(The Center Square) – Thursday marks one year since the assassination of Christian and conservative leader Charlie Kirk, who will be honored during a Turning Point USA service in the evening.
"The Freedom Built to Last Memorial Honoring Charlie Kirk" program will start at 6:30 p.m. Thursday Mountain time at the UCCU Center at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. Speakers include Glenn Beck, host of "The Glenn Beck Show," founder of Blaze Media & Torch and bestselling author; Frank Turek, speaker, author and president of Cross Examined Ministries; Andrew Sypher, TPUSA chief field officer, and Caleb Chillicut, Utah representative to TPUSA's College Department. The service will live-stream at YouTube, X, Facebook and Rumble.
It was just after noon in Orem, Utah on Sept. 10, 2025, when Kirk was shot and killed during a Turning Point USA event. Kirk, the founder and president of TPUSA, was doing a Q&A in front of nearly 3,000 people at Utah Valley University at the time of the shooting. Question-and-answer sessions were common for Kirk and his many campus appearances for TPUSA events.
President Donald Trump announced Kirk’s death on social media approximately two hours after the shooting.
“The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us.”
Kirk was 31. He left behind his wife, Erika, and two children.
On Sept. 12, 2025, Erika Kirk delivered a public address from TPUSA headquarters in Phoenix, where she pledged to continue his work. “The movement my husband built will not die. It will become stronger, bolder, louder, and greater than ever.”
It was also on Sept. 12, 2025, that authorities identified 22-year-old Tyler Robinson as the suspect in the assassination. Authorities said Robinson turned himself in at the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, where he was booked on charges including aggravated murder and weapons offenses. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox saidthat evidence included shell casings that had political messages. The Republican governor added that family members claimed Robinson “had become more political in recent years” and “was full of hate and spreading hate.”
Since Charlie Kirk’s death, interest in TPUSA chapters has risen dramatically, and not just in colleges, but for high school students in public, private, and homeschool settings. TPUSA noted many people also started attending church services and/or reading the Bible.
TPUSA supporters talked about this on Sept. 21, 2025, during a memorial service for Charlie Kirk. Thousands of people showed up to pay their respects at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, near Phoenix. Christian music was performed live between speeches. Videos of Kirk speaking to people at TPUSA events also appeared on monitors.
Erika Kirk said people have responded to his death the way that her late husband would have wanted.
“After Charlie's assassination, we didn't see violence, we didn't see rioting, we didn't see revolution. Instead we saw revival, with some people opening a Bible for the first time in a decade,” said Erika Kirk, who had just been named CEO and chair of TPUSA before the memorial service. “We saw people pray for the first time since they were children. We saw people go to a church service for the first time in their entire lives.”
Erika Kirk also spoke about Robinson.
“That man, that young man - I forgive him,” she said.
Trump told the large audience at the service that Charlie Kirk was a great man who played a big role in helping get the president back into office.
“He was violently killed because he spoke for freedom and justice, for God and country, for reason and common sense,” Trump said. “He was assassinated because he lived bravely, he lived boldly, and he argued brilliantly without apology. He did what was right for our nation.”
Trump later announced that he would posthumously award Charlie Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
“It’s the highest civilian honor,” said Trump, who delivered on his promise on Oct. 14, 2025, which would have been Charlie Kirk’s 32nd birthday.
In addition to the president, the medal ceremony was attended by Vice President JD Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance, several cabinet members and congressional members, as well as a who’s who of conservative journalists and influencers.
Utah Valley University reopened campus for classes on Sept. 16, 2025.
Following months of court proceedings, Utah Fourth District Judge Tony Graf ruled on Sept. 2, 2026, that the prosecution’s evidence was sufficient for Robinson to be tried on seven counts, six of which are felonies. They include aggravated murder and multiple counts of witness tampering and obstruction of justice. Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray, the county’s top prosecutor, has said he will seek the death penalty if Robinson, now 23, is convicted of murder.
After Graf's ruling, defense attorney Kathryn "Kathy" Nester entered a plea of "not guilty" to all of the charges on Robinson's behalf.
During the hearing, Erica Kirk and Charlie's parents, Robert and Kathryn Kirk, sat in the Provo, Utah, courtroom, where Graf ruled that a hearing would take place Oct. 23 to determine the trial date. A lawyer representing Erika Kirk asked the judge to be certain to determine the trial date at the proceeding, noting justice shouldn't be delayed for Charlie Kirk's family.
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