Charlie Kirk, an influential conservative commentator and founder of the youth activist group Turning Point USA, has d!ed after being shot at an event he was hosting at Utah Valley University on Wednesday. He was 31.
President Donald Trump, a political ally and friend of Kirk’s, announced his de@th in a post on social media and promised a forceful response in an address to the nation on Wednesday evening.
“This is a dark moment for America,” the President said from the Oval Office. Describing Kirk as “a martyr for truth and freedom,” Trump said the rhetoric of the “radical left” was “directly responsible for the terrorism that we’re seeing in our country today.”
“My Administration will find each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity and to other political violence, including the organizations that fund it and support it, as well as those who go after our judges, law enforcement officials, and everyone else who brings order to our country,” he said.
The hunt for the sh**ter was still underway late into Wednesday evening, and authorities said they had no suspect in custody. FBI Director Kash Patel said earlier Wednesday that “the subject for the horrific sh**ting today that took the life of Charlie Kirk is now in custody.” But less than two hours later, he announced that the suspect had been released “after an interrogation by law enforcement.”
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said in a press conference that he believed the @tt@ck was c@rried out by one person.
“I want to make it crystal clear right now to whoever did this, we will find you,” Cox said. “We will try you, and we will hold you accountable to the furthest extent of the law. And I just want to remind people that we still have the de@th penalty here in the state of Utah.”
Video of the fatal @tt@ck showed Kirk speaking to a large crowd of people on the university campus as a sh*t rings out. Kirk is thrown backwards by the sh*t, which appeared to hit his neck, before the crowd disperses in panic.
Kirk, a father of two, was rushed to the hospital following the sh**ting, but later d!ed of his injuries.
At 5:20 p.m. the U.S. flag over the White House was lowered in Kirk’s honor. Trump announced he was ordering all American flags lowered to half-mast until Sunday at 6 p.m.
Kirk, a close ally of Trump’s whose youth activist group is estimated to have raised tens of millions of dollars for the President’s campaigns, was at the university in Orem, Utah, for an event dubbed the “American Comeback Tour.”
Turning Point USA said the tour was designed to equip students with “the tools to push back against left-wing indoctrination in academia and reclaim their right to free speech.”
The appearance had been the subject of controversy—more than 6,800 students signed a petition seeking to block his event because his views do “not align with the core values and ideology that Utah State University strives to epitomize.”
“WE. ARE. SO. BACK,” Kirk posted on X shortly before the shots were reported. “Utah Valley University is FIRED UP and READY for the first stop back on the American Comeback Tour.”
Condemnation from all sides
Condemnation of the @tt@ck came in from across the political spectrum.
Former President Joe Biden said he and his wife Jill Biden “are praying for Charlie Kirk’s family and loved ones.”
“There is no place in our country for this kind of violence,” Biden posted on X. “It must end now.”
Former President Barack Obama stressed that “this kind of despicable violence has no place in our democracy.”
Kamala Harris, the former Vice President, said she was “deeply disturbed” by the sh**ting of Kirk. “I condemn this act, and we all must work together to ensure this does not lead to more violence.”
Gavin Newsom, the Democratic Governor of California, described the @tt@ck on Kirk as “disgusting, vile and reprehensible.”
Gabrielle Giffords, the former Arizona congresswoman who was nearly k!lled in a 2011 assassination attempt, said she was “horrified” by the sh**ting. “Democratic societies will always have political disagreements, but we must never allow America to become a country that confronts those disagreements with violence,” she said on social media.
“There is no place in our country for political violence. Period, full stop,” posted Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune.
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson called the sh**ting “detestable” and called for prayers. “Political violence has become all too common in American society. This is not who we are. It violates the core principles of our country,” he told reporters.
Kirk founded Turning Point USA in 2012, and the group has since turned him into one of the most influential conservative activists in the country. The youth-focused organization aims to “identity, educate, train and organize students to promote the principles of fiscal responsibility, free markets and limited government,” according to its website. Based in Arizona, it claims to be active on more than 3,500 college campuses.
Turning Point USA had become a fundraising and organizational juggernaut for Trump in recent years and was influential in reaching young voters during the 2024 presidential campaign.
“Charlie Kirk is helping. He’s got his army of young people. These are young patriots,” Trump said while speaking at the Turning Point Action Conference in Detroit in June last year.
Kirk gained an online audience for his right-wing provocateur persona. He was well known on YouTube for videos of his combative debates with college students across the country, during which he would stake out a hardline conservative position and encourage challengers to face him in a segment he called “Prove Me Wrong.” Kirk was reportedly sitting at what he called the “Prove Me Wrong Table” when he was shot.
Kirk was also a prolific podcaster. The Charlie Kirk Show, which recorded over 750 episodes and has been ranked in the top 10 of Apple podcasts, is known for conservative takes on politics.
