Daily Wire co-founder Ben Shapiro on Thursday denied he is canceling a college tour in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s death, saying he and other leaders in the conservative movement will “pick up that blood-stained microphone where Charlie left it.”
“I saw a lot of rumors online today. I was made aware of this by my team, that I canceled some sort of college tour. That’s bulls***. I saw those rumors. They are false,” he said in a video message.
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“I will be coming to college campuses, many of them this year. So will we all,” he added. “I am sure, because we’re Americans, and we’re not going to be deterred.”
Shapiro often travels to college campuses to hold lectures in partnership with Young America’s Foundation. The pundit does not have any YAF speaking engagements currently scheduled for this fall, although he did have an event scheduled for Thursday before that was canceled.
YAF President Scott Walker said while its security measures will be reviewed and venues may be changed, the organization will continue hosting campus events to honor Kirk.
Shapiro was previously set to speak and promote his new book at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute in Simi Valley, California, on Wednesday. In light of Kirk’s death, the event was postponed. The library said it would announce a new date soon.
The fatal shooting has sparked a question of campus safety at conservative events hosted by colleges, where there may not be as much security to handle serious threats like an active shooter.
Shapiro issued a direct message to those on the Left, many of whom have openly celebrated Kirk’s death, and said he will not be intimidated.
“To those who would intimidate, who would seek to stop us, who would seek to end free discussion, who believe that they have ownership over public spaces and can violently threaten and kill people who speak freely. We are not going to stop, and I have two words: F*** you,” he continued.
“We will not stop telling the truth,” he added. “We will never stop telling the truth. We will never stop debating and discussing. We will never stop standing up for what America is and for what she should be, and we will never let Charlie Kirk’s voice die.”
Kirk, 31, died on Wednesday after an unidentified gunman shot him in the neck. At the time of the shooting, he was hosting a Q&A session outside in front of an estimated 3,000 attendees on Utah Valley University’s campus.
The manhunt for the suspect is ongoing.
“Goodbye to my friend, Charlie Kirk,” Shapiro concluded. “May your memory be a blessing for your family and for your country and for all of us.”