Charlie Kirk’s widow takes helm of his Turning Point USA conservative campaign group
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Mrs Erika Kirk with her late husband, Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, in January 2025.
PHOTO: AFP
- Erika Kirk will replace her deceased husband, Charlie Kirk, as CEO and Chair of Turning Point USA, following his wishes.
- Charlie Kirk's death sparked mourning among conservatives, with Trump ordering flags at half-mast and Vance collecting his body.
- Backlash and firings occurred due to disrespectful social media posts after Kirk's death, including Jimmy Kimmel's suspension.
AI generated
LOS ANGELES - The widow of slain right-wing activist Charlie Kirk is to take his place at the head of youth action campaign group Turning Point USA, officials announced on Sept 18.
Two days after her husband was shot dead on a university campus on Sept 10, allegedly by a 22-year-old gunman, Mrs Erika Kirk told supporters: “The movement my husband built will not die.”
Now the organisation’s board says Mrs Kirk will take her husband’s place as its leader.
“The Turning Point Board has unanimously elected Erika Kirk as the new CEO and Chair of the Board,” a post on X said on Sept 18.
“In prior discussions, Charlie expressed to multiple executives that this is what he wanted in the event of his death.”
Mr Kirk’s death last week sparked a wave of mourning among conservatives for a man they hailed as a champion of free speech and Christian values.
President Donald Trump ordered flags to fly at half-mast, and Vice-President J.D. Vance flew to collect Mr Kirk’s body from Utah in a highly unusual display of official grief for a civilian.
The shooting also laid bare the divisions in American society, with conservatives organising to punish anyone they deemed was not being sufficiently respectful of Mr Kirk’s death.
There have been mulitple reports of people being fired after they made social media posts that cheered his death or mocked Mr Kirk.
Late night comedian Jimmy Kimmel on Sept 17 became the latest scalp when the ABC network said it was suspending his Jimmy Kimmel Live show indefinitely.
That came after conservatives took umbrage at comments Kimmel made about the motive of the alleged shooter, and after the federal government threatened to pull broadcast licences from channels that did not take a stand against him. AFP
