Charlie Kirk, the conservative activist and Turning Point USA co-founder who helped mobilize the youth vote for Donald Trump, has died Wednesday after being shot during a college event in Utah, Trump announced on Truth Social. Kirk was 31.
“The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead,” Trump wrote on Wednesday afternoon. “No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!”
Andrew Kolvet, a spokesman for Kirk, confirmed his death to The New York Times.
Kirk was attacked at about 12:10 p.m. while speaking with Utah Valley University students on his “American Comeback Tour.” A bullet penetrated his neck as he was answering a student’s question about mass shooters. He was immediately rushed to the hospital by his security. Graphic videos of the shooting circulated on social media as Republicans and Democrats shared prayers for Kirk on social media.
An initial suspect was put in handcuffs but later released, as police continue to look for the shooter. The FBI has launched an investigation alongside local law enforcement agencies.
Born in the Chicago suburbs, Kirk was a right-wing media personality and the CEO of Turning Point Action, a nonprofit political advocacy group that helped elect Trump to his second term. Connecting religious leaders with local politics, Kirk founded the spinoff organization Turning Point Faith, and he also developed Turning Point Academy with the mission of “reviving virtuous education.”
Kirk was perhaps best known for his viral “Prove Me Wrong” videos, in which he set up a table on college campuses and welcomed students to debate him on select topics. On his radio program, “The Charlie Kirk Show,” he endorsed conservative cultural viewpoints and often railed against liberal beliefs relating to climate change, critical race theory and gun control.
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Kirk often sparked controversy for his viewpoints. He opposed gay marriage and advocated against mask mandates during the pandemic. Following Trump’s loss in 2020, he propagated disproven claims about election fraud.
In the lead-up to Trump’s reelection in 2024, Kirk became one of the most recognizable faces in the MAGA movement and one of the key operators in the effort to swing the youth vote red. His prominence in modern political culture is epitomized by a recent parody of his “Prove Me Wrong” concept on “South Park.”
Kirk’s success in reaching young voters online and promoting conservative beliefs and values at universities was acknowledged by Democrats who wished to replicate Turning Point’s influence on the left. “I’ve got to admire what you’ve been able to do, not to weaponize, but to organize on these college campuses a different point of view,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom told Kirk in the inaugural episode of his podcast earlier this year. The governor, one of the leading Democratic figures in the fight against Trump, denounced the Sept. 10 attack against Kirk as “disgusting, vile, and reprehensible” on social media, adding, “In the United States of America, we must reject political violence in EVERY form.” The nation’s top political figures including JD Vance, Kamala Harris, Bernie Sanders and more also condemned the assassination.
Kirk is survived by his wife Erika Frantzve and their two children.
From Variety US