(NEW YORK) — Charlie Kirk was a husband and the father of two young kids at the time of his death Sept. 10 at a campus university event in Utah.
Kirk, the founder of the conservative youth activist organization Turning Point USA, was remembered by his wife Erika Kirk in an address to the nation on Sept. 12, her first public message since his killing.
“You have no idea the fire that you have ignited within this wife, the cries of this widow will echo around the world like a battle cry,” Erika Kirk said, adding that she would continue her late husband’s work with Turning Point USA.
“To everyone listening tonight across America, the movement my husband built will not die. It won’t, I refuse to let that happen … All of us will refuse to let that happen,” she said. “No one will ever forget my husband’s name, and I will make sure of it.”
Charlie Kirk, 31, was shot while speaking at Utah Valley University, the first stop this fall for his organization’s “The American Comeback Tour,” which was traveling to multiple college campuses across the country.
President Donald Trump announced Kirk’s death on social media, writing, “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. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us,” the president wrote. “Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!”
Together, the Kirks are parents of two children, a son who turned 1 in May and a daughter who turned 3 in August.
“When I got home last night, our daughter just ran into my arms … and she said, ‘Mommy, I missed you.’ I said, ‘I missed you too, baby.’ She goes, ‘Where’s daddy?,"” Erika Kirk said in her Sept. 12 address. “What do you tell a 3-year-old? She’s three. I said, ‘Baby, daddy loves you so much. Don’t you worry. He’s on a work trip with Jesus so he can afford your blueberry budget."”
Both Charlie Kirk and Erika Kirk shared glimpses of their home life on social media, sharing photos of their children, though not sharing their names or faces.
When Utah Gov. Spencer Cox announced at a Sept. 12 press conference the arrest of a suspect in Charlie Kirk’s fatal shooting, he spoke of the activist’s family.
“I especially want to thank the family of Charlie Kirk — Erika, Charlie’s parents, his children,” Cox said. “I want us to be thinking of them as we bring justice in this case. They will be involved in that justice. We will be working very closely with them as we move through this process as well.”
On Sept. 13, Turning Point USA announced details of a celebration of life ceremony for Kirk. The ceremony is set to be held Sunday, Sept. 21, in Glendale, Arizona, at State Farm Stadium, the NFL stadium in Arizona where the Cardinals play. The venue has a capacity of 63,000, according to the stadium’s website.
Here is more to know about Erika Frantzve Kirk
Erika Kirk is a former Miss Arizona USA and collegiate basketball player who is currently studying for a doctorate in Biblical studies at Liberty University, according to her biography on her website.
She is the founder of Proclaim, a faith-based clothing line, the host of the “Midweek Rise Up” podcast and the founder of two nonprofit organizations, according to her website.
Erika Kirk has also been a frequent presence by her husband’s side at speaking engagements and public appearances.
The couple went on their first date in New York City seven years ago this month, according to a post Erika Kirk shared on Instagram.
“5 years ago today, we sat inside Bills Burgers in NYC deep in conversation and banter over theology, philosophy, and politics and at the end, you paused, looked at me and said, ‘I’m going to date you,"” she wrote in a Sept. 5, 2023, post.
Following Charlie Kirk’s death, Erika Kirk shared a video on Instagram of Charlie Kirk telling the story of how they met to their daughter while sitting at a table at Bill’s Burgers in New York City.
“It started as a job interview … and then I realized momma was beautiful and smart and elegant and Christ-like, and so I said, ‘Forget this job interview. I want to date you.’ I said, ‘I have enough friends,"” Charlie Kirk is seen in the video telling their daughter as she sits on his lap. “And that’s where your journey began.”
Charlie Kirk proposed to Erika Kirk just two years after their first date, in December 2020, and they wed in Arizona on May 8, 2021, according to social media posts she shared at the time.
The couple sat down together for an episode of “The Charlie Kirk Show” in April to talk about marriage and family life.
“Keep your faith, obviously first, and try to identify any fleshy problems that you might be having,” Charlie Kirk said of his advice to young married couples, according to a YouTube video of the podcast.
Erika Kirk added, in part, “You have to continually invest in the confidence in one another, that you’re on the same team. You support each other. You love each other. You’re not going to undercut each other. You’re not going to undercut each other.”
Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
