In her first public interview since the shocking death of her husband, conservative activist Charlie Kirk, Erika Kirk has shared harrowing new details about the moment she learned of the shooting and spoke of her resolve to carry forward his legacy with a message of forgiveness and love.
Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA and a prominent figure in right-wing youth organizing, was fatally shot on September 10 while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University, part of his American Comeback Tour. He was 31 years old.
Speaking to The New York Times, Erika revealed that she found out about the shooting through a frantic phone call from Kirk’s assistant, Michael McCoy.
“He’s been shot!” McCoy screamed into the phone, according to Erika, who immediately boarded a plane to be with her husband. But while still midair, she received devastating news: Kirk had succumbed to his injuries.
“I’m looking at the clouds and the mountains,” she recalled. “It was such a gorgeous day, and I was thinking: This is exactly what he last saw.”
Despite being advised not to view Charlie’s body due to the severe damage caused by the bullet, Erika insisted on seeing him one final time.
“With all due respect, I want to see what they did to my husband,” she told a sheriff who warned her of the injuries to his neck.
She described a striking and peaceful expression on her husband’s face — his eyes partly open, a faint smile playing on his lips.
“He had this knowing, Mona Lisa-like half-smile,” Erika told the Times. “Like he died happy. Like Jesus rescued him. The bullet came, he blinked, and he was in heaven.”
Erika had initially planned to accompany Charlie to the UVU event but remained behind in Phoenix to care for her mother, who is undergoing medical treatment.
Since the shooting, Erika admits she hasn’t been able to return to their shared bedroom and has been sleeping in different rooms to cope with the loss.
Over 200,000 mourners gathered at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, on Sunday for a public funeral service honoring Kirk. Several people in attendance included former President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and tech billionaire Elon Musk. The event was marked by emotional tributes, including a powerful eulogy delivered by Erika.
“My husband, he wanted to save young men, just like the one who took his life,” she told the crowd. “That man, that young man – I forgive him. I forgive him because it was what Christ did, and it is what Charlie would do.”
Her words were met with a standing ovation from the packed stadium.
Prosecutors have charged 22-year-old Tyler Robinson with Kirk’s murder. Authorities say Robinson, a Utah resident, sent a message to his partner following the shooting, stating he had “had enough of Kirk’s hatred.” If convicted, Robinson could face the death penalty.
When asked whether she believes Robinson should receive capital punishment, Erika was candid in her response.
“I’ll be honest. I told our lawyer, I want the government to decide this. I do not want that man’s blood on my ledger,” she said. “Because when I get to heaven, and Jesus is like, ‘Uh, [an] eye for an eye? Is that how we do it?’ And that keeps me from being in heaven, from being with Charlie?”
In a poignant closing to her public remarks, Erika announced she will assume leadership of Turning Point USA, the organization her husband founded and grew into a powerful conservative youth movement.
“The answer to hate is not hate,” she declared. “The answer we know from the gospel is love and always love – love for our enemies and love for those who persecute us.”