CHARLIE Kirk’s widow has revealed tragic details of his assassination and her subsequent grief as she prepares to speak at his funeral.
Since her husband was shot and killed at a student debate event at Utah Valley University on September 10, Erika has worn the blood-stained pendant torn from Kirk’s neck by medics trying to save his life.
Charlie Kirk speaks before he is shot during Turning Point’s visit to Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah[/caption]
Erika Kirk has revealed tragic details of the horrific 24 hours surrounding her husband’s assassination[/caption]
Kirk is survived by his wife and their two young children[/caption]
Speaking to The New York Times, the grief-stricken mom-of-two revealed that she continues to wear the St. Michael pendant that still has blood on it in the crevice of the cross.
“I’m allowing myself to feel this so deeply,” she said, adding that “The Lord is giving me discernment”.
On Sunday, she will be attending her husband’s memorial service at the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, accompanied by officials of the highest level including President Donald Trump.
“He was so excited,” she said of her husband who had a busy summer schedule of university tours where he would debate with students before he was assassinated.
Now, she is unable to wash the towels he last used before leaving for the debate in Utah, or go into parts of their home.
“To this day, I can’t go into my bedroom. I’m rotating where I sleep,” she said.
Just hours before the 31-year-old political activist was gunned down by suspect Tyler Robinson, 22, Erika had begged her husband to wear a bulletproof vest.
She revealed how the night before he went to Utah, they went for dinner with a friend in Phoenix where she asked him to wear a vest after receiving death threats and hiring his own security team.
Erika said their friend suggested he speak behind bulletproof glass but Kirk told them “Not yet” and that he was confident in his team and the wider campus security.
She added that Kirk had implied before to numerous people that he could be killed by violence as part of his job and that she now wonders if he had accepted that fate.
“I’m a strong believer that this was God’s plan. And it’s so clear-cut. It couldn’t be more Charlie.” she said.
Erika, who had wanted to accompany her husband, had stayed behind to care for her mother in hospital which is where she was when she heard her husband had been shot.
He was declared dead while she was onboard a chartered plane to get to him.
“I’m looking at the clouds and the mountains,” she said of her time in the plane.
Since her husband’s death, Erika has worn his blood-stained pendant and been unable to walk into the bedroom they used to share[/caption]
“It was such a gorgeous day, and I was thinking: This is exactly what he last saw.”
‘WANT TO SEE WHAT THEY DID’
Once she arrived to the hospital, the grieving widow put up a defiant fight to see her husband to give him a kiss goodbye.
The sheriff who greeted her had advised her not to go and see Kirk’s body due to the extent of the damage on his neck.
“With all due respect, I want to see what they did to my husband,” she recalled telling him.
Timeline of Charlie Kirk shooting
Conservative commentator Charlie Kirk was fatally shot in the neck while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday, September 10
Tuesday, September 9
8:29 am MDT – Shooter arrives on the Utah Valley University campus, as seen in surveillance videos.
Wednesday, September 10
11:52 am – The shooter, described as a college-age individual, arrives on campus before maneuvering onto a rooftop.
12:00 pm – Charlie Kirk is scheduled to host a debate in the UVU Fountain Courtyard.
12:10 pm – A shot is fired at Kirk from 200 yards away and hits him in the neck. The event is immediately evacuated and a man is taken into custody.
1:02 pm – President Donald Trump posts a call to pray for Kirk on Truth Social.
1:37 pm – UVU closes campus, cancels classes, and tells students to leave campus immediately.
1:50 pm – Officials confirm Kirk is in critical condition to the Associated Press.
2:40 pm – Trump confirms Kirk has died, hailing him “great, legendary” in a post on Truth Social.
4:21 pm FBI Director Kash Patel shares on X that the ‘subject for the horrific shooting’ is in custody.
4:30 pm – Utah Governor Spencer Cox, speaking at a press conference, brands Kirk’s death a ‘political assassination. Cox adds there is a ‘person of interest’ in custody and a man arrested earlier has been released.
7:59 pm – Patel, the FBI director, confirmed a second subject taken into custody in connection with Kirk’s shooting was released after being interrogated by law enforcement.
Thursday, September 11
7:15 am – Officials hold a press conference where they announce they have “good video” of the suspect and they recovered the “high-action bolt rifle” in the nearby woods.
9:55 am – Visuals of the suspect are released as officials ask for the public’s help in identifying the individual in the photos.
10:44 am – FBI offers a $100,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of anyone involved in Kirk’s assassination.
10:00 pm – Tyler Robinson is arrested on Thursday night in St. George, Utah, after his dad turned him in. He’s booked into the Utah County Jail.
Friday, September 12
6:00 am – Trump announces a suspect was in custody during an appearance on Fox & Friends. “I think, with a high degree of certainty, we have him,” the president said.
7:30 am – A press conference is held with FBI and Utah government officials, including Cox and Patel, where the Utah governor confirmed, “We got him.” The suspect is identified as 22-year-old Tyler Robinson from Utah.
“His eyes were semi-open, and he had this knowing, Mona Lisa-like half-smile. Like he’d died happy,” she said of her husband.
“Like Jesus rescued him. The bullet came, he blinked, and he was in heaven.”
His suspected killer Robinson, who was turned in to cops by his father, appeared in court for the first time this week.
He was formally charged with aggravated murder and other felonies as prosecutors demanded the death penalty if he is found guilty.
But Erika says that in her fight for justice over her husband’s assassination, she will not have Robinson’s blood on her hands.
“I’ve had so many people ask, ‘Do you feel anger toward this man? Like, do you want to seek the death penalty?’” she said.
“I’ll be honest. I told our lawyer, I want the government to decide this.
“I do not want that man’s blood on my ledger.
“Because when I get to heaven, and Jesus is like: ‘Uh, eye for an eye? Is that how we do it?’ And that keeps me from being in heaven, from being with Charlie?”
Donald Trump has been a huge support to Erika as she said Charlie ‘was like a son to him’[/caption]
Kirk’s memorial service begins at 11 am MST in Arizona on Sunday[/caption]
‘LIKE A SON’
As she prepares to attend the funeral on Sunday which is expected to be attended by thousands and has been likened to the State of the Union, Erika has praised Trump for his support.
After being unanimously named as Kirk’s replacement as Turning Point CEO, Erika is looking to the President for guidance.
“Charlie was like a son to him,” she said.
“When the president said, ‘Just let us know how we can support you,’ I told him, ‘My husband just loved conversing with you and using you as a sounding board for all sorts of things. Could we continue that?’ And he said, ‘Of course.’”
She added that the President has phoned her twice since her husband was killed and that he was “soft and embracing”.
Charlie is survived by Erika and their two children, a three-year-old daughter and a one-year-old son.
The U.S. Sun is livestreaming the memorial service or you can follow along with live blog updates.
Charlie Kirk’s rise to hero of the youth MAGA movement
CHARLIE Kirk transformed conservative youth activism from a marginal movement into a powerful force before his assassination on a college campus at 31.
Kirk was an American conservative political activist, author, and media personality who rose to prominence as the co-founder of Turning Point USA (TPUSA).
He launched the organization in 2012 when he was just 18 years old, with the goal of promoting conservative principles to high school and college students and became a significant figure in American politics by building a massive grassroots network, framing himself as a “culture warrior.”
The rise of Turning Point USA
Turning Point USA’s mission was to counter what Kirk and his allies saw as liberal dominance on American college campuses.
It quickly grew to prominence through his use of provocative activism and viral social media campaigns.
They created watchlists of professors pushing leftist propaganda and organized events to debate students on controversial topics.
The strategy helped them gain a significant following and financial backing from wealthy conservative donors.
Kirk’s ability to connect with a new generation of conservatives was one of his most notable impacts.
He cultivated a style of political engagement that was heavily reliant on social media, podcasts, and confrontational public appearances.
His organization’s events, such as the annual Student Action Summit, drew thousands of young attendees and featured prominent conservative speakers, creating a new kind of political ecosystem for young people who felt alienated from traditional conservative groups.
A key ally of Donald Trump
Kirk also became a staunch supporter and ally of President Donald Trump.
He was the youngest speaker at the 2016 Republican National Convention and served as an aide to Donald Trump Jr. during the presidential campaign.
This relationship solidified his position within the Republican Party’s “MAGA” (Make America Great Again) wing, and his organization became an integral part of Trump’s political apparatus.
Through his popular podcast, “The Charlie Kirk Show,” and his frequent appearances on conservative media, Kirk was a powerful voice in the pro-Trump movement.
He often framed political issues as a “spiritual battle” between good and evil and championed a pugnacious, populist form of conservatism.
His influence was so significant that after Trump’s 2024 victory, Kirk was credited with helping to mobilize younger voters for the campaign.
Influence on culture and social issues
Beyond traditional politics, Kirk’s influence extended deeply into social and cultural issues.
He was a vocal opponent of “woke” ideology, particularly in education and media.
He promoted traditional values, often encouraging young women to prioritize becoming homemakers and mothers over professional careers.
Kirk also openly criticized programs related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).
He was also a major proponent of Christian nationalism, arguing that there is no true separation of church and state in the United States.
The Turning Point Empire
Kirk’s activism led to the expansion of the Turning Point brand into a larger political and media empire.
He launched Turning Point Action, a political advocacy group focused on voter mobilization, and Turning Point Faith, aimed at engaging evangelical Christian communities in conservative politics.
These affiliated organizations allowed him to broaden his reach and influence beyond college campuses, into a more mainstream political force.
