Charlie Kirk, Leading Conservative Activist And Father, Dead At 31

Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA and one of the nation’s most prominent conservative voices, was shot dead on Wednesday while giving a speech at Utah Valley University.

Turning Point USA Chief Operating Officer Justin Streiff confirmed Kirk’s death in an email to TPUSA staff.

“It is with a heavy heart that we, the Turning Point USA leadership team, write to notify you that earlier this afternoon Charlie went to his eternal reward with Jesus Christ in Heaven.”

President Donald Trump also confirmed Kirk’s death, calling him a “Legendary” figure.

“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,” Trump wrote. “He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!”

Kirk, 31, was answering audience questions at the Utah school when shots rang out. He was struck in the neck mere seconds after answering a question about mass shootings. His last words were “gang violence.”

As of this writing, police do not have a suspect in custody, according to The New York Times.

“The police have determined that a person who was taken into custody after the shooting was not actually the shooter,” university spokesman Scott Trotter told the paper.

Kirk is survived by his wife, Erika, and two children.

Born in the suburbs of Chicago, Kirk became involved with conservative politics in high school. An Eagle Scout, he founded TPUSA in 2012 at 18 in a bid to create a “grassroots organization to rival liberal groups such as MoveOn.org.”

His organization is one of the biggest success stories in American political history, spurring a conservative revival among young voters in the country.

Spurred by the success of the Tea Party movement and the re-election of President Barack Obama, the group quickly grew into a powerhouse on campuses across the country. TPUSA currently boasts more than 800 student chapters.

TPUSA also spun off into several sister groups, including TPUSA Action and Students For Trump. In 2021, Kirk launched TPUSA Faith, a group dedicated to recruiting “pastors and other church leaders to be active in local and national political issues.”

Kirk, a devout evangelical Christian, spoke often about the centrality of the Christian faith to his life and the American republic.

Kirk was an early supporter of Trump’s, endorsing him at the 2016 Republican National Convention and campaigning for him through the rest of that and the president’s subsequent political campaigns.

Kirk was instrumental in drumming up Gen Z support for Trump in 2024, and subsequently played a major role in the president’s second administration. He’s widely credited for driving the youth vote that helped put Trump back in office.

In March, Trump appointed Kirk to the United States Air Force Academy Board of Visitors. Kirk also advised the president and his administration on matters of personnel and policy.

A prolific commentator, Kirk was the author of five books, most recently Right Wing Revolution: How to Beat the Woke and Save the West. Kirk was also the host of “The Charlie Kirk Show,” a daily talk radio show.

Tributes to Kirk have poured in from the White House and members of Congress, as well as those who knew Kirk or were touched by his work. Many tributes praised Kirk not just for his own political activities, but for inspiring and galvanizing a new generation to the conservative cause.

“If you believe in something, you need to have the courage to fight for those ideas,” Kirk once wrote, “not run away from them or try and silence them.”

A happy warrior until the end, Kirk promoted his event at Utah Valley mere minutes before he was assassinated, writing on X, “We are so back!”