Shapiro to speak about political violence at Pittsburgh summit

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is scheduled to speak about political violence at Tuesday’s Eradicate Hate Global Summit in Downtown Pittsburgh, less than a week after a gunman assassinated conservative influencer Charlie Kirk.

Shapiro, a Jewish Democrat, survived a violent attack in April. He and his family had been sleeping inside the governor’s residence on the first night of Passover when, authorities said, an intruder firebombed the home in an arson attack.

No one was injured in the attack, but the fire caused significant damage. The 38-year-old suspect is awaiting trial on charges including attempted homicide, terrorism and arson.

During Tuesday’s summit at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, Shapiro will be introduced by former Gov. Tom Corbett, a Republican. Summit organizers said Shapiro is scheduled to speak for about 25 minutes.

Shapiro’s office said the governor will talk about “the importance of speaking and acting with moral clarity in the face of the rising hate and political violence we are seeing across the country.”

That echoes the message Shapiro has been delivering in public remarks and social media posts since shortly after last Wednesday’s shooting of Kirk.

“There is no place for this type of political violence in our country — and it has to stop,” Shapiro said in an X post a day after the deadly shooting. “This violence is leaving scars on all of us, whether they’re physical or emotional. I can attest to that. We need words of healing right now. Not words of vengeance. This moment demands moral clarity and calls for healing, peace, and prayer. That’s what we need right now.”

Several leading experts on the topic told TribLive last week that this latest era of political violence is the nation’s worst since the turbulent 1960s, and has been marked by attacks on people across the political and ideological spectrum.