The President of the Oxford Union has apologised to Charlie Kirk’s family for comments he made that appeared to celebrate death.
George Abaraonye said in a Union WhatsApp group ‘Charlie got shot, let’s f***ing go’ shortly after Kirk, a far-right American activist, was killed in September.
He also sent a message on Instagram that read: ‘Charlie Kirk got shot loool’.
The pair had debated at the Oxford Union in May and in a fiery showdown they discussed marriage, abortion, and masculinity.
Just four months later, Kirk was shot dead while he was on stage speaking at a campus event at Utah Valley University, US.
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The suspect, Tyler Robinson, 22, is being held at Utah jail.
Oxford Union was quick to distance the society from Abaraonye’s statements. They said it ‘unequivocally condemn the reported words and sentiments expressed by the President-Elect’.
Abaraonye, 20, who was studying philosophy, politics and economics at the Oxbridge institution, was ousted from the Union after receiving a vote of no confidence.
He told The Times that he had commented on Kirk’s death before he saw footage of the shooting and had ‘very little context for what [he] was reacting to’.
He added: ‘As soon as I saw how serious it was, I went on Instagram to apologise.’
Addressing Kirk’s family, Abaraonye apologised to Kirk’s two children and widow.
He said: ‘I want to offer my apologies and my condolences. No one deserves to lose a husband, no child deserves to grow up without a father. I hope that they are able, in some capacity, to move on from what was a tragic event and to that end, I am very sorry.
‘I reacted without nuance and without having done research. I saw a headline and I reacted. I didn’t take into account the nuance or consider that at all when I made the comments.’
The Oxford pupil was subject to online abuse after his comments about the Turning Point USA founder made headlines and was condemned by Piers Morgan and Elon Musk.
He was sent racist messages that described him as ‘subhuman scum’ and that he should be ‘deported’ and ‘shot’ that led him to feel ‘really scared’. This contributed to a mental breakdown.
He said he felt like he was under heavy scrutiny for a young student who was still learning and developing at university and not immune to making mistakes.
He told The Times: ‘The title of the president-elect of the Oxford Union holds grandeur, but that president-elect of the Oxford Union is still just a 20-year-old student at university.’
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