The nation continues to reel in grief and anger following the cold-blooded assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk.

On the anniversary of 9/11, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard released a powerful statement honoring Kirk's life and calling out the evil behind his murder.

She made it clear that Kirk's murder was no random act of violence. It was a calculated attempt to silence his voice, intimidate others, and terrorize the American people into submission.

Gabbard tied Kirk's assassination to the same twisted ideology that motivated the 9/11 hijackers.

She noted that whether it is Islamist terrorists or the radical left-wing fanatics who cheer assassination attempts on conservatives, they share the same cowardice: an utter fear of open debate.

She then blasted MSNBC and other far-left outlets for their immediate reaction, which she said essentially excused the assassination.

Read her statement below:

"Charlie Kirk was truly one of a kind. A kind, loving, and courageous soul who lived what he preached. His view that our political, social, and spiritual differences should be debated freely and respectfully was something he put into practice every day — a living embodiment of the vision our founders had for our country.

The person who shot Charlie Kirk sought to silence him, using violence to take away his freedom of speech by ending his life and to terrorize those who think like Charlie into silence. This evil act is the very definition of terrorism: an unlawful use of violence and intimidation in the pursuit of political or "religious" aims.

Today, on the anniversary of 9/11, we recognize that whether it's Islamists like al-Qaeda, or the fanatics who try to stop Charlie Kirk and others from speaking the truth by banning them from campuses and ultimately by assassination, the one thing they have in common is that they are so afraid that their arguments, views, and policies will not stand when challenged in free and open debate, that they resort to violence — not only to silence the people they want to shut up but to terrorize everyone else into silence.