Joliet Councilman Joe Clement On Charlie Kirk's Assassination: 'We've Definitely Crossed The Line Here'

JOLIET, IL — Wednesday afternoon's assassination on an outdoor college campus in Utah, killing Illinois native and conservative political activist Charlie Kirk, has deeply impacted Joliet's two-term City Councilman, Joe Clement, a retired detective on the Joliet Police Department.

On Thursday, Clement met with Joliet Patch in downtown Joliet to reflect on the life of Kirk, the 31-year-old former Wheeling High School graduate who started the Turning Point USA organization that focused on reaching young adults and visiting college campuses.

Here is a summary of Thursday's interview with Clement.

"First and foremost, Charlie had a wife and children. And that's the most important thing right now. They need the support. I've had family members that know Charlie, they've met him through the years. We've crossed the line here in the country. Every life is valuable and has value. But we have definitely crossed the line and it's just so sad that today you cannot express an opinion without being attacked and that's kind of what happened here and it's extremely sad and it hurts to have some local, state and federal elected officials and other people, citizens that have to say their rhetoric. It's kind of sickening. Yeah, it's just a very unfortunate situation"

Joliet Patch asked Clement for his insight on the events surrounding Kirk's shooting,

"He started in the colleges and was debating and talking to our youth in college about things going on in the country and we've come to this point where you can't have a conversation anymore, right?" Clement asked. "It comes to assassination. I'm not an expert, right, I believe this is a professional hit. It's just very unfortunate but my heart goes out to his wife and kids and it's nice to see a lot of professional athletes and singers and just your average day people coming together in support of his cause. Again, we can't have a normal conversation anymore, right? It comes to this violence."

Patch asked Clement to talk more about why he feels Kirk's murder may have been a professional hit, noting his long-standing career with Joliet police as a detective.

"You know, my brothers and sisters have seen the worst and the best of people," Clement responded. "And I'm no expert, right, but it does not take a rocket scientist to figure out this was not some guy standing there 8-feet away. This is much more than that. I think people are trying to silence the movement, right? And I just wish we could all get along and I think we're beyond that, I don't know, no one here after this incident is going to start rioting or going on the Capitol Hill steps and starting to riot or smashing buildings, that's not what this movement's about.

"I think this woke a lot of people up. And again I'm going to reiterate, every life has value. I just don't understand where we're at today. This did not go on when I was a young man, when I was a boy and we've crossed that line."

Joliet Patch asked Clement to offer any final remarks as a Joliet elected official and a long-time member of the Joliet Police Department.

"I just think we really need to become united. We need to get together and we need to stop this violence and this hateful rhetoric. They want to blame the right, they want to blame the left, I don't know where we're at but we're not in a good place right now. We all need to find God, we all need to pray, pray for the Kirk family."