Erika Kirk

Charlie Kirk’s Family Alleges UVU Officials Ignored Security Warnings, Notice Claims

According to a “notice of claim” filed with the Utah Office of the Attorney General, the assassination of Turning Point USA (TPUSA) founder Charlie Kirk was “entirely preventable and, in fact, would not have happened had the State of Utah and UVU (Utah Valley University) followed through on their stated security promises.”

The filing is a required preliminary step before suing a government entity in Utah, an action that generally must be preceded by a notice of claim.

In the explosive document, Kirk family representatives report that TPUSA had warned the university about the dangers posed by surrounding unguarded rooftops, assigned just six campus police officers to the event, and had no written security plan in place for the special event.

Attorneys Loren Washburn, Brett Parkinson and Clifford Parkinson state, “The risk of a rooftop shooter should have been especially top-of-mind given the attempted assassination of President Trump, Charlie Kirk’s close friend and political ally, by a rooftop shooter the previous year.”

Investigators discovered that the alleged assassin cased the area a little over an hour before making his way onto the unguarded roof, and returned just after noon wearing new clothes and brandishing his weapon. 

In a statement to the press, university officials wrote, “We are aware of the notice of claim. UVU addresses legal matters consistent with our established processes. Our focus remains on supporting our campus community.”

Kirk’s attorneys contend that TPUSA officials had been tipped off by students about the dangerous roof access and reached out to UVU to express their concern.

“If this is true, it would be nice to either have it controlled access or allow one of my guys to be there as well,” TPUSA told UVU.

According to the filing, UVU Chief of Police Jeffrey Long replied, “I got you covered.”

In addition to the legal filing, days after the one-year mark of Charlie Kirk’s death, a new bronze statue of the slain founder was vandalized at the organization’s Phoenix headquarters.

Red paint was splattered over Kirk’s likeness and a nearby sign was also defaced. The placard read: “May Charlie be received into the merciful arms of Jesus, our loving Savior.” The vandal(s) put a large red “X” over Kirk’s photograph, crossed out “Jesus” and wrote “satan” in its place.

A TPUSA representative called the actions “diabolical.”

“We will restore the statue and replace the signs, but we are also reviewing the footage of the incident and are working with law enforcement to identify who did this and hold them accountable,” they stated.

In response, Erika Kirk, Charlie’s widow, was defiant in responding on X to the cowardly acts.

“Charlie once said we should be building two statues for every statue that they tear down,” she wrote. “His instinct was always to build, not to destroy.”

She added:

“They thought a bullet would silence my husband’s voice but it only made it louder. They think spray paint can obscure his legacy, but it will only spread it further. Every attempt to tear down what Charlie built makes us root deeper and work even harder.”

Erika Kirk’s posture of strength notwithstanding, it’s impossible for anyone from the outside looking in to fully appreciate the enormous burden she and the family have been carrying this past year of unimaginable grief.

We know she is being supported by a supernatural strength. We read in the Psalms, “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit” (34:18). We also know that she is mourning unlike nonbelievers. Wrote the Apostle Paul, “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope” (1 Thess. 4:13). 

Yet, Erika and her family are human and navigating untold and unknown challenges. When we read about lawsuits and vandalism, murder trial motions, or the latest screed from an unhinged or opportunistic conspiracy theorist, please remember to look beyond the headlines and focus on this very human tragedy in our midst.

Please continue to keep Erika Kirk and her children in your prayers. Please ask the Lord to continue sustaining them. An evil actor silenced the voice of a good man who was doing God’s work. With God’s grace and favor, his widow’s efforts are an extension of his calling and serve to reach many of the people Charlie had still hoped to minister to until the Lord called him home.

One Year Later, We Are Missing More Than Charlie Kirk

Anyone who has lost a loved one knows the “year of firsts” can land hard as you navigate both ordinary days and special events minus their familiar presence.

For Erika Kirk, the widow of Charlie Kirk, the slain Turning Point USA founder, these last 365 days have unfolded very publicly – and very painfully, too. 

Writing in Monday’s New York Times, Erika reflected:

The first Saturday without a love note from him passed. His 32nd birthday. My birthday. Thanksgiving. When I put the Christmas tree together wrong, it made me realize that being a widow means old traditions will need to make room for new ones. … Easter, our wedding anniversary, our son’s second birthday, the preliminary hearing for the man accused of murdering my husband, our annual trip to Maine, now as a family of three. Then the last of them, our daughter’s fourth birthday.

The horrifying public execution of Charlie Kirk elicited months of commentary, controversy and even conspiracy. Some within the radical left celebrated his death. A year later, Tyler Robinson, the man accused of killing him, has been ordered to stand trial and faces the prospect of the death penalty if convicted.

In addition to being a mother to their 4-year-old daughter and 2-year-old son, Erika was unanimously elected as CEO and chair of the TPUSA board. Under her leadership, the organization has grown by 168% on high school campuses and 64% at colleges and universities.

It would be impossible for Erika Kirk to put into words just how much she and her family miss Charlie. Like any husband and father, he was irreplaceable – one of one. 

Charlie Kirk’s radio and podcast programs and campus events have continued with a series of high-profile guests and personalities hosting. They’ve not only paid tribute to the man himself, but also the mission he had wholeheartedly embraced.

But as we mark one year since the beloved commentator and Christian evangelist was silenced, it’s worth noting that we’re missing more than Charlie.

We’re missing the unique and compounding gifts and talents that Charlie Kirk drew out of everyone else. We’re missing what those men and women will likely never become because of what they’ll now never learn from the murdered evangelist. 

Writing in his book, The Four Loves, C.S. Lewis poignantly observed this phenomenon:

In each of my friends there is something that only some other friend can fully bring out. By myself I am not large enough to call the whole man into activity; I want other lights than my own to show all his facets.

He went on to note, “The more we share together the more we become ourselves … Each friend contributes something to the friendship which no one else can contribute.”

Lewis may not have been writing about the magnifying dynamic of a public personality, but in this era of mass media, the concept still applies.

When Charlie Kirk took to the airwaves and shared the Gospel or made a compelling and cogent defense of conservative thought and truth, he was influencing the influencers. He was helping shape the way they thought and communicated. 

It wasn’t just podcast followers and students on college campuses who were listening and taking notes. President Trump and Vice President Vance were paying attention, as were countless members of Congress and other individuals within the social conservative movement. Charlie’s sound theology, profound wisdom and critical thinking were contagious.

King Solomon was alluding to this when he wrote, “Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm” (Proverbs 13:20, ESV). The Apostle Paul warned, “Do not be deceived: ‘Bad company ruins good morals’” (1 Cor. 15:33, ESV).

Charlie Kirk was good company because he helped trigger good thoughts and critically sound thinking.

Similar to the tragic killing of innocent preborn life, we’ll never know this side of eternity all of what we’ve lost in the murder of Charlie Kirk – but we’ve lost more than can be calculated. 

JD and Usha Vance Say Erika Kirk’s Regret Shaped Their Fourth Child Decision

In his forthcoming book, Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith, Vice President JD Vance suggests that the assassination of his friend Charlie Kirk led to the Vances’ fourth pregnancy.

The vice president writes:

“For years I had asked Usha to have another baby, and for years she had told me she was done—especially now that public service had elevated us into the national spotlight.”

The Vances are busy raising three children: Ewan (8), Vivek (6) and Mirabel (4).

Prior to being elected vice president, Vance served as a United States senator in Ohio, beginning in 2023. He served in the U.S. Marines then met his wife, Usha, while they were both attending Yale Law School. They married a year after graduation. 

Vice President Vance and Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk forged a strong friendship after Vance had been elected to the Senate. They would get together whenever possible and spoke regularly on the phone – especially as the media spotlight homed in on the Ohio senator during the 2024 campaign.

When Senator Vance expressed concern that son Ewan was beginning to resent the family’s fame and attention, Kirk counseled him.

“Don’t try to convince your son it’s not a sacrifice,” Charlie told him. “It is. Just try to take some solace in the fact that it’s a worthy sacrifice. I’ll say a prayer for you.” 

But then came the awful day in September 2025. After news of Charlie’s murder, the Vances flew to Utah to minister to Erika. VP Vance writes about it in his new book:

“As my wife held Charlie Kirk’s widow on the first day of her terrible sorrow, Erika told Usha between sobs that she regretted having only two kids with Charlie.”

There’s little doubt the Kirks wanted more children and they likely would have if Charlie had not been assassinated.

“Get married,” urged Charlie Kirk back when he was alive. “Have children. Build a legacy. Pass down your values. Pursue the eternal. Seek true joy. Having children is way more important than having a good career.”

According to Vice President Vance, the time grieving with Erika Kirk had a profound impact on his wife.

“Something changed for Usha, and not long after we buried my friend, she became pregnant with our fourth child, a boy,” Vance writes. 

He then added:

“One life was stolen from us, but another was given. I don’t know why God does things like this. But I am grateful to Him that there will soon be another source of joy in our lives. Another person added to the communion of our family and hopefully to that of the Church. Another person to whom I will sing, ‘Jesus loves me, this I know.’ Another beautiful soul to wonder at, and fall in love with, God’s beautiful creation.”

Few people know anyone who regrets having too many children, but we all know people who wish they had more.

As Christians, we should be the most vocal and effective promoters of marriage and children – and we do that by modeling the blessings of a happy family filled with as many souls as the Lord sees fit to loan us.

The Mislabeling of Christian Patriots as Christian Nationalists Must Stop

The uneven and unhinged have always been susceptible to the delusional and fantastical, but the normalization of the abnormal is now getting people killed and threatening the lives of far too many.

Case in point:

On Thursday, police arrested Jacob Wenske, 26, for threatening to assassinate Erika Kirk, the widow of Charlie Kirk, the slain Turning Point USA founder.

Erika Kirk is now CEO of the organization. In the months since her husband’s murder, she’s been subjected to an ongoing stream of grifters lobbing baseless accusations, countless conspiracy theories and downright wicked and evil commentary.

This latest attack comes just ahead of a planned three-day Women’s Leadership Conference in San Antonio where Mrs. Kirk is scheduled to speak.

The would-be assassin shared the motive for his planned attack on social media. In part, here is what he wrote:

“Death to Erika Kirk and every single speaker there! America will live on without those scum on this earth. Every Christian nationalist shall perish in the bombing that will take place at every single Turning Point rally and event.”

So, in addition to Erika Kirk, who are these supposed “Christian nationalists” slated to speak at the June event?

Podcaster Allie Beth Stuckey, Riley Gaines, Kayleigh McEnany, Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Kristan Hawkins and Judge Jeanine Pirro, to name just a few.

None of them are so-called Christian nationalists, but many may not know that thanks to the reckless, relentless and irresponsible fanning of the term these last few years.

Socially conservative patriotic Christians are tagged with the term because media and radical activists see the labeling as an effective tool to degrade, diminish and hopefully derail their activism. It’s become a slur, and even some Christians are falling for the nonsense.

To be clear, a true Christian nationalist would be someone who puts their allegiance to their country in front of their Savior, Jesus Christ. It might even be someone who elevates a politician to the same level as God. It’s a distorted and disordered prioritization of things.

It happens – but it is rare.

Charlie Kirk was often called a “Christian nationalist” by detractors simply because he recognized that America’s founders were driven by their faith and a sense of Divine destiny. But Charlie Kirk did not worship America – he worshipped Jesus, a prophet and King whom he believed had blessed the United States of America.

Deliberately or irresponsibly tossing around the term gives license to radical or mentally unstable actors. In their sick minds, it justifies violence and encourages them to right what they perceive to be wrong.

The mislabeling of Christian patriotism as Christian nationalism isn’t just a mischaracterization. It’s now proving to be a dangerous and even deadly tactic that must be stopped and called out.

Please join us in praying for the protection of Erika Kirk and all Christian believers who are responding to God’s call on their lives to engage culture in the public square. 

Erika Kirk at Hillsdale College Commencement: ‘Aim at Worthy Things’

Erika Kirk addressed graduates at Hillsdale College’s 174th Commencement Ceremony last Saturday, May 9, urging them to “aim at worthy things.” 

Erika is the CEO and chair of Turning Point USA and the widow of its founder, Charlie Kirk, a Christian, conservative broadcaster who was assassinated by a sniper eight months ago at Utah Valley University. 

It was a poignant graduation ceremony, as Hillsdale, a small, Christian, classical liberal arts college in southern Michigan, conferred honorary doctorates of public service on both Charlie and Erika. 

In the earlier announcement of Erika as commencement speaker, Hillsdale President Dr. Larry Arnn stated: 

Charlie Kirk became a national and international sensation, and he built something amazing. At his memorial service were the great, the near-great, and tens of millions watching. But that isn’t why we loved him. We loved him because he was, at heart, a student who worked hard to get it right.

Erika Kirk, brave and widowed, intends to carry on. And we will help her.

Dr. Arnn alluded to Charlie’s untimely death in his introduction of Erika to the graduates and their families, describing the world as a place of suffering and “sudden and violent change.” He added: 

We will remember that our suffering has meaning. We will remember that our suffering gives joy, produces joy, knowledge, and good actions that come from it and relieve our suffering and deepen our friendship.

Dr. Arnn talked about meeting Charlie in 2013 when Kirk was only 19 years old, just one year after he had founded Turning Point. Dr. Arnn said, “I asked him some questions and he couldn’t answer them.” 

Charlie asked, “What do I do?” and Dr. Arnn replied, “You have to learn,” adding that learning takes suffering. 

“Well,” Dr. Arnn said, “I fell in love with the boy for the same reason I fell in love with these[students]. He did learn.” 

Charlie didn’t go on to earn a college degree, but he was a lifelong student, taking classes at King’s College in New York City, reading good books and completing 31 Hillsdale College online courses.  

Dr. Arnn said that when he met Erika Kirk, he turned to his wife and said, “Yeah, I think she’s going to be good. I think she’s tough.” 

“You need that. You need grace. You need beauty. You need tough. You need smarts. Now these qualities are called forth from Erika,” he told the students, adding that even in her grief, Erika was maligned by others. 

Erika began her address by mentioning that the couple’s fifth wedding anniversary was the previous day, May 8. She described how, even on their honeymoon, Charlie was taking a Hillsdale online course – learning from Dr. Arnn. 

She told the students: 

He really understood that this institution wasn’t normal. It was something that elevated his thinking to be a thought leader and really become a serious person – not just a political talking head, but someone who truly sought out the beautiful things in life, the good, the true. 

And he really took that seriously because he loved learning. And that’s what set him apart, just as all of you. You guys love learning. 

She praised her husband, saying that through his self-directed education: 

Charlie was better able to recognize his duty to pursue truth and to defend liberty. And this responsibility he felt to God. He felt it to our family, to our country, and that was born from what he learned. 

Charlie’s aim, she said, was “to turn a doubting, godless and defiant nation back to God. To remind a confused nation that our freedoms are not guaranteed and we must sustain them and point a lost generation back to truth, virtue, and right living.”

Our life on earth is short, she reminded the students, especially when contrasted with “God’s infinity,” so “our choices, even the smallest ones, matter.” Erika encouraged the students to take what they had learned and “be a part of the solution for this nation and this world.” 

Erika called students to pursue not just pleasure or comfort, but “worthy things … the good and the true and the beautiful.” She said: 

If you are going to live as a purposeful being, then aim high at worthy things. Because purpose is not something that just drifts into your life. It is formed through what you attend to, what you think about, what you return to.

She exhorted the graduates, saying: 

You are not made for a life that asks nothing of you. You are made for something higher, something that calls you upward rather than settles you downward. At the center of that life, it must be Jesus Christ, always to love Him and to serve Him because He is the axis upon which all other priorities turn.

Finally, she challenged them to marry and “have more kids than you can afford,” build and maintain friendships, read great books, and love and defend our country. 

May God bless Erika’s courage and resolve as she grieves her loss, works to raise her children and fights to continue Charlie’s legacy. 

Related articles and resources: 

The 3 Questions Found on Charlie Kirk’s Desk After He Was Killed

Charlie Kirk: Man of Faith, Family and Fidelity

Charlie Kirk’s Generosity Sowed Seeds for Future Generations

Erika Kirk: ‘Charlie Loved God’s Design for Marriage and Family’

Erika Kirk: “The opinions of this world mean nothing to me.”

Erika Kirk: They Got Charlie’s Body, But Not His Soul

‘I Forgive Him’: Three of the Most Impactful Moments from Charlie Kirk’s Memorial

Nearly 100,000 People Woke Up at Dawn for Charlie Kirk’s Memorial. Here’s Why.

Please Keep Praying for Erika Kirk