The activist and right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk, a friend of President Donald Trump and a reference for millions of young MAGA (Make America Great Again) followers, was shot and killed on Wednesday. Kirk was shot while giving a talk to hundreds of people at an outdoor event at a university in the state of Utah. Another act of political violence in the United States that inevitably brings to mind the assassination attempt on Trump himself last July at a rally in Pennsylvania.
Authorities, sending very contradictory messages, detained two people throughout the day, only to later retract and say they had been released or were not related to the attack. "I want to make it very clear that this is a political assassination," said Utah Governor Spencer Cox.
"The great, even legendary, Charlie Kirk has passed away. No one understood or had the Heart of Youth in the United States better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by all, especially by me, and now he is no longer with us. Melania and I express our deepest condolences to his beautiful wife Erika and his family. Charlie, we love you!!," the president said in a message on his social media. Very affected, he has canceled his schedule and declared official mourning until Sunday, with flags across the country and embassies around the world flying at half-mast.
"With great heartache, we confirm that Charles was murdered. We pray that he is welcomed into the arms of our Savior, who suffered and died for Charlie," his organization said in a statement asking for his family's privacy to be respected.
Images taken by some of those present show Kirk, 32 years old, married with two children, speaking to the crowd under a tent, to protect him from the sun, seated with a microphone in hand when a gunshot is heard. The victim grabs his neck as he begins to bleed, and hundreds of people run for shelter.
In a quick statement, Utah Valley University stated that "a single shot was fired at a guest speaker" and that one person had been detained. But the institution itself, hours later, corrected its initial statement and, citing sources from the investigation, stated that the man seen in many videos being dragged by the police would not be the shooter. Later, the FBI added to the confusion. "The perpetrator of today's terrible shooting that claimed the life of Charlie Kirk is in custody," celebrated director Kash Patel after hours of uncertainty. "The subject detained has been released after questioning. Our investigation continues, and we will continue to disclose information for transparency," it was corrected shortly after.
According to investigators, there were over 3,000 attendees at Kirk's event, and the University only has six officers. The activist has his own security team, as he has received many death threats in recent years, but initial inquiries indicate that the shot was fired from medium to long distance. And, they point out, it is impossible to cover the entire perimeter of those dimensions with few resources.
The shot occurred about ten minutes into the event and took place just after a student asked Kirk, a known advocate for the right to bear arms, about mass shootings, one of the clear evils and fears of American schools and universities. "Do you know how many mass shootings there are in the US each year," someone from the audience asked. "Counting or not counting gang violence," Kirk replied a second before the gunshot.
"We are closely following reports of the tragic shooting involving Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University. We stand with Charlie, his loved ones, and all those affected. Agents will arrive at the scene quickly, and the FBI fully supports the ongoing response and investigation," said FBI Director Kash Patel. "Let's pray for Charlie Kirk, a truly good man and a young father," Vice President JD Vance requested.
"The attack on Charlie Kirk is repugnant, vile, and reprehensible. In the United States, we must reject political violence in all its forms," reacted California Governor Gavin Newsom, ideologically opposed to Kirk but who recently invited him to his podcast after confessing that his son was a big fan of the content created by the conservative influencer.
Dozens and dozens of high-ranking officials, from all ideologies, political analysts, and personalities have condemned the murder, which comes at a time of enormous polarization, growing tension, and many nerves across the country. With heated rhetoric and mutual reproaches: "The left is the party of murder," Elon Musk incited his followers. "It's the Democrats' fault," congressmen and senators retort.
Kirk became famous as the founder of Turning Point USA, an organization to spread conservative ideas among students on American university campuses. He has over five million followers on X and 7.3 million on TikTok. In his adult life, marked by Trump's rise, he became one of his most fervent supporters, defenders, and publicists. With a direct, combative, and very effective style.
He understood that the cultural war was crucial and that universities, generally considered left-leaning, were one of the critical places to gain votes and change the narrative. The internet is full of videos and compilations of Kirk on university campuses challenging anyone to come up on stage to debate with him under the banner "prove me wrong." A very effective formula that made him a celebrity.
Kirk started as a young liberal, a defender of Milton Friedman and small government in his native Chicago, but soon evolved towards much more conservative positions, influenced in no small way by his evangelical faith. He left university shortly after starting and devoted all his energy to associationism while learning to navigate within the Republican Party bases in Florida, where Trump resides.
The Tea Party movement was his school and his ring. There he learned to move, to fight. "Charlie was like a son to me. Many years ago, I helped him start Turning Point. Each took a different path because of Trump, and we often attack each other on social media. I am very sorry for him and his family. We must all abandon this path of political violence. STOP THIS!" wrote former Republican congressman Joe Walsh, a staunch critic of Trumpism.
His organization, based in Arizona, by far the largest and most influential in the youth world, has a headquarters or representation in over 800 centers throughout the US. A survey conducted by TikTok showed that among users under 30 who voted for Trump in 2024, Kirk was widely considered the most reliable person on the platform. He started alone, but for the past eight years, he has had a full professional team that travels with him, makes videos, and edits them. At events like the one on Wednesday, where he was shot.