In the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, another chilling episode has thrust the poisonous intersection of political rhetoric and real-world violence into the spotlight.
Conservative commentator Benny Johnson — a close friend of Kirk and founder of TPUSA Productions — revealed that he and his family were targeted by a mailed communication that graphically fantasized about his murder. The Department of Justice has since arrested and charged a California man, identified as George Russell Isbell Jr., in connection with the threat.
🚨 JUST IN: Benny Johnson says the leftist man who wanted to KILL HIM explicitly said why - and now Democrats are nominating a candidate in Virginia who wants to do the SAME THING
"I am a white, cis, Christian Trump supporter. They described I'd be killed in an open field, how… pic.twitter.com/834aqXu10S
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) October 10, 2025
Johnson, flanked by former Attorney General Pam Bondi at a Friday press conference, described the note’s grotesque specificity: a vivid imagining of him being killed “in an open field,” a description of blood and dismemberment, and a gloating celebration of the prospect of his wife widowed and his four young children orphaned. The timing — the letter arrived roughly eight days after Kirk’s killing — deepened the sense that this was not idle provocation but a deliberate attempt to terrorize.
The suspect’s alleged motive, Johnson said, was rooted in identity: “white, male, Christian, Trump supporter.” That framing turned the incident into more than a personal attack; it became a political lens through which Johnson pressed Democrats to confront the consequences of mainstreaming violent rhetoric.
He pointed to recently surfaced texts from Virginia Democratic attorney general candidate Jay Jones — messages that purportedly fantasized about murdering political opponents, killing their children, and desecrating graves — and asked why so few Democrats have demanded accountability or a withdrawal from the race.
Hey @CAgovernor - the man who threatened to kill my husband, @bennyjohnson, and harm my 4 small children is a resident of your state. Are you going to disavow him?
Or is this ok with you @GavinNewsom ?
— Nursekate (@Nursekatejohn) October 11, 2025
Johnson’s plea was blunt: violence, once confined to the margins and labeled “extremist,” has seeped into mainstream political discourse. He demanded a reckoning — a clear disavowal from Democratic leaders who, he argued, have tolerated or downplayed similar language from within their ranks. His wife, Kate Johnson, publicly called on California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, to condemn the man accused of threatening her family, noting the suspect’s residency in that state.
The Department of Justice’s account of the letter is harrowing: explicit wishes for Johnson’s head to be blown off, a sick relish in splattered blood, and a direct reference to Charlie Kirk. The suspect, Isbell, now faces federal charges that could carry up to five years in prison.
