Erika Kirk has spoken out about the heartbreaking final moments leading up to her husband Charlie Kirk’s assassination earlier this month. Charlie, the 31-year-old founder of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot in the neck while delivering a speech at Utah Valley University.
In an emotional interview with The New York Times, Erika shared the last message she sent before his trip to Provo, Utah: “I love you.” She remembered hearing him moving around the kitchen before dawn, full of excitement to begin his long-awaited campus tour. Because he left so early, she didn’t kiss him goodbye—unaware that her text would be the last words he’d ever receive from her.
Mid-flight to Utah, Erika learned the devastating news of his death. Looking out at the clouds and mountains, she thought, “This is exactly what he last saw.”
At the hospital, doctors advised her not to see his body due to the damage caused by the gunshot wound. She refused. She described his expression as peaceful—his eyes partly open and his lips curved into a faint, Mona Lisa-like smile. “It was as if he died happy,” she said. “As if Jesus had rescued him.”
Since the tragedy, Erika has turned to her Christian faith for strength. Asked if she wanted the accused gunman, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, to face the death penalty, she answered firmly: “I do not want this man’s blood on my ledger.”
Her last words to Charlie—“I love you”—have become her vow to honor his memory with faith, resilience, and unshakable devotion.
