Charlie Kirk, 31, has died after he was shot at an event at Utah University. He was known for garnering support for the Republicans among young people, and was close to President Donald Trump
Conservative activist and key ally to Donald Trump Charlie Kirk has died after being shot at an event at Utah University earlier today, September 10.
A clip of the incident shows Kirk, 31, who was reportedly discussing transgender mass shootings, being shot while speaking to a crowd.
In footage viewed by the Daily Star, the commentator was shown speaking to a huge audience before gunfire is heard and Kirk’s head tilting back. Despite being rushed to hospital, the MAGA campaigner has now died.
According to a spokesperson from the university, a gun was “fired from a building 200 yards away” while he was hosting an event on campus.
Despite initially stating the suspect was in custody, the University has now issued a statement saying: “We can confirm that Mr. Kirk was shot, but we don’t know his condition. The suspect is not in custody. Police are still investigating Campus is closed for the rest of the day.”
Who was Charlie Kirk?
Charlie Kirk was a right-wing political activist and media personality, mostly known for co-founding Turning Point USA in 2012, a conservative organisation that played a big role in Donald Trump’s win in the last presidential election.
A father-of-two, his organisation drove support for Donald Trump among young people, with his events at college campuses nationwide typically draw large crowds.
What was Charlie Kirk known for?
Kirk was known for “energising” disaffected conservatives in the US, as well as garnering support for Trump and conservative values in college campuses, with many of his encounters with college students going viral on social media.
Last year, for the social media program “Surrounded,” he faced off against 20 liberal college students to defend his viewpoints, including that abortion is murder and should be illegal.
According to the Associated Press, Kirk showed off an “apocalyptic style” in his popular podcast, radio show and on the campaign trail.
During an appearance with Trump in Georgia last autumn, he said that Democrats “stand for everything God hates.” Kirk called the Trump vs. Kamala Harris choice “a spiritual battle.”
“This is a Christian state. I’d like to see it stay that way,” Kirk told the 10,000 or so Georgians, who at one point joined Kirk in a deafening chant of “Christ is King! Christ is King!”
Was he close to President Donald Trump?
President Trump has spoken favourably of Kirk in the past, while on the campaign trail in the lead-up to the presidential election last November.
A few weeks before, during a rally in Las Vegas on 22 December 2024, Mr Trump called Mr Kirk “incredible”, adding that he “is a special talent, and he’s out there fighting”.
The president, then a candidate for the White House, also appeared last October at a Turning Point USA political rally in Phoenix.
“I want to express my tremendous gratitude to Charlie Kirk. He’s really an amazing guy. Amazing guy,” Mr Trump said.
Turning Point USA cemented Kirk’s position as one of the most important figures in the Maga movement in 2024. After Trump’s victory, Kirk spent weeks at Mar-a-Lago with a small team of loyalists, who helped the president build his administration.
Despite that, he kept outside of Washington DC, and instead focused on the organisation, his outreach work and his podcast that boasted a monthly audience of almost six million people.
The President posted on his social media platform Truth Social in response to Kirk’s death. He wrote: “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. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!”
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