Condolences, memorials, thoughts, and prayers are being poured out over the murder of TPUSA co-founder and CEO Charlie Kirk. Kirk built a movement and distinguished himself in his short years of life. But the movement is indistinguishable from the man. As someone who writes regularly about the life and legacy one leaves behind, Kirk left behind a legacy of young adults he inspired, mentored, energized, and uplifted to be more than they ever imagined and to be the difference and make a difference for their country.
Kirk's pastor, Rob McCoy, passed on his statement through worship evangelist Sean Feucht.
Charlie Kirk’s pastor asked me to share this:
— Sean Feucht (@seanfeucht) September 10, 2025
“My friend Charlie Kirk was murdered today by a coward. His life will be remembered for many wonderful things. He built it all with the power of the spoken word. He never used violence but was threatened every day with violence by…
Charlie Kirk’s pastor asked me to share this:
“My friend Charlie Kirk was murdered today by a coward. His life will be remembered for many wonderful things. He built it all with the power of the spoken word. He never used violence but was threatened every day with violence by those who couldn’t contend with logic and truth and now they have done to my friend what evil always does; it takes away life. Charlie did not die however but instead he has begun to truly live. His life was secured eternally by His Savior Jesus Christ. This truth allowed Charlie to face every threat with courage because he didn’t fear death. All evil knows is death and they derive power from death. Charlie lived for life and will be remembered for this. My heart is broken for his family; His wife Erika and his two precious children. Evil has not prevailed and it will not win.”
Rob McCoy
He called me his pastor but I prefer to be known as his friend and biggest fan.
Author, radio host, and conservative personality Ben Shapiro could be considered the trailblazer and predecessor to TPUSA's influence on college campuses. Shapiro wrote a heartbreaking tribute to Kirk, praising his work and encouraging Americans to finish the work.
Like all of you, I am utterly stunned and heartbroken and sick to my soul today. It is unimaginable to write these words. I met Charlie Kirk when he was 18 years old, a young man so eager and determined that I immediately turned to a friend and said, “That kid is going to be the…
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) September 10, 2025
Like all of you, I am utterly stunned and heartbroken and sick to my soul today. It is unimaginable to write these words. I met Charlie Kirk when he was 18 years old, a young man so eager and determined that I immediately turned to a friend and said, “That kid is going to be the head of the RNC one day.” Charlie became even bigger and more important than that. It was a privilege to watch this principled man stand up for his beliefs and create the single most important conservative political organization in America. But more importantly, Charlie was a good man, a man who believed in right and wrong, who stood by his Biblical values. All of us will miss him, and I can’t imagine the pain of his beautiful young family, and we must all pray for them. And we must pick up the baton where Charlie left it, fighting for the things he believed in so passionately. And we must fight for a better America - an America where good people can speak truth and debate passionately without fear of a bullet. I weep for Charlie’s family, and I weep for my country today. Most of all, I weep for Charlie.
But most poignant are the students and young adults whom Kirk invested in and translated his vision and ideals to. Terrence K. Williams was an early embracer of TPUSA and is now an activist and conservative influencer.
I'm heartbroken. Charlie Kirk passing away is a hard pill to swallow.
— Terrence K. Williams (@w_terrence) September 10, 2025
I never imagined typing this out,
it hurts so much. Things will never be the same without him.
He was a great friend to me, he treated me like a brother, opened doors for me and so many others and inspired… pic.twitter.com/PgGpjAx7CW
I'm heartbroken. Charlie Kirk passing away is a hard pill to swallow.
I never imagined typing this out, it hurts so much. Things will never be the same without him.
He was a great friend to me, he treated me like a brother, opened doors for me and so many others and inspired us all with his unwavering spirit.
He leaves behind two kids and a wife who he cherished deeply.
Charlie was a great American, fighting for what he believed in every day.
Rest in peace, brother.
A young Chandler Crump, who took hold of leadership under Kirk's tutelage and never looked back, gave Kirk his flowers.
Charlie Kirk changed my life.
— Chandler Crump (@realCCrump) September 10, 2025
I attended Turning Point USA's Young Black Leadership Summit in October 2018. I was 14 at the time but Charlie told me it didn't matter how young I was, I could fight alongside him in this movement.
From then on, I attended every Turning Point… pic.twitter.com/smeFmw8I85
Charlie Kirk changed my life.
I attended Turning Point USA's Young Black Leadership Summit in October 2018. I was 14 at the time but Charlie told me it didn't matter how young I was, I could fight alongside him in this movement.
From then on, I attended every Turning Point Conference every year. From 2018 to 2025.
I grew up in this movement. I became the person I am today because of the inspiration from Charlie Kirk and his organization.
I will never be the same without him, and this country will never be the same either.
He was a husband, a father, a man of God, and a visionary for our nation.
As did Mrs. Mary K.
I met Charlie Kirk in 2019. I was 17 years old. His work with Turning Point truly equipped young conservatives like me to think for themselves and debate with boldness in the face of leftism and evil. Rest in Peace 🤍 pic.twitter.com/oHcd7TkJbe
— Mrs. Mary K (@_realJAG) September 10, 2025
Conservative influencer CJ Pearson was espousing conservative ideals from a very young age, and many decades later, he paid Kirk a debt of gratitude for helping him along this path.
This is the type of guy Charlie Kirk was.
— CJ Pearson (@thecjpearson) September 10, 2025
He reached out to me when I was a nobody online, making political videos as a middle schooler from my childhood bedroom in a liberal household.
He encouraged me when even my parents didn’t. God bless him. pic.twitter.com/B8OjeLgr1w
For the children who had been sucked in by the gender ideology lies and who were fighting their way back to sanity, Kirk's strong identity and powerful sense of purpose were a safe space and a touchstone for them. Detransitioner Chloe Cole shared this video.
WATCH:
I saw this video this morning on my feed and I think it so eloquently explains what Charlie Kirk was put on this earth to do.
— Chloe Cole ⭐️ (@ChoooCole) September 10, 2025
“When people stop talking, that’s when you get violence, that is when civil war happens” pic.twitter.com/ZNqp7qMQcC
Detransitioner Prisha Mosley expressed how Kirk reflected God's heart toward the victimized and the marginalized.
Charlie Kirk was kind to me.
— Prisha Mosley🦎 (@detransaqua) September 10, 2025
He was kind when we spoke. He was kind to detransitioners like me. He cared about vulnerable people like the girl I was, who rejected her sex and turned to butchers to save her. He stood up for me, and for those like me.
Even for those who disagreed with Kirk and what they thought he represented, along with expressing their horror over this terrible tragedy, these people also defended who Kirk was as a person, even if they did not defend his beliefs.
Sick of the lies. Charlie Kirk knew I was openly lesbian and followed me. He didn't hate gay people. He might have disagreed with the way I live, but he had no hate in his heart.
— Heidi (@HeidiBriones) September 10, 2025
Kirk was someone who saw other people and accepted them as they were, as well as their right to speech.
I disagreed with Charlie Kirk on just about everything. But, we shared an opposition to "gender identity" and the abolition of sex.
— Kara Dansky (@KDansky) September 10, 2025
He once had me on his show to discuss it. He was polite, outgoing, and funny.
During the interview, I said something about the "TQIA." He…
I disagreed with Charlie Kirk on just about everything. But, we shared an opposition to "gender identity" and the abolition of sex.
He once had me on his show to discuss it. He was polite, outgoing, and funny.
During the interview, I said something about the "TQIA." He exclaimed, "I don't know what any of that means!" I said, "Don't worry, nobody does." He and his entire audience laughed.
I am not a Republican, and I am certainly not MAGA. But I am grieving his death in part because he was a human being, in part because he leaves behind a wife and two children, and in part because of what this says about American society.
I will not take any part in any political violence, and I will stand with anyone, wherever they stand on the political spectrum, who will denounce it.
I hope America can recover from this. #RIP
A testament of someone's impact is how they affect the culture. The New York Yankees paid tribute to Charlie Kirk with a moment of silence on their Wednesday evening game opener.
Before tonight's game we held a moment of silence in memoriam of Charlie Kirk.
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) September 10, 2025
Kirk founded the youth activist group “Turning Point USA” and had become a fixture on college campuses. Charlie Kirk, a husband and father of two children, was 31 years old. pic.twitter.com/Fz5xPlmdu0
Before tonight's game we held a moment of silence in memoriam of Charlie Kirk. Kirk founded the youth activist group “Turning Point USA” and had become a fixture on college campuses. Charlie Kirk, a husband and father of two children, was 31 years old.
Charlie Kirk was a strong believer in Jesus, and as many others have already expressed, he has gone on to his heavenly reward. I think of the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:23-24:
His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master!’
The few things Charlie Kirk was faithful over in this life were pretty massive. So, it is incomprehensible what he will be given to rule over in the next.
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