Liberal CNN contributor Van Jones is praising Charlie Kirk for reaching out to him to have a civil debate one day before his assassination."The day before he was horrifically murdered, Charlie Kirk sent me a direct message on X. He and I had been sparring publicly over thekilling of a Ukrainian refugee and its relationship to race," Jones wrote in an op-ed for CNN.com about the slain conservative activist.Jones explained that Kirk held a position that the killing of a White woman by a Black man was motivated by anti-White hatred. Jones disagreed with that sentiment, saying on CNN that such a position was "unfounded.""He went on TV and denounced MY denunciation. Then he unleashed a firehose of tweets, challenging my argument," Jones said.DANA WHITE 'BLOWN AWAY' BY CHARLIE KIRK'S ASSASSINATION, SAYS DAUGHTER IS 'DESTROYED'Jones criticisms of Kirks argument prompted "racist threats" against him, which he claimed was to the extent to which he had never seen before.As opposed to the behavior Jones witnessed from others who flung threats at him, Kirk invited the former Obama official on his show to have a discussion."Hey, Van, I mean it, Id love to have you on my show to have a respectful conversation about crime and race. I would be a gentleman as I know you would be as well. We can disagree about the issues agreeably.""Unfortunately, before I could even respond, Charlie Kirk was killed seemingly assassinated for the words hes spoken, though the killers exact motives are still being investigated," Jones wrote.Kirk's memorial service on Sunday drew a massive crowd at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.JD VANCE DECLARES THERE IS 'NO UNITY' WITH PEOPLE WHO CELEBRATE CHARLIE KIRK'S ASSASSINATIONJones further praised Kirks motives when debating students on college campuses and seeking out debates with progressives in a civil way."For all our differences, neither Charlie nor I ever wanted to see the other person harmed or silenced," Jones said.He added, "To the contrary: I would have wanted to beat Charlie Kirk intellectually by out-debating him. I would have wanted to see progressives beat him politically by out-organizing him."Jones condemned political violence in a tweet he posted shortly after Kirk was shot.FOLLOWING KIRKS ASSASSINATION, LAWMAKERS REACT TO LETHAL POLITICAL CLIMATE: 'VIOLENT WORDS PRECEDE VIOLENT ACTIONS'"Todays attack on Charlie Kirk is absolutely horrifying and heartbreaking. He fought with words, not weapons. There is no place for political violence in our society and those responsible must be swiftly brought to justice. My prayers are with Charlies loved ones, the traumatized students at Utah Valley University and all who have been impacted by this senseless act.""Political murder is wrong, period. I was born in 1968 into a country being torn apart by riots and assassinations. I dont want to go back to that. None of us should," Jones wrote.