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Brandon Straka, the founder of the #WalkAway campaign, made an announcement, reporting that his elder brother Tony died by suicide that weekend. Straka startedout by revealing in a deeply personal narrative about Tony’s decades-long torment of mental-health issues coupled with childhood traumas, meanwhile contrasted that with his viewpoint of a family pattern of silent suffering. This announcement struck a stinging chord of sympathy, and the audience all began to remark on their own losses.
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With his followers, founder Brandon Straka shared the tragic news that his brother Tony died by suicide during the weekend. The fellow political activist and commentator paid his respects in a heartfelt post, painterly describing Tony as a man of a “big heart” with “gigantic” humor but who for his entire life was chased by “enormous demons.”
Straka revealed that Tony was a blood cousin but got adopted into his family at the age of 13 out from a background of “abuse, violence, and abandonment.” His parents would often find young Tony “hiding in the storage room in the middle of the night.” Early trauma, in Straka’s view, was an open wound never completely healed. He wrote of his family as one in which generations “hide their feelings, keep secrets, and suffer in silence,” which is a system that he himself wanted to rebel against. He then developed this urge to “speak out and tell the truth.”
Included was an early photograph of young Brandon sitting on the lap of his elder brother. Straka continued that he regarded Tony as a big man-well, bigger than most would probably imagine-very intimidating in his presence with an equally huge personality; he loved his wife and four kids very much; his brother was not of sound mind when he died, and Straka directly addressed his brother in the post: “We know you didn’t mean to do this. We know it was an accident. We all forgive you.”
He dubbed his realization ironic: he had highlighted it on NewsMax the day before along with the death of commentator Charlie Kirk in order to avoid grieving for the man “who grew up downstairs from me.” He ended his message with: “Thank you for your jokes, for your strength, for your love. Be at peace now. Thank you for being my big brother.”
Amid the immediate sorrow and solidarity, hundreds of comments appeared expressing condolences and related experiences. One commenter Cyndi said: “God bless you. I can so relate to this. My family has a lot of trauma. I am like you. I worked very hard to heal my trauma. Sending love and prayers.” The common thread of shared experiences brought to light the damaging consequences that the mental health crisis has had on countless families.
Another comment came from a user named New Golden Age Dawns, who expressed a somber reflection that resonated with many: “It’s a terrible feeling to be left this way. I don’t know what this says about the world we live in; there is not a single person I know who has been untouched by this type of loss. All we can do is keep going, and doing our best. Please remember you are not alone.” The comment about just how widespread and accepted this sort of loss by suicide really is struck a chord and transformed the manner of expressions from simple condolences into a broader cultural discussion.
The next comment turned into accusations of a possible link with the possible use of Ambien by Tony as a sleep aid. The very same commenter then talked about faith: “Catholicism solves nothing, only Jesus can.” This instigated a brief discussion among other commenters about what constitutes an appropriate response during times such as these. One commenter retaliated that “It is cold hearted to allow someone to continue to suffer when he has a way to stop the suffering,” others implied that the comments were heartless.
This weekend my brother Tony shot and killed himself.
He had 4 grown children and a wife whom he loved more than anything, and his family meant the world to him.
It’s unlikely that we’ll ever get an explanation that makes any sense, because he would never have done something… pic.twitter.com/4oweAsq05f
— Brandon Straka #WalkAway (@BrandonStraka) September 22, 2025
Despite the heartbreak, many rallied behind Straka to encourage the continuation of the #WalkAway campaign: “You have a gift to share with the world, Brandon. I identify wholly with your need to be the truth in a family of chaos.” This encouragement balanced with Straka’s own ending words in his post, where he said, “I will continue to work, without pause. Because it’s what I do.”
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Brandon Straka’s public mourning of his brother Tony stands as an emblematic reminder of the private battles behind public personas. In openly spoken words about suicide, trauma, and family silence, he broke the circle he described. The huge response shows that there is a collective understanding of the pain of these issues and allows space for joining in mourning as well as engaging in difficult but important discussions. The story of loss has parallels in the music world, such as when Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath experienced profound grief.
This story originally appeared on Celebrityinsider
