ELKINS — Del. Elias Coop-Gonzalez (R-Randolph, 67) on Monday criticized Del. Anitra L. Hamilton (D-81) for her social media posts about murdered conservative activist Charlie Kirk, calling her remarks “callous,” “reckless” and “unacceptable.”
“Rather than swiftly condemning the horrific murder of Charlie Kirk, my colleague, Delegate Anitra Hamilton, chose to justify it,” Coop-Gonzalez told Mountaineer Journal. “She went further, using it as a platform to label her political opponents as racist.”
Hamilton, who represents District 81 in Monongalia County, posted on Facebook less than a day after Kirk’s assassination at Utah Valley University. In her comments, she accused Kirk of “spewing hatred and racism” and compared his activism to the recent stabbing of a Ukrainian refugee on a Charlotte light rail train.
Coop-Gonzalez said Hamilton’s response crossed a dangerous line.
“This is not only callous and heartless, but also reckless,” he said. “This kind of rhetoric is of the same substance that got Charlie murdered.”
He added that Hamilton’s words dehumanized her political opponents instead of engaging in constructive dialogue.
“When you refuse to engage in good faith conversations and instead dehumanize people for their opinions, you have not only failed as an elected leader, but also as an American,” Coop-Gonzalez said. “I call on Delegate Hamilton to issue a full apology to Charlie’s family and to her constituents. This behavior is unacceptable.”
Kirk, 31, was a nationally recognized conservative activist and founder of Turning Point USA. He was shot and killed Wednesday during a campus event in Utah. Gov. Spencer Cox called the killing a political assassination. The suspect is in FBI custody.
Hamilton, elected to the House of Delegates in 2024, has faced mounting criticism from state Republicans, including Rep. Riley Moore, Sen. Chris Rose, and Sen. Brian Helton, who have all urged her to retract her statements.
