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What to know about Charlie Kirk, Trump ally and conservative activist What to know about Charlie Kirk, Trump ally and conservative activist
(about 13 hours later)
Watch: Charlie Kirk's speech from 2020 and interaction with Vance last yearWatch: Charlie Kirk's speech from 2020 and interaction with Vance last year
Charlie Kirk was one of the highest profile conservative activists and media personalities in the US and a trusted ally of President Donald Trump. Charlie Kirk was one of the highest profile conservative activists and media personalities in the US, and a trusted ally of President Donald Trump.
He was shot dead on Wednesday at the age of 31 while hosting a college event for Turning Point USA, the organisation he co-founded, in what police are calling a targeted shooting.He was shot dead on Wednesday at the age of 31 while hosting a college event for Turning Point USA, the organisation he co-founded, in what police are calling a targeted shooting.
President Donald Trump announced Kirk's stunning news, paying tribute on Truth Social: "The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead. No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie." President Donald Trump announced the shocking news of Kirk's death, paying tribute on Truth Social: "The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead. No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie."
Kirk was seen as both the future of conservative activism - as well as a highly polarising figure.
Charlie Kirk greets the crowd during the AmericaFest conference in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. in December 2024.Charlie Kirk greets the crowd during the AmericaFest conference in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. in December 2024.
Turning Point, which he started at age 18, aimed to spread conservative ideals at liberal-leaning US colleges. The event on Wednesday at Utah Valley University where he was gunned down was the kick-off of a multi-campus Turning Point tour, during which attendees were invited to debate Kirk about similar issues. Who was Charlie Kirk?
His social media and his eponymous daily podcast often offered clips of him debating with students about issues like transgender identity, climate change, faith and family values.
A clip of Trump himself plays at the beginning of Kirk's podcast: "I want to thank Charlie, he's an incredible guy, his spirit, his love of this country, he's done an amazing job building one of the most powerful youth organisations ever created."
The non-profit - a large part of his legacy - began after President Barack Obama was re-elected in 2012.
Its mission, aimed at young people, is to organize students to "promote the principles of fiscal responsibility, free markets, and limited government". It now has chapters at more than 850 colleges.
It played a key role in the get-out-the-vote effort for Trump and other Republican candidates in last year's election. The millennial was credited widely with helping to register tens of thousands of new voters and flipping Arizona for Trump.
The relationship between Kirk and Trump grew after Trump's victory, with Kirk attending Trump's inauguration in January in Washington DC, and becoming a regular visitor at the White House during both Trump terms in office.
Earlier this year, he travelled with Trump's son, Donald Trump Jr, to Greenland, as the then-incoming president was arguing that the US should own the Arctic territory.
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The son of an architect who grew up in the well-to-do Chicago suburb of Prospect Heights, Kirk attended a community college near Chicago before dropping out to devote himself to political activism.The son of an architect who grew up in the well-to-do Chicago suburb of Prospect Heights, Kirk attended a community college near Chicago before dropping out to devote himself to political activism.
He also applied unsuccessfully for West Point, the elite US military academy and often referred tongue-in-cheek to his lack of a college degree when engaging in debates with students and academics on esoteric topics such as post-modernism.He also applied unsuccessfully for West Point, the elite US military academy and often referred tongue-in-cheek to his lack of a college degree when engaging in debates with students and academics on esoteric topics such as post-modernism.
In fact, he was an avid public speaker, touring the country speaking at Republican events, many popular with members of the ultra-conservative Tea Party movement, and his daily conservative talk radio show had millions of followers on social media. Charlie Kirk fielded questions from students and community members in a signature "change-my-mind"-style forums at college campus events in the US
He was an avid public speaker, touring the country speaking at Republican events, many of which were popular with members of the ultra-conservative Tea Party movement, and his daily conservative talk radio show had millions of followers on social media.
Turning Point, which he started at age 18, aimed to spread conservative ideals at liberal-leaning US colleges.
The event on Wednesday at Utah Valley University, where he was gunned down, was the kick-off of a multi-campus Turning Point tour, during which attendees were invited to debate Kirk about similar issues.
Follow live updates
What did Charlie Kirk stand for?
Kirk's social media and his eponymous daily podcast often offered clips of him debating with students about issues like climate change, faith and family values.
He was known for his anti-transgender views and scepticism over the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2020, he publicly promoted the false claim that the election won by Joe Biden was stolen from Trump.
Gun control was among the numerous political and social issues he discussed at events and on podcasts. A few months ago, Kirk said: "It's worth it to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment".
A clip of Trump himself plays at the beginning of Kirk's podcast: "I want to thank Charlie, he's an incredible guy, his spirit, his love of this country, he's done an amazing job building one of the most powerful youth organisations ever created."
The non-profit he founded, Turning Point USA - a large part of his legacy - began after President Barack Obama was re-elected in 2012.
Its mission, aimed at young people, is to organise students to "promote the principles of fiscal responsibility, free markets, and limited government". It now has chapters at more than 850 colleges.
It played a key role in the get-out-the-vote effort for Trump and other Republican candidates in last year's election. He was also widely credited with helping to register tens of thousands of new voters and flipping Arizona for Trump.
The relationship between Kirk and Trump grew after Trump's victory, with Kirk attending Trump's inauguration in January in Washington DC, and becoming a regular visitor at the White House during both Trump terms in office.
According to the New York Times, he played golf with Trump just two days before Trump's 2025 presidential inauguration.
In January he travelled with Trump's son, Donald Trump Jr, to Greenland, as the then-incoming president was arguing that the US should own the Arctic territory.
Kirk also addressed the Oxford Union - a debating society at Oxford University - earlier this year, and in 2020, wrote a best-seller, The Maga Doctrine, a reference to Trump's "Make America Great Again" campaign.
Donald Trump Jr (left to right), U.S. Vice President-elect JD Vance, Charlie Kirk, and singer Kid Rock on stage at the Turning Point USA Inaugural-Eve Ball in Washington DC on January 19, 2025. (Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images)Donald Trump Jr (left to right), U.S. Vice President-elect JD Vance, Charlie Kirk, and singer Kid Rock on stage at the Turning Point USA Inaugural-Eve Ball in Washington DC on January 19, 2025. (Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
Kirk addressed the Oxford Union earlier this year, and in 2020, wrote a best-seller, The Maga Doctrine, a reference to Trump's Make America Great campaign. Who are his family?
But his evangelical Christianity and his family - he married a former Miss Arizona, with whom he had two children - were front and centre in his politics, and he was seen as both the future of conservative activism - as well as a highly polarising figure. Kirk (R) and and his wife Erika Lane Frantzve on stage during the Turning Point USA Inaugural-Eve Ball in January.
Kirk's evangelical Christianity and his young family were front and centre in his politics.
He married Erika Kirk, a businesswoman and former Miss Arizona, in May 2021 and they subsequently had two children.
According to her website, she is the founder of Proclaim, a faith-based clothing line, a podcast host and the founder of two non-profit organisations.
She also frequently appeared by Kirk's side at public engagements.
The couple regularly posted on Instagram about their family life but kept their children's identities private.
In August, Kirk posted a photo of himself at the beach as they celebrated his daughter's third birthday.
Erika Kirk is currently studying for a doctorate in Bible Studies.
On Wednesday, before the event at which her husband was shot, she posted online: "Psalm 46:1 - God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble."
President Donald Trump concludes an interview with moderator Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA in 2018 2018.President Donald Trump concludes an interview with moderator Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA in 2018 2018.
Gun control was among the numerous political and social issues he discussed at events and on podcasts. A few months ago, Kirk said: "It's worth it to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment". Who shot Charlie Kirk?
He spread anti-transgender views and skepticism over the Covid-19 pandemic, and also publicly promoted the false claim that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump. The identity of the attacker is still unknown and a mass manhunt is under way.
But in reacting to the fatal shooting, some stressed that Kirk appreciated and encouraged debate over different ideas. At a Wednesday evening briefing held by law enforcement agents in Utah, they said they were studying CCTV from the university because they believed the suspect was "all dressed in black" and the single shot "came from a roof".
"His entire project was built on reaching across the divide and using speech, not violence, to address and resolve the issues!" William Wolfe, executive director of the Center for Baptist Leadership, posted on X. BBC Verify geolocated two videos showing a dark shape moving on the roof of a university building, identified as the Losee Center, located about 137m (150 yards) from where Kirk was sitting.
Charlie Kirk fielded rapid-fire questions from students and community members in a signature "change-my-mind"-style forum at UC San Diego's Town Square In a news conference on Thursday, Utah Department of Public Safety Commissioner Beau Mason said the suspect's movements around the time of the shooting had been tracked, and showed that the attacker had jumped off the roof of the building from where the fatal gunshot was taken and fled off camps into a neighbourhood nearby.
He added that the suspect appeared to be of college age and they "blended in well with the college institution".
FBI special agent Robert Bohls said the agency had recovered what it believes to have been the weapon used in the shooting, which is a high-powered bolt-action rifle, in a wooded area where authorities believe the assailant fled.
They also found a footwear impression and a forearm imprint, which they are analysing, he said.
Police are continuing to search for the suspect and were carrying out door-to-door searches in the Utah area in the aftermath of the attack.
Following the shooting on Wednesday, two people were arrested shortly afterwards but were later released with officials saying they had "no ties" to the incident.