\n<\/p>\n
Charlie Kirk, the young founder of Turning Point USA, a campus-focused conservative organization that rose to general prominence on the right, died Wednesday after he was shot during one of his group\u2019s events at Utah Valley University in Orem. <\/p>\n
Kirk, 31, leaves behind a wife and two children. He first rose to prominence in 2012 after creating Turning Point and speaking out about the need to reform higher education. In recent years, he became a close ally of Donald Trump.<\/p>\n
Kirk died doing what he had become known and drawn protests for: visiting college campuses and sharing his right-wing views. He was at Utah Valley kicking off Turning Point\u2019s The American Comeback Tour, which planned at least 10 stops on college campuses across the country. Some had urged the university to cancel his appearance. More than 3,000 people attended the event, Utah officials said. <\/p>\n
Kirk, wearing a white shirt that said \u201cfreedom,” handed out red Make America Great Again hats and then sat under his signature \u201cProve Me Wrong\u201d tent in the courtyard in the middle of campus to take questions from the audience. According to The Deseret News<\/em>, Kirk had said there were \u201ctoo many” mass shooters who were transgender and then fielded another question on the issue when he was shot.<\/p>\n \u201cI want to be very clear this is a political assassination,\u201d said Utah governor Spencer Cox at a press conference Wednesday evening.<\/p>\n Matthew Boedy, author of a forthcoming book on Kirk and head of the Georgia state conference of the American Association of University Professors, said Kirk\u2019s death \u201ccould be compared to the second assassination [attempt] on President Trump. Assassination attempts\u2014you would think they would unite us, but as we\u2019ve seen, they have divided us even more so.\u201d<\/p>\n Kirk\u2019s group galvanized conservative activism on campuses nationwide and fueled criticisms of higher ed that are now shared by the White House and the Republicans who control Congress. As higher ed itself became a national political issue, Kirk transcended from a campus presence to a national conservative figure, speaking at the Republican National Conventions in 2020 and 2024, the Conservative Political Action Conference, and on other big stages. He had more than 5.4\u00a0million followers on X, where right-leaning profiles are prominent. <\/p>\n Turning Point\u2019s website claims to have \u201ca presence on over 3,500 high school and college campuses nationwide, over 250,000 student members, and over 450 full- and part-time staff all across the country.\u201d And the group\u2019s own events drew national political figures: Donald Trump Jr., Tucker Carlson, Steve Bannon, Tulsi Gabbard, Kristi Noem and others attended the Student Action Summit in July, Times Higher Education<\/em> reported. Among other things, Kirk said at the event in Tampa, Fla., that no foreigners should be allowed to own homes or get jobs before U.S. citizens.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is the greatest generational realignment since Woodstock,\u201d Kirk said. \u201cWe have never seen a generation move so quickly and so fast, and you guys are making all the liberals confused.\u201d<\/p>\n Kirk expanded on his views in several books, which include Campus Battlefield: How Conservatives Can WIN the Battle on Campus and Why It Matters <\/em>and The College Scam: How America\u2019s Universities Are Bankrupting and Brainwashing Away the Future of America\u2019s Youth<\/em>.<\/p>\n In a statement on X Wednesday, Turning Point confirmed his death and said, \u201cMay he be received into the merciful arms of our loving Savior, who suffered and died for Charlie.\u201d Leading Republicans and Democrats issued statements mourning his passing, which President Trump announced himself on Truth Social.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead,\u201d Trump wrote. \u201cNo one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us.\u201d <\/p>\n Trump ordered U.S. flags to be lowered to half-staff.<\/p>\n Former president Obama posted on X that \u201cwe don\u2019t yet know what motivated the person who shot and killed Charlie Kirk, but this kind of despicable violence has no place in our democracy. Michelle and I will be praying for Charlie\u2019s family tonight, especially his wife Erika and their two young children.\u201d <\/p>\n Education Secretary Linda McMahon called Kirk \u201ca friend and an invaluable adviser\u201d in a social media post. <\/p>\n \u201cHe loved America with every part of his being,\u201d she added. \u201cMy heart is broken for his family and friends who loved him, and for the millions of young Americans whom he inspired.\u201d <\/p>\n California governor Gavin Newsom, a potential Democratic presidential candidate who had Kirk on his podcast earlier this year, posted, \u201cThe attack on Charlie Kirk is disgusting, vile, and reprehensible. In the United States of America, we must reject political violence in EVERY form.\u201d<\/p>\n Local, state and federal law enforcement are investigating the shooting.<\/p>\n Utah Valley closed campus and canceled classes until Sept.\u00a014. Authorities searched the grounds for the shooter, and officials said in the evening that a person of interest was in custody. <\/p>\n Ellen Treanor, a university spokesperson, said Kirk was shot around 12:15\u00a0p.m. local time Wednesday, and that police believe the shot came from the Losee Center, about 200 yards away. <\/p>\n Treanor said Kirk\u2019s private security took him immediately to a hospital, where he underwent surgery. <\/p>\n University police quickly arrested a person, who was later released when the officers determined he wasn\u2019t the shooter, said Scott Trotter, another university spokesperson. The Utah governor\u2019s office, the FBI and other agencies are coordinating with the university police department in investigating, Trotter said. (Utah law allows individuals to carry firearms on campuses.)<\/p>\n UVU officials said in a statement that they were \u201cshocked and saddened\u201d by Kirk\u2019s death.<\/p>\n \u201cWe firmly believe that UVU is a place to share ideas and to debate openly and respectfully,\u201d the statement said. \u201cAny attempt to infringe on those rights has no place here.\u201d<\/p>\n At the Wednesday press conference, Jeff Long, the UVU police chief, said that what happened was a \u201cpolice chief\u2019s nightmare.\u201d Six officers were working the event alongside Kirk\u2019s security team.<\/p>\n \u201cYou try to get your bases covered, and unfortunately, today, we didn\u2019t,\u201d he said. \u201cBecause of that, we have this tragic incident.\u201d<\/p>\n Charlie Kirk was kicking off his “American Comeback Tour” at Utah Valley University.<\/p>\n Photo by Trent Nelson\/The Salt Lake Tribune\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Turning Point, headquartered in Phoenix, has been at the center of several controversies over the years. About a decade ago, it launched its Professor Watchlist, which has resulted in academics being the targets of vitriol and threats for their alleged views. Last year, two Turning Point workers admitted to charges from an October 2023 incident in which they followed and filmed a queer Arizona State University instructor on campus, with one of them eventually pushing the instructor face-first onto the concrete.<\/p>\n Boedy said Wednesday that Kirk was the most influential person who doesn\u2019t work in the White House. <\/p>\n \u201cHe has made Turning Point into an indispensable organization for conservative causes,\u201d he said. \u201cHe\u2019s become the new face of Christian nationalism, which is a growing trend in America. And of course, he has, I\u00a0would say, changed college campuses.\u201d<\/p>\n He added that campus events like Wednesday\u2019s were his \u201cbread and butter.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe is very smart,\u201d he said. \u201cHe was one of the pioneers of the \u2018prove me wrong\u2019 mantra.\u201d<\/p>\n Emma Whitford contributed to this report. <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Charlie Kirk, the young founder of Turning Point USA, a campus-focused conservative organization that rose to general prominence on the right, died Wednesday after he was shot during one of his group\u2019s events at Utah Valley University in Orem. Kirk, 31, leaves behind a wife and two children. 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