Charlie Kirk’s widow spoke publicly for the first time Friday, pledging to carry on his work and legacy.
The widow of assassinated conservative activist Charlie Kirk has said those behind his killing have no idea what they have unleashed, in her first public statement since his death.
Erika Kirk, 36, the wife of Charlie Kirk and mother of their two children, made the remarks hours after authorities confirmed the arrest of 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, the suspected shooter.
“You have no idea of the fire that you have ignited within this wife, the cries of this widow will echo around the world like a battle cry,” she said on Friday.
Kirk was shot by a single bullet on Wednesday while speaking at Utah Valley University, just moments after he had been asked about mass shootings in America. He was taken to the hospital but later died.
A 33-hour manhunt followed before Utah authorities arrested Robinson on Friday, after his father identified him from publicly released photos.
He urged his son to surrender and contacted a youth pastor, who then alerted the US Marshals.
Tyler Robinson was turned in by his father and picked up at his family home, 260 miles south of where Mr Kirk was shot dead, as ITV News US Correspondent Dan Rivers explains
Robinson was arrested on suspicion of aggravated murder, felony discharge of a weapon causing serious bodily injury, and obstruction of justice.
Mrs Kirk spoke to the public following a moment of silent prayer in the studio where her husband recorded his podcast.
She said: “If you thought that my husband’s mission was powerful before, you have no idea, you have no idea what you just have unleashed across this entire country and this world, you have no idea.”
She thanked US President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and his wife Usha for their support, and praised the emergency teams who tried to save her husband’s life.
“Charlie said if he ever ran for office, his top priority would be to revive the American family. That was his priority,” Mrs Kirk said.
“But most of all, Charlie loved his children. And he loved me. With all his heart. And he made sure I knew that every day.”
Mrs Kirk said the University campus tour organised by her late husband’s group, Turning Point USA, will continue, urging young people to carry on his political movement.
“I promise I will never let your legacy die,” she said, promising to make his movement the “biggest thing this nation has ever seen”.
She added that she cannot remember the last time she slept and shared a moment with their daughter, who ran into her arms asking, “Where’s daddy”?
“What do you tell a three-year-old?” she asked.
On Friday, during a press conference, authorities in Utah revealed details of Robinson’s arrest and told reporters, “we got him”.
Utah Governor Spencer Cox, speaking at the press conference, said: “We got him. On the evening of September 11, a family member of Tyler Robinson reached out to a family friend who contacted the Washington County Sheriff’s Office with information that Robinson had confessed to them or implied that he had committed the incident.”
Officials said they received more than 7,000 leads and tips, with Robinson’s roommate showing investigators messages on Discord, showcasing Robinson talking about retrieving a rifle.
Cox said: “The content of these included messages affiliated with the contact Tyler, stating a need to retrieve a rifle from a drop point, leaving the rifle in a bush, messages related to visually watching the area where a rifle was left, and a message referring to having left the rifle wrapped in a towel.
“The messages also refer to engraving bullets and a mention of a scope, and the rifle being unique. Messages from the contact Tyler also mentioned that he had changed outfits.”
Bullet casings discovered by investigators had several inscriptions engraved on them
- Governor Cox said there were three unfired casings
- One read: “Hey fascist! catch!” with an up arrow symbol, right arrow symbol, and three down arrow symbols
- Another one read: “Oh bella ciao bella ciao bella ciao ciao ciao,” Cox said
- The third fired casing read: “If you read this you are gay lmao.”
Who is Tyler Robinson?
Robinson, the 22-year-old arrested over the alleged killing of Charlie Kirk, grew up in a Utah suburb with a close-knit family.
He excelled academically, earning a 4.0 GPA and winning a merit scholarship to Utah State University, which he left after just one semester, according to social media posts.
Authorities are now investigating what happened in the years that followed, leading to the rooftop where he allegedly shot conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
People who knew Robinson recalled conflicting accounts of his political views.
An electrician who worked with him recently described him as shy and “not talkative unless he was spoken to”.
“(He) didn’t really talk political… unless someone brought it up,” the electrician said.
They added: “He wasn’t too fond of Trump or Charlie (Kirk).”
Several years ago, in high school, Robinson and his family were politically conservative and supported Donald Trump ahead of the 2020 election, a former classmate told ITV News affiliate CNN.
“When I knew him and his family, they were like diehard Trump,” the former classmate said. “When this happened, I was like… I don’t know what changed.”
Voter records show Robinson is now registered as unaffiliated and has never voted, the Washington County clerk said.
Now, people who knew him say they are struggling to reconcile their memory of him with the police allegations.
Earlier on Friday, Trump said he hopes that Kirk’s killer gets the death penalty in Utah, a state with the death penalty, and if Robinson is charged, prosecutors will likely seek to have him executed.
“Well, I hope – he’s going to be found guilty, I would imagine – and I hope he gets the death penalty,” he said.
“What he did, Charlie Kirk, he was the finest person that, he didn’t deserve this. He worked so hard and so well, everybody liked him.”
On Thursday, US Vice President JD Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance accompanied Kirk’s wife, Erika, and his casket on a flight to Phoenix aboard Air Force Two from Salt Lake City.
The Second Lady held Ms Kirk’s hand as they disembarked from the plane. Trump has said he plans to attend Kirk’s funeral in Arizona.
Kirk regularly hosted events at universities and spoke on conservative panels.
He founded the organisation Turning Point USA when he was 18 years old, a pressure group campaigning for increased conservative politics and values in schools, colleges, and university campuses.
The event at the Utah Valley campus, billed ‘The American Comeback Tour’, had generated a polarising reaction among students.
An online petition calling for university administrators to bar Kirk from appearing received nearly 1,000 signatures.
The university issued a statement last week citing First Amendment rights and affirming its “commitment to free speech”.
The shooting comes after a string of instances of political violence in the US, including the murder of a Democratic Minnesota lawmaker and her husband in June, an arson attack at the Pennsylvania governor’s house in April, and the assassination attempt against Donald Trump during the presidential election last July.
Follow STV News on WhatsApp
Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
