US conservative political activist and YouTuber Charlie Kirk arrives to attend a rally at Hurt Park next to the campus of Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia, on October 21, 2024. Photo: YASUYOSHI CHIBA / AFP
The conservative American activist Charlie Kirk has been killed while speaking at a rally in Utah today.
But who was Kirk, and what was his role in Donald Trump's presidency?
Kirk, 31, founded the organisation Turning Point USA in 2012 when he was just 18 years old. He specialised in working to attract young voters to the Republican Party in the US and was seen as a major player in young men turning into more conservative voters.
He ran a podcast that was among America's top 50 listened to, wrote best-selling books and had just embarked on a speaking tour at Utah Valley University that was planned to visit several American cities when he was shot.
He was born in Illinois and dropped out of college to pursue political activism.
He was married to the former Miss Arizona Erika Frantzve in 2021, and they have two young children, born in 2022 and 2024.
Donald Trump walks on stage after being introduced by Charlie Kirk (L) at the Turning Point Action conference on July 15, 2023 in West Palm Beach, Florida. Photo: JOE RAEDLE/ AFP
What were his views?
Kirk's views were aligned to conservative causes including attacking Covid-19 vaccines, denying climate change and attacking critical race theory views.
He also often attacked the transgender community, arguing on one of his interviews, "is that even a real thing? It means you need therapy, and I have compassion for you."
In 2024, Kirk was among the first to share claims Haitian immigrants were eating cats and dogs in Ohio that were then amplified by Trump.
He was also a key supporter of gun rights in America, and a quote he made in 2023 was being seen again on Thursday: "I think it's worth to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God-given rights."
A New York Times profile of Kirk in February looked at his rise in the Trump ecosphere, calling him "the youth whisperer of the American right".
He told the Times he became a fan of the late conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh while in school, and it changed his life.
"Listening, I was like, this guy is unbelievable! Because you're looking for someone in high school to affirm your beliefs."
While still a teenager, he wrote for the right-wing outlet Breitbart and appeared on Fox News. At 23 years old he was the youngest speaker at the Republican National Convention in 2016.
Turning Point USA worked on college campuses to rally people around voting and supporting conservative causes. He also worked to get people who hadn't voted to show up at the polls - encouraging that turnout was a key part in Trump's victory over Kamala Harris in 2024.
U.S. Vice President-elect JD Vance on stage with Charlie Kirk during the Turning Point USA Inaugural-Eve Ball at the Salamander Hotel on January 19, 2025 in Washington, DC. Photo: SAMUEL CORUM / AFP
What was his role with Trump?
Kirk did not have an official role with the Trump administration and never held political office. But he had clearly been a close adviser, attending Trump's inauguration with a prime viewing spot.
Kirk told the New York Times he'd visited the White House more than 100 times during Trump's first term. He also played a large role in vetting prospective Trump appointees, and was a key booster of JD Vance for the vice presidency.
“Charlie Kirk has better seats than every member of Congress. Tells you how little Trump team thinks of Congress,” one GOP lawmaker tells me.
— Juliegrace Brufke (@juliegraceb) January 20, 2025
"No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie," Trump wrote in a social media post after the shooting.
Hasn't there been a lot of political violence in the US in the past year?
Yes, there has, beyond school shootings and other gun violence.
The most notable was the assassination attempt on Donald Trump in July 2024.
A Democratic lawmaker and her husband were killed in Minnesota in June, while there was also an arson attack on the home of Pennyslvania Governor Josh Shapiro in April.
US media personality Charlie Kirk gives a thumbs up as he arrives to speak during the presidential inaugural parade inside Capitol One Arena, in Washington, DC, on January 20, 2025. Photo: ANGELA WEISS / AFP
Last month, a man attacked the US Centers for Disease Control offices in Georgia in a protest over Covid-19 vaccines, killing a police officer.
The killing of a health care company CEO by alleged gunman Luigi Mangione in December could also be seen as having political motivations. There have also been several attacks on Tesla facilities over CEO Elon Musk's involvement in the Trump administration.
There have been many more examples of political violence.
In the New York Times profile, Kirk is quoted ruefully noting how he was initially seen in the Trump White House.
"I was known as the youth guy. I was seen as harmless. So no one attacked me."
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