Erika Kirk is calling on conservative students to persist in their activism as they begin the new academic year, the first since her husband, Charlie Kirk, was shot and killed at Utah Valley University last September. Kirk, who took over leadership of Turning Point USA following the fatal shooting, posted a message on Instagram Wednesday evening addressing students nationwide.
She warned that students might face hostility, including being called names or having their tables flipped, but urged them not to retreat. “Your table might get flipped,” Kirk wrote. “Someone might call you every name imaginable because you have a Turning Point USA sign sitting in front of you. What are you going to do about it?”
Kirk emphasized her husband’s legacy of courage and challenged students to embody the same qualities. She recalled his willingness to visit campuses with opposing views to foster debate and encourage students to defend their beliefs actively.
Charlie Kirk founded TPUSA to promote conservatism on college campuses nationwide. He was speaking to more than 2,000 people at a TPUSA event in Orem, Utah, when he was shot and killed, leaving behind his wife and two children.
Erika Kirk expressed confidence that her husband’s assassination did not weaken the movement he started. She pointed to the creation of new TPUSA chapters, voter registration efforts, campus tabling, and event organization as signs of continued momentum. She also thanked students for their support over the past year and said their presence helps her feel her husband’s spirit.
She acknowledged the emotional difficulty of starting the school year without Charlie. “It’s still so painful that it’s our first start of the school year without my Charlie,” she said. “It hasn’t been easy to do any of this without him.”
Authorities have charged Tyler Robinson, 23, with Kirk’s murder. A preliminary hearing was held in July, and a judge is expected to decide Sept. 1 whether there is enough evidence to proceed to trial.
Contributions to this report were made by Stepheny Price and Michael Ruiz of Fox News Digital.
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
