President Donald Trump confirmed reports that Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk died after being shot at an event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday.
“The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. “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!”
Brigham Tomco, a politics reporter with Deseret News, also reported that Utah Speaker Mike Schultz had confirmed that Kirk had passed away.
“Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord,” Vice President JD Vance wrote in a post on X.
Charlie Kirk Condemned Leftist ‘Assassination Culture’ Before Fatal Shooting
Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk sounded the alarm on the growing “assassination culture” on the left in the months before he was fatally shot while speaking on a Utah college campus.
“Assassination culture is spreading on the left,” Kirk wrote in an April X post, citing a report from the Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI). “Forty-eight percent of liberals say it would be at least somewhat justified to murder Elon Musk. Fifty-five percent said the same about Donald Trump.”
“In California, activists are naming ballot measures after Luigi Mangione,” he continued, referring to the alleged murderer of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. “The left is being whipped into a violent frenzy. Any setback, whether losing an election or losing a court case, justifies a maximally violent response.”
The conservative activist went on to call the phenomenon a “natural outgrowth of left-wing protest culture tolerating violence and mayhem for years on end.”
Kirk was shot in his neck in front of a crowd of students at Utah Valley University (UVU) on Wednesday. FBI Director Kash Patel announced the same day that a suspect is in custody.
Kirk was rushed to a nearby hospital, where a source told Breitbart News he received a blood transfusion, before succumbing to his injuries.
President Donald Trump announced the tragic news on Truth Social, calling Kirk “loved and admired by ALL”:
“The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead,” Trump wrote. “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!”
FBI Director Kash Patel stated on X that agents “will be on the scene quickly and the FBI stands in full support of the ongoing response and investigation.”
UVU officials have canceled all classes and closed the campus, directing students to “secure in place” until police escort them to safety:
Gov. Spencer Cox Reminds Charlie Kirk Assassin ‘We Still Have the Death Penalty in Utah’
During a press conference Wednesday evening, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) praised Charlie Kirk for his defense of free speech and noted that Utah still has the death penalty.
Cox said, “Charlie believed in the power of free speech and debate, to shape ideas and to persuade people.”
He noted how university campuses have been a place where “truth and ideas are formulated and debated, and that’s what [Kirk did].”
Cox added, “And when someone takes the life of a person, because of their ideas or their ideals, then [our] very constitutional foundation is threatened.” He continued:
We have a person of interest in custody, the investigation is ongoing. But I want to make it crystal clear right now to whoever did this. We will find you, we will try you, and we will hold you accountable to the furthest extent of the law. And I just want to remind people that we still have the death penalty in Utah.
Minutes before the press conference began, FBI direct Kash Patel posted to X:
FOX13 noted that law enforcement indicated the shot was “fired from the top of the Losee Center on the [Utah Valley University] campus, which is approximately 200 yards from where Kirk was speaking.”
Justine Bateman Calls Out Violent Democrat Rhetoric After Charlie Kirk Assassination: ‘Politicians, People Act on What You Say’
Actress Justine Bateman took to X shortly after Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk was assassinated at an event at Utah Valley University and posted quotes from Democratic Party leaders, from House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) to California Governor Gavin Newsom (D), encouraging violence against Republicans, conservatives, President Donald Trump, and his supporters.
Bateman’s tweet said:
“House Minority Leader @hakeemjeffries, D-N.Y., is being criticized by Republicans after pledging Democrats would fight President Donald Trump’s agenda ‘in the streets.’” – @Foxnews 1/31/25.
“‘I think that you punch, I think you punch, I think you OK with punching… It’s Ted Cruz,’ (@RepJasmine Crockett) went on. ‘I mean, like this dude has to be knocked over the head, like hard, right?’” – @nypost 3/25/25.
“‘Maybe it’s time for us to be a little meaner,‘ @GovTimWalz said to audience … ‘Maybe it’s time for us to be a little more fierce because we have to ferociously push back on this.’” – @nypost 6/16/25
“‘Well, who cares about the f***ing rules right now? Punch back, kick back, dunk over their heads and win some f***ing power!’ @BetoORourke said.” – @dcexaminer 8/13/25
“@GavinNewsom has threatened to ‘punch’ Donald Trump in the mouth” – @thedailybeast 8/20/25
“Politicians, people act on what you say. Watch what you say,” Bateman said.
Her post was in reaction to the heinous assassination of Kirk on Wednesday and follows numerous examples of Democrat politicians using increasingly violent rhetoric over the passed several years.
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