

Charlie Kirk’s widow, Erika, said she doesn’t want to be the one to decide whether prosecutors seek the death penalty for her husband’s alleged assassin, revealing she’s worried that seeking revenge may prevent her from reuniting with him in heaven.
"I’ve had so many people ask, ‘Do you feel anger toward this man? Like, do you want to seek the death penalty?’ I’ll be honest. I told our lawyer, I want the government to decide this. I do not want that man’s blood on my ledger. Because when I get to heaven, and Jesus is like: ‘Uh, eye for an eye? Is that how we do it?’ And that keeps me from being in heaven, from being with Charlie?" Erika Kirk told The New York Times.
Charlie Kirk, 31, was gunned down at a speaking engagement at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10. He was in the midst of answering a question about transgender mass shooters when he was fatally shot in the neck.
Suspect Tyler Robinson, 22, was romantically linked to a transgender partner and the FBI says Robinson confessed to the murder in text messages with that partner. President Donald Trump has expressed hope that Robinson would be given the death penalty, and Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said authorities were gathering everything they need in order to pursue the death penalty against the alleged killer.
CHARLIE KIRK URGED YOUTH TO REJECT 'SEXUAL ANARCHY' AND HOOKUP CULTURE, PASTOR RECALLS

Erika Kirk recounted her final day with her husband to the New York Times. (Carlos Barria/Reuters)
"That [the death penalty] will happen here in the state of Utah," Cox told the press.
"I had enough of his hatred. Some hate can't be negotiated out," Robinson allegedly told his partner, Lance Twiggs, 22, after Twiggs asked why he killed the Turning Point USA founder.
Erika Kirk said that the night before Charlie departed for his fateful speaking tour, the two of them met with a faith leader in Phoenix to pray for his safety. A high-profile Trump supporter, he had been receiving death threats and Erika and the faith leader were concerned for his life.
His wife pleaded with him to wear a bulletproof vest. When he rejected the idea, the faith leader suggested he speak behind bulletproof glass.
Charlie responded "not yet" and expressed confidence in his team and that there would be additional security at the event. However, according to his wife and employees, he had made comments acknowledging he could be killed.

Charlie Kirk was assassinated at a speaking engagement at Utah Valley University. (Lynne Sladky, File/AP Photo)
Erika had been scheduled to attend the Utah event with Charlie, but she stayed behind in Phoenix because her mother had a medical appointment that day, and the two planned to reconvene at his subsequent event at Colorado State University. Erika learned her husband had been shot when his longtime assistant, Michael McCoy, told her over the phone shortly afterward.
When she arrived at the Utah hospital to see her deceased husband, a local sheriff implored her not to look at his body, warning her that the bullet had mangled his neck. But, Erika insisted she be allowed to see Charlie one last time.

Tyler Robinson, 22, the suspect in the shooting death of Charlie Kirk, appears by camera before 4th District Court Judge Tony Graf on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025, for his initial court appearance in Provo, Utah. (Scott G Winterton/Pool via Deseret News)
"With all due respect, I want to see what they did to my husband," she said.
Not having been able to kiss her husband goodbye when he left for his speech, she did so then. Erika Kirk was appointed the new CEO of Turning Point USA on Sept. 18.