during testimony.

"I think that anybody who saw the video of Charlie Kirk getting — at his last speech, his last rally … " Martin said, pausing to clear his throat. "Would agree that it’s important to remember somebody who lived a peaceful life."

He added, "I think that Ronald Reagan would be 100 percent OK with a Charlie Kirk Remembrance Day in the state of Florida."

Democrats fiercely objected, citing a series of Kirk statements they labeled racist and sexist, including remarks questioning the intelligence of prominent Black women and comments about "prowling Blacks" targeting white Americans.

Sen. Tina Polsky, D-Boca Raton, challenged the honor.

"If you have to go through such mental and verbal gymnastics to explain away what this man said, how does he deserve a day of remembrance?" Polsky asked. "He was a provocateur. He was a podcaster. … But he’s still responsible for his own statements, no matter how you try to justify it. He does not deserve this honor."

The measure passed the Senate Governmental Oversight and Accountability Committee on a party-line vote.

While the left clutches pearls over decade-old debate clips, Republicans are making one thing crystal clear: assassinate a conservative for his words, and patriots will ensure those words, and that name, echo louder than ever.