Erika Kirk Vows Husband’s Mission Will ‘Echo Around the World’ After Assassination

Erika Kirk, the widow of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, vowed on Friday that her late husband’s mission would only grow stronger following his assassination. Speaking from Turning Point USA’s office, she declared that her “cries will echo around the world like a battle cry” and promised: “We’ll never surrender.”

Charlie Kirk, 31, co-founder of Turning Point USA and one of Donald Trump’s most prominent young allies, was shot dead on Wednesday while addressing a crowd of 3,000 at Utah Valley University.

Erika Kirk said the organization’s fall campus tour would continue despite his death.

In what Turning Point USA described as an “address to the nation,” she thanked law enforcement for capturing the suspect, Tyler Robinson, a 22-year-old from Utah, who was arrested late Thursday.

“The evildoers responsible for my husband’s assassination have no idea what they have done,” she said. “If you thought his mission was powerful before, you have no idea what you just unleashed.”

Robinson, a college dropout who lived with his parents, was identified after his father recognized him in FBI surveillance images and urged him to surrender. He was taken into custody with the help of a local pastor.

Prosecutors said Robinson faces charges of aggravated murder, obstruction of justice and firearms offences, with formal indictments expected Tuesday.

Authorities said he arrived on campus hours before the shooting, then fired a single bullet that struck Kirk in the neck.

Investigators recovered a weapon believed to have been used in the attack, hidden in nearby woods. Bullets were engraved with phrases including “Hey fascist, catch!”, the anti-fascist anthem lyric “Bella ciao”, and memes from online gaming and anime culture.

Officials said the inscriptions suggested ties to leftist and Antifa-inspired politics. Friends described Robinson as the only “leftist” in his otherwise Republican family, noting his increasing political radicalization since his teens.

Erika Kirk praised family friend JD Vance and president Donald Trump, whom she called her husband’s “amazing friend.”

She emphasized her husband’s Christian faith, saying his calling was “above all spiritual” and aimed to “revive the American family.”

She urged young people to continue his work through Turning Point USA chapters: “The movement is not going anywhere, and it will only grow stronger when you join it.”

The killing of Kirk, known for his incendiary rhetoric against Democrats, immigrants, Muslims and transgender rights, has drawn bipartisan condemnation.

Yet when asked on Fox & Friends how he planned to unite the nation, President Trump responded, “I couldn’t care less,” blaming “radicals on the left” for division.