Erika Kirk, widow of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, honored her husband’s life at a memorial service Sunday. She also spoke about forgiveness for the man accused of killing him.
Tyler Robinson, 22, is charged in Charlie’s Sept. 10 death. Erika said he was like so many of the young men her husband wanted to help.
"Charlie wanted to save young men, just like the one who took his life," she said. "Our Savior said, 'Father, forgive them, for they not know what they do.' That young man … I forgive him. I forgive him because it was what Christ did, and it's what Charlie would do."
Speaking at State Farm Stadium in Arizona, she thanked the crowd for honoring him. She opened with his favorite Bible verse, Isaiah 6:8: Here I am, Lord. Send me. She recalled warning him once after repeating it: "Charlie, baby, please talk to me next time before you say that statement."
She said God answered that prayer. Charlie was shot at Utah Valley University and rushed to the hospital, where Erika later arrived to face the "unthinkable." "I looked directly at my husband's murdered body," she said. "I felt shock. I felt horror. I felt heartache I didn’t know existed."
But she also noticed small details — even laughing through tears. "I saw the one single gray hair on the side of his head, which I never told him about. Now he knows. Sorry, baby, telling you now." She also saw "the faintest smile," proof to her that he didn’t suffer. Doctors confirmed the shot was so sudden nothing could have saved him.
Erika shared how their marriage stayed strong despite his travels. "Our little secret: It was love notes. Every Saturday, Charlie wrote one for me, and he never missed." Each note ended the same way: Please let me know how I can better serve you as a husband.
Faith, she said, guided everything Charlie did. He journaled often, leaving behind words like: "Every time you make a decision, it puts a mark on your soul." She said he gave 100% every day and left Earth "without regrets."
"Charlie died with incomplete work, but not with unfinished business," she said. "And I will miss him. I will miss him so much. Because our marriage and our family were beautiful."
She closed with a vow. As the new CEO of Turning Point USA, Erika said his mission is now hers. "Everything that Turning Point USA built through Charlie's vision and hard work, we will make ten times greater through the power of his memory. No assassin will ever stop us from standing up to defend those rights."