Youth leader and Trump ally Charlie Kirk assassinated
During an event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday, Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist and admirer of US President Donald Trump, was shot and killed while fielding questions on gun violence. In a statement confirming his passing, Trump remarked, “The great, and even legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead.” No one grasped or embodied the spirit of the youth in the USA quite like Charlie. “He was loved and admired by all, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us.” In a post on Truth Social, Trump declared that all American flags across the United States would be flown at half-mast until Sunday at 6 pm in honor of Kirk.
Kirk, the founder and president of ‘Turning Point USA’, played a significant role in America’s cultural and ideological conflicts, presenting a steadfast and unapologetic viewpoint grounded in his conservative and freedom-oriented beliefs. He garnered a significant following nationwide and was an advocate for President Donald Trump. Kirk boasts a social media following that surpasses 14 million, allowing him to reach over 150 million individuals each month. He served as the host of ‘The Charlie Kirk Show’ podcast as well as the daily radio program on the Salem Radio Network. The Charlie Kirk Show garnered significant popularity among the public, frequently securing a place in the top-10 news shows on Apple podcast news charts. In 2023, the show achieved over 130 million downloads.
Kirk had made appearances on Fox News, FOX Business News, and CNBC over a thousand times at a young age. He served as a columnist at Newsweek. Kirk was recognized in the Forbes ‘30 under 30’ list, while Axios identified Charlie as one of the “top 10 most engaged” Twitter handles globally. He held the distinction of being the youngest speaker at the 2016 Republican National Convention. He had written three books, including The MAGA Doctrine: The Only Ideas that Will Win the Future, published by Broadside Books and a New York Times and Amazon bestseller. The remaining two titles are: Campus Battlefield and The College Scam: How America’s Universities Are Bankrupting and Brainwashing Away The Future Of America’s Youth. In 2020, Charlie took the helm of Students for Trump, successfully mobilizing thousands of new college voters.
In the wake of his passing, images of Kirk with his family began to circulate widely on social media, as numerous supporters shared heartfelt pictures and videos capturing their moments together. In several images, Kirk was seen embracing his family, and in one video, his daughter joyfully ran into his arms. Kirk leaves behind his wife, Erika Frantzve, a real estate agent in New York City, along with their two children – a son and a daughter. Just moments prior to his passing, Kirk was fielding inquiries regarding gun violence. Kirk was responding to the inquiry, “Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years?” when a single shot was fired, targeting his neck.
Kirk advocated for stronger families and the deployment of armed guards at schools to reduce such incidents. Turning Point USA is a national student movement focused on identifying, organizing, and empowering young individuals to advocate for the principles of free markets and limited government. As one of America’s fastest-growing conservative youth activist organizations, the platform boasts a presence on more than 3,500 high school and college campuses, with over 250,000 student members and a workforce of over 450 full and part-time staff nationwide.
