Charlie Kirk’s widow vows to continue his work after assassination

Chris Cuomo highlights the need for reasonable discussion between all, regardless of political affiliations.

The host of “On Balance” questions where America is headed following the political assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Leland Vittert says it’s incumbent on both parties to hold themselves accountable. “Let me propose something here,” he said. “The left should police the left. The right should police the right. Calling out both sides or calling out the other side is really easy to do.”

Christian Hodges, Turning Point USA ambassador and author and host of “America Don’t Give Up,” progressive influencer Adam Mockler and Manu Meel, CEO of Bridge USA, join “CUOMO” to discuss the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, his widow Erika Kirk’s speech, and the Gen Z culture in the United States.

Commentator Stephen A. Smith isn’t seeing any positives in the aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s murder at a Utah college campus, especially not after the partisan shouting match that erupted in the House soon after the assassination. “I’m not going to say it’s going to get worse, because I can’t imagine it could get much worse than what’s happened,” Smith tells “CUOMO.”

“When I got home last night, Gigi ran into my arms. She said she missed me and asked, ‘Where is Daddy?’ What do you tell a 3-year-old? I told her he was on a work trip with Jesus so he can afford your blueberry budget,” Erika Kirk said.

“Charlie, I promise I won’t ever let your legacy die. Charlie, I love you. Rest in the arms of our Lord as he blankets you in his words: Well done my good and faithful servant,” she said.

“I’ll make Turning Point USA the biggest thing this nation has ever seen.”

Turning to his legacy, Erika Kirk vowed that the movement he built would not end with his death.

“The evildoers responsible for my husband’s assassination have no idea what they have done,” she said.

“If you thought that my husband’s mission was powerful before, you have no idea what you have unleashed in this entire country. You have no idea the fire you have ignited within this wife.”

“The cries of this widow will echo around the world like a battle cry,” she said, fighting tears.

She promised that Turning Point USA’s campus tours and broadcasts would continue and even grow stronger: “The movement my husband built will not die. I refuse to let that happen. It will become stronger, bolder, louder, greater than ever.”

“No one will ever forget my husband’s name and I will make sure of it.”

Erika Kirk called for supporters to join or start local Turning Point chapters and to attend upcoming events, including the “ AmericaFest” conference in December.

“Our campus tour this fall will continue; there will be even more tours in the years to come.”

Most importantly, she said, Charlie would have wanted people to join “a Bible-believing church” and share the gospel.

Erika Kirk remembered Charlie Kirk as the “perfect father and husband” whose greatest joy was family life, a message he often shared with young people.

“Charlie always believed that God’s design for marriage in the family was absolutely amazing and it is,” Erika Kirk said. “Over and over, he would tell these young people to find their future spouse, become wives and husbands and parents.”

“The reason why is because he wanted you all to experience what he had,” she said. “He wanted everyone to bring heaven into this earth through love and joy that comes with raising a family. It’s beautiful.”

If he had ever run for office, Erika said, Charlie told her his top priority would have been “to revive the American family. “

She described her husband as a man defined by his faith: “Two days ago, my husband went to see the face of his savior and his God. Charlie wanted to be remembered for his courage and his faith. Now and for all eternity, he will stand at his savior’s side wearing the glorious crown of a martyr,” she said.

While Charlie Kirk was a passionate Chicago Cubs and Oregon Ducks fan, Erika said his greatest devotion was to his family.

“Charlie loved his children, and he loved me with all of his heart. He made sure I knew every day,” she recalled, adding that he often asked her, “How can I serve you better? How can I be a better father?”

She said one of his favorite Bible verses is Ephesians 5:25: “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.”

Erika Kirk said, “My husband laid down his life for me, for our nation, for our children. He showed the ultimate and true covenantal love.”

Erika Kirk thanked Vice President JD Vance and his wife Usha along with President Donald Trump and his family for bringing Charlie Kirk’s body back to his home state.

“I wanna thank my husband’s dear friend, Vice President Vance, and his phenomenal wife, Usha, for their love and support. You guys honored my husband so well bringing him home,” Erika Kirk said. “You both are tremendous.”

“Mr. President, my husband loved you, and he knew you loved him too,” she said. “Your friendship was amazing.”

Through tears, Erika Kirk began by thanking local and federal law enforcement for capturing the suspect as well as the staff of Turning Point USA, the organization her husband founded.

“My heart is with every one of my husband’s employees who lost a friend and a mentor. I wanna thank the staffers of his amazing ‘The Charlie Kirk Show,’ who helped him broadcast from this studio, this chair every day,” she said, placing her hand on a chair he sat on in the studio.

Erika Kirk spoke publicly for the first time since her husband’s death, thanking law enforcement, Turning Point USA staff, Vice President JD Vance and President Donald Trump for their support.

She said Charlie “went to see the face of his Savior” and described him as a devoted husband and father who wanted to restore the importance of family.

She vowed his movement would continue and urged supporters to join or start local Turning Point chapters, keep the campus tours and broadcasts going and to find a Bible-believing church and called on his followers to carry forward his legacy.

The life of Charlie Kirk’s suspected assassin could be in jeopardy given Utah state law.

Tyler Robinson, 22, was arrested and booked into a Utah jail after being taken into custody late Thursday night, around 10 p.m. local time, after confessing to his father. Prior to Robinson’s arrest, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, who referred to the shooting Wednesday as a “political assassination,” said he would be seeking capital punishment.

Full story here.

Rep. Mark Alford, R-Mo., joins “Elizabeth Vargas Reports” to discuss meeting with his local chapter of Turning Point USA to discuss the fallout from the assassination of activist Charlie Kirk.

The Chicago Cubs honored Charlie Kirk before today’s game with a “moment of reflection.” Kirk, who was born in the Chicago area, was a lifelong Cubs fan. The announcer also called for an end to political violence.

Erika Kirk, the wife of Charlie Kirk, is expected to give a public address for the first time since the assassination of her husband. Charlie Kirk’s organization Turning Point USA announced that Erika Kirk will be speaking at 8:15 p.m. ET.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is warning civilian and military employees that the Pentagon is “tracking” any comments from them that celebrate or mock the Wednesday assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. 

“We are tracking all these very closely — and will address, immediately. Completely unacceptable,” Hegseth wrote Thursday on social media.

Hegseth was responding to a statement from chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell, who earlier said it is “unacceptable for military personnel and Department of War civilians to celebrate or mock the assassination of a fellow American. The Department of War has zero tolerance for it,” using the Trump administration’s preferred name for the Department of Defense.

They did not mention any specific examples of personnel who had reacted positively to Kirk’s death.

FBI director Kash Patel ended his update Friday on the arrest of Tyler Robinson, the suspect accused in the fatal shooting of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk, with a curious message to Kirk: “Rest now, brother. We have the watch, and I’ll see you in Valhalla.”

The FBI didn’t immediately respond to The Hill’s request for clarification on the significance behind Patel’s sign-off, which has prompted speculation online about the “Valhalla” reference to Norse mythology.

Full story here.

In Phoenix, where memorials continue to grow for conservative activist Charlie Kirk, one of the largest is outside Turning Point USA headquarters, where mourners gathered to pray.

A veteran at the memorial said he “didn’t serve his country for events like these to take place.” Arizona State University is planning a tribute Monday.

Kirk’s body arrived in Phoenix aboard Air Force Two. His widow, Erika, was seen holding hands with second lady Usha Vance as the casket was carried off the plane and escorted by motorcade to a mortuary. President Trump is expected to attend the funeral in Arizona next week.

Two days after conservative commentator Charlie Kirk was assassinated during a campus speaking event, his podcast returned to the air with an empty chair left in his honor.

Full story here.

Teachers, firefighters, elected officials and even a cable news contributor have lost their jobs or are under investigation after comments they made about the assassination of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk.

Reports of teachers and school administrators around the country being put on leave proliferated Thursday less than 24 hours after Kirk’s death. School employees in Tennessee, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Mississippi, Ohio were all being investigated for posts made on social media.

At least one teacher in South Carolina was fired for a post about Kirk’s death that read: “Thoughts and prayers to his children but IMHO America became greater today. There I said it.”

Neighbors in St. George, Utah, say they were stunned to learn 22-year-old Tyler Robinson was accused of killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Kristin Schwiermann told NewsNation affiliate KLAS that Robinson grew up in a close-knit community. “He was raised in this neighborhood with good people and a good family. I just don’t understand why he would do that,” she said, adding that the photos released by authorities “could have been any tall, skinny kid.”

Rep. Nancy Mace said she will introduce a resolution to allow conservative activist Charlie Kirk to lie in honor in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda. The tribute, usually reserved for presidents, lawmakers and other national figures, would take place with the family’s approval. Mace wrote on X that Kirk “devoted his life to defending the freedoms defining our nation” and called him “uniquely worthy of this distinction.”

The Trump administration is tightening security following the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk at a Utah college campus.

Trump, who has faced two known assassination attempts, has long been a security challenge due to his large rallies and golf outings.

Full story here.

A U.S. Secret Service employee has been placed on administrative leave after violating the agency’s code of conduct in a social post about the assassination of Charlie Kirk. In a statement to NewsNation, the agency said, “The U.S. Secret Service will not tolerate behavior that violates our code of conduct. This employee was immediately put on administrative leave, and an investigation has begun.”

Full story here.

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, is asking House leadership to establish a new select committee exclusively dedicated to investigating “the Left’s assault on America and the rule of law.”

He wrote on social media that he wants probes into money, influence and power and who he believes is funding certain activities associated with the political Left.

Discord said Friday that the person accused of killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk did not use the platform to plan the shooting or promote violence, after officials revealed he sent messages over the app. 

“We are deeply saddened by this tragedy and extend our condolences to the Kirk family and everyone affected. In the course of our investigation, we identified a Discord account associated with the suspect, but have found no evidence that the suspect planned this incident or promoted violence on Discord. The messages referenced in recent reporting about planning details do not appear to be Discord messages. These were communications between the suspect’s roommate and a friend after the shooting, where the roommate was recounting the contents of a note the suspect had left elsewhere,” the statement said.”

“We have removed the suspect’s account for violating our off-platform behavior policy. We strongly condemn violence of any kind, including political violence, and we will continue to coordinate closely with law enforcement.”

The suspect’s roommate shared Discord messages with officials, in which Robinson said he needed to get a rifle from a drop point, and discussed leaving the weapon in a bush and watching the area where it was left wrapped in a towel. 

Discord, a messaging app popular with gamers, has previously found itself at the center of controversy. Payton Gendron, who killed 10 people in a racially motivated shooting at a Buffalo supermarket in 2022, detailed his plans in a private Discord server in the months leading up to the incident. 

In arrest documents, an affidavit describes the actions as the alleged shooter approached the Losee Center.

Police described seeing him climb up steps to a common area, which is separated from the roof by a short, concrete wall.

At 12:17, he climbed the wall and crouched down on the north side of the rooftop, according to the affidavit. At 12:22, police said he ran to the west side of the rooftop and laid down in a “a position consistent with a prone shooting position near the edge of the rooftop.”

Kirk was shot at 12:23

Immediately after, police say Robinson was seen jumping off the roof on the northeast edge of the building.

Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray plans to file formal charges against Tyler Robinson on Tuesday.

The office is currently reviewing evidence to determine the appropriate charges to file.

Tyler Robinson did not attend Utah Valley University, where the shooting occurred. He lived with his family in Washington County.