Conservative activist Charlie Kirk was fatally shot Wednesday afternoon while speaking at a Utah college campus.
Kirk, 31 and the co-founder of Turning Point USA, was struck by a gunshot to the neck, according to video footage from the event. A “person of interest” is in custody, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) said at a press conference. FBI Director Kash Patel later said a “subject” was released after questioning.
President Trump announced the death of one of his biggest allies on social media.
“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. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!”
Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle and right-wing pundits mourned Kirk and condemned the political violence. And shouting broke out on the House floor after Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) held a moment of prayer.
The assassination of the conservative activist sent a shockwave through the American conservative movement, with Kirk’s sudden and public death eliciting emotional reactions from some of the country’s most prominent figures on the right.
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