Upper Gwynedd resident calls out commissioner over Charlie Kirk comments

A national conversation about political debate and free speech has reached Upper Gwynedd.

“Tonight, I want to speak about the local reaction to Charlie Kirk’s murder — in particular, two Democrats’ reaction to Charlie Kirk’s murder,” said resident Carl Smith.

“You both are elected officials in Montgomery County, with responsibilities to those who you represent and govern,” he said.

During his public comments at the start of Upper Gwynedd’s commissioners meeting on Tuesday night, Smith addressed reactions by two local officials, first citing Ambler tax collector Jennifer Stomsky, whose Facebook posts drew condemnation from county and local officials and calls for her to resign from that post, then discussing comments attributed to township commissioner Denise Hull.

Kirk, an activist and speaker who founded Arizona-based Turning Point USA and brought young, conservative evangelical Christians into politics, was killed on Sept. 10 while speaking at Utah Valley University during one of his many campus stops. Suspected shooter Tyler James Robinson, 22, was arrested two days later after turning himself in at the county sheriff’s office and faced a long list of state charges announced Tuesday.

A vigil in memory of Kirk drew roughly a thousand area residents to nearby North Wales on Sunday, the same night a memorial for Kirk was held at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C.

“Charlie Kirk was a man who believed in dialogue, debate, and open conversation,” Smith said.

“Your vile words are an insight to your core. Charlie Kirk’s core consisted of believing in the Bible, and the Constitution. He proudly and boldly went around openly talking about the tenets that made up his belief structure: he talked about God, family, and country. I have a hard time finding why that’s a problem,” Smith said.

The North Penn area is no stranger to controversies stoked by social media: in June 2020 then-North Penn School district administrator Ashley Bennett was put on leave and subsequently resigned after a Facebook post of copied text questioning the “Black Lives Matter” movement and related summer protests and violence, and subsequently sued the district, with both parties reaching a settlement in 2022.

Earlier this year, then-supervisor Laura Smith faced a similar uproar in neighboring Towamencin Township after a viral Tiktok video imitating a gesture made by Elon Musk during an inauguration rally; she resigned at a special public meeting days after the video went viral.

After citing the Stomsky reaction, Smith continued with reaction to what he said was Hull posting her “opinion on social media.”

First elected in 2017, reelected in 2021, and on the ballot this November, Hull was the board’s president from 2022 to ’24 and has helped push for more interaction with and input from residents, including regular public office hours, surveys and feedback from residents on ongoing plans and projects, a new teen park board committee, and an annual Unity for Kindness day at the township municipal complex.

During the meeting, Smith read quotes from a text he claimed was posted by Hull on her personal Facebook page in the aftermath of the shooting, and subsequently deleted but shared with The Reporter in screenshots. That text, under a disclaimer reading “(Copied),” discusses Kirk and his actions founding Turning Point before questioning what the shooting meant.

“‘Charlie Kirk’s death is not a vindication. It’s a warning. It’s a reminder that words have consequences, that violence begets violence,'” Smith read; the remainder of the quote reads “and that a country which allows hatred and firearms to intermingle unchecked will continue to bury its own. If we are ever to break free from this cycle, it will not be by lowering flags or holding moments of silence alone. It will be by choosing, finally, to value human dignity more than the applause lines that come from tearing it apart,” reads the text.

“So, suggesting that Charlie Kirk was in some way violent, when in fact nothing could be further from the truth,” Smith said.

“But even if you find it a problem, in our Constitutional way of governing, he had every right to say those things. The same right that you have on the left, have to say what you have to say, and embrace whatever religion you think is relevant,” he said.

He then questioned whether the comments illustrate a deeper difference, between those who believe in random chance or a higher power.

“You politicize the weather, you call it global warming or manmade climate change. You talk about, in our mind murder in the womb, as a right.  All these are an affront to a lot of us on the Right, but you have the right to say these things, given our government,” Smith said.

“What you don’t have the right to do, is demand how we think, or how we believe. And you certainly don’t have the right, like you’ve been trying to do recently, of chilling our speech in the public square by calling, what we say as dissent, ‘hateful rhetoric’ or ‘violent rhetoric.’ You have a problem with violence yourself, on the Left,” he said.

Smith then cited the shooting of Republican lawmakers in 2017 and the attack on Republican Senator Rand Paul and the two attempted assassinations of then-candidate Donald Trump last year as examples, before naming more recent cases.

“Recently, a demonic transgender maniac went in and murdered Catholic children in a private school mass. And now we’ve got Charlie Kirk, who we’re being told by many of you on the Left got what he deserved,” Smith said.

“Locally, we’re inundated with godless platitudes, and cliches like ‘Hate has no home here.’ Well let me tell you something: hate does have a home here. In fact, it has a mansion right here in Democratic, blue Montgomery County,” he said.

Smith’s remarks were the only public comments made during the meeting. Hull did not respond to the comment, and declined to comment afterwards; later in the meeting she reported on the township’s Fire Prevention Week planned for Oct. 5-11, thanked the two fire companies that cover Upper Gwynedd, and introduced a motion commemorating that week, which the board approved unanimously.

In a joint statement posted late Tuesday night, all three Montgomery County Commissioners addressed the ongoing discussion, calling for calm:

“As the bipartisan board of Montgomery County Commissioners, we serve every resident. Our responsibility goes beyond politics. Whether repairing roads and bridges, supporting small businesses, or ensuring families have access to healthy food, our work is rooted in one shared goal: strengthening our community.

“We are able to do this because we work as a team. We may not always agree, but we choose respect, collaboration, and common ground. We preserve our democracy by engaging in respectful debate and recognizing the dignity of every person—no matter who they are, how they worship, who they love, or what they believe.

“That’s why we stand together in condemning hate, division, and violence in all forms. There is no place for them in Montgomery County or in our democracy.

“This is a moment to lower the temperature. We call on every resident to lead with respect, to disagree without tearing one another down, and to find paths forward even when it’s difficult. By honoring our shared values, we make Montgomery County—and America—stronger, safer, and more united.”

Upper Gwynedd’s commissioners next meet at 7 p.m. on Oct. 6 at the township administration building, 1 Parkside Place. For more information visit www.UpperGwynedd.org.

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