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Charlie Kirk, the conservative political activist and co-founder of Turning Point USA, was killed today after being shot at an event at Utah Valley University, President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Kirk was 31.
Arizonans mourn Turning Point USA Founder Charlie Kirk outside of the Turning Point USA headquarters in Phoenix, on Wednesday.Rebecca Noble/Getty Images
About his rise in conservative activism: As Trump remade the Republican Party, Kirk embodied the party’s newfound populist conservatism in the social media age. Kirk’s involvement began in the wake of the tea party movement and grew with Trump’s ascendance. Having co-founded Turning Point in 2012 at the age of 18, Kirk was a prominent supporter of Trump who courted young voters and used his network of nonprofits to seek to turn out voters on campuses and churches for Trump in 2024.
The Utah event was part of a tour: Kirk frequently traveled to college campuses, speaking and taking questions from audience members in exchanges that often led to viral videos. Kirk’s appearance at Utah Valley University today was the first of a 14-city fall American Comeback Tour, which had Kirk’s signature “Prove Me Wrong Table,” where Kirk would urge those who disagreed with him to debate an issue.
The moment of shooting: Kirk was answering a question at the event when a single pop was heard. Video taken by attendees shows the crowd screaming as Kirk recoils in his seat and appears to reach for his neck.
The president and dozens of other Kirk allies – as well as Democrats who had sharp disagreements with him – posted well-wishes and calls for prayer online.
Kirk, an Illinois native, married Erika Frantzve in 2021. The couple had two young children.
What Charlie Kirk said on X the night before he was killed
The night before he died, Charlie Kirk posted a photo on X of Iryna Zarutska, the Ukrainian refugee who was stabbed to death on a Charlotte light rail train.
“America will never be the same,” he captioned the image, showing Zarutska curled up in her seat and looking up at her attacker immediately after she was stabbed.
The next day, Kirk posted video commentary and pieces of video from the attack.
The suspect now faces a federal charge.
CNN
