Charlie Kirk never held office or worked on a campaign. But he was a crucial organizer of the MAGA movement. Turning Point USA, the group he founded when he was 18, helped recruit many young conservatives and elect Republicans across the country. He was a practiced debater who posted videos of himself parrying liberal critiques.
That’s exactly what he was doing yesterday when a shooter assassinated him during a talk at Utah Valley University. Here is what we know about the killing:
The authorities continue to search for the shooter. They captured two people yesterday — one immediately after the attack, another in the evening — but released both without charges.
Kirk was hit in the neck by a single bullet, the police said. About two hours later, his spokesman announced that he had died. Here is a timeline.
About 3,000 people attended the outdoor event. After the shooting, police officers went building to building to escort students off campus.
Videos recorded before and after the shooting show someone on the roof of a campus building about 150 yards away. A university official identified the building as the shooter’s location.
Kirk’s influence
Kirk built Turning Point USA to mobilize students. The group, which has more than 850 chapters, sends right-wing speakers to college campuses and convenes young people for political discussions. In a feature in The Times Magazine this year, Robert Draper, a political reporter, explained how the group had guided many young men to vote for Trump in 2024.
Kirk frequently visited college campuses for speaking engagements and debates, and videos of his question-and-answer sessions amassed millions of views on YouTube. He frequently criticized D.E.I., abortion, immigration and gun control. He was answering a question about mass shootings when he was shot.
Kirk was a close friend of Trump’s and a fixture in his administration. He spoke at Trump’s inauguration, helped vet appointees and frequently visited the White House. He was also a close friend of Donald Trump Jr. (the two recently took a trip together to Greenland) and an early backer of Vice President JD Vance.
Kirk, a Christian, lived in Arizona with his wife and two children. Read his Times obituary here, and hear more about him on today’s episode of The Daily.