U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton expected pushback when he joined some of his fellow Democrats to vote against a resolution last month honoring the slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Moulton, D-6th District, told a television interviewer in Boston on Sunday that not only did he receive his death threats, but his young children were targeted as well.
“I got death threats because of my position on Charlie Kirk and not just to me, but to my kids, which is just unbelievable,” the Salem lawmaker said during an appearance on WBZ-TV’s “Keller@Large” program.
“And I’ve gotten death threats before in this job and gotten more than threats when I was serving in the Marines,” Moulton continued. “But the idea that right-wing MAGA Republicans would go after my kids for taking a position on this is pretty despicable.”
“But you know what? I’d rather get the death threats than violate my principles,” he said.
While Democrats condemned Kirk’s killing during an event in Utah in September, many said they did not support his sometimes inflammatory rhetoric.
Speaking to Keller on Sunday, Moulton, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in 2026, said much the same.
“So the Charlie Kirk resolution was not only saying political violence is bad, but if you read the resolution, it was also venerating Charlie to be someone that he really wasn’t; he was not someone that united the country when he was actually very divisive, someone who was really principled when, actually, he said things that were, in my opinion, downright racist,” he said.
Moulton’s comments came in response to a question from Keller on how he would act differently from veteran U.S. Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., whom he is challenging in 2026.
“And so I was one of [the] few Democrats to vote against that resolution when Democratic leadership told us, just go along to get along, move this along, get it out of the way,” Moulton continued. “And, so, most Democrats in the House did what leadership said and just supported this Republican resolution, even though I think it was unprincipled.”
- Read More: Moulton’s moment? Race against Markey is a generational test for Dems | Bay State Briefing
The Kirk resolution passed on a 310-58 vote on Sept. 19, with 38 lawmakers voting “present.” In all, 95 Democrats voted in favor of the resolution, according to an official House roll call.
Moulton was joined in his opposition by U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-7th District.
The remaining seven members of the Bay State’s all-Democrat U.S. House delegation voted in favor of the language sponsored by U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., the roll call showed.
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