The conservative movement woke this week to a gutting loss: Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA and one of the most electrifying voices for young patriots, was shot and killed while speaking at Utah Valley University on September 10, 2025. The horror of a campus assassination was felt across the country, and Americans who believe in free speech and faith-based leadership are rightly furious and grieving.
Law enforcement moved quickly, and authorities have arrested and charged a suspect in connection with the killing, a development that brings some measure of accountability but cannot erase the crime or the threat it poses to public life and political expression. Conservatives should demand justice and full transparency from investigators while refusing to let political violence silence our movement.
Turning Point USA’s board has already taken decisive action to preserve the organization Charlie built: they unanimously appointed his widow, Erika Kirk, as CEO and chair to carry forward the mission he left behind. This isn’t a Hollywood plot twist—Charlie reportedly told several close aides he wanted Erika to lead if the worst happened, and now that instruction has been honored as the movement organizes around continuity and faith.
Make no mistake: Turning Point was not a one-man hobby; it is a movement machine with a footprint on thousands of campuses, hundreds of staff, and an army of students who have been radicalized not by leftist agitprop but by gospel-infused, unapologetically American conservatism. That scale—3,500-plus campus networks and sweeping youth outreach—means Kirk’s death will harden, not hollow out, the ranks of young patriots who saw in him a messenger for God, country, and common sense.
Voices across conservative media, including Megyn Kelly and members of Charlie’s own team, have already begun plotting the path forward on the air and on campus, debating how Turning Point sustains its mission while protecting its people and preaching a return to faith and family values. These are not idle chatter sessions; this is movement triage from seasoned veterans who understand that leadership is forged in crisis and that the faithful must now shepherd a revival of civic courage.
Now is the moment for every patriotic American who values liberty to stand up and show strength: support Erika and the Turning Point staff, bolster security at public events, and redouble efforts to evangelize truth to the next generation. The left would love nothing more than for conservatives to fold under intimidation and grief; instead, we will meet evil with resolve, turn mourning into missionary work for freedom, and keep Charlie’s vision alive through action, faith, and unwavering courage.
