America lost a true patriot yesterday when Charlie Kirk was gunned down in cold blood. The 31-year-old founder of Turning Point USA was speaking to students at Utah Valley University when an assassin’s bullet struck him in the neck. This was not some random act of violence but a calculated political hit on one of our movement’s brightest stars.
Kirk was doing what he did best when the shooter struck. He was on stage debating students as part of his American Comeback Tour, standing up for conservative values in front of 3,000 people. The single shot came from 200 meters away, showing this killer planned every detail of this evil act.
For over a decade, Charlie Kirk built the conservative youth movement from nothing into a powerhouse. Starting Turning Point USA at just 18 years old, he reached millions of young Americans with the message of freedom and traditional values. No one could connect with college students like Charlie, turning even the most liberal campuses into battlegrounds for conservative ideas.
Utah Governor Spencer Cox got it exactly right when he called this a political assassination. The radical left has been pushing violence against conservatives for years, and now they have blood on their hands. This attack was meant to silence all of us who dare to speak the truth about what is happening to our country.
The FBI manhunt continues as the coward who pulled the trigger remains on the loose. Two people were arrested but later released, showing how little progress has been made in finding this domestic terrorist. Every day this killer walks free is another day justice is denied to Charlie and his family.
Kirk leaves behind his wife Erika and two young children who will grow up without their father. President Trump captured what we all feel, saying no one understood the heart of American youth better than Charlie. This young father died fighting for the future his own kids will never get to share with him.
Make no mistake, this attack was aimed at all conservative Americans. The left wants to terrorize us into silence, to make us afraid to speak out at rallies and events. They think murdering our leaders will break our spirit and destroy our movement for good.
But they are wrong about who we are as Americans. Charlie Kirk died as he lived, standing up for what he believed in without fear or apology. We will honor his memory by fighting even harder for the conservative values he gave his life defending.
