Charlie Kirk assassination: Erika Kirk shares heartwarming video of late husband as memorial nears

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"Real Time" host Bill Maher expressed empathy for fellow late-night host Jimmy Kimmel as a former ABC star who also landed himself in hot water by making questionable remarks in the wake of a tragedy.

"It was 24 years to the day that I made comments on ABC that got me canceled from that network, and Jimmy Kimmel took my slot," Maher said during his opening monologue, adding "Oh yes, I got canceled before cancel even had a culture."

Before his decades-long stint at HBO, Maher previously hosted "Politically Incorrect" on ABC, which the network canceled in 2002 after Maher faced backlash for arguing that the 9/11 hijackers weren't "cowardly" just days after the 2001 terrorist attacks. 

"ABC, they are steady. ABC stands for ‘Always Be Caving," Maher later called out his ex-employer. "So Jimmy, pal, I am with you. I support you. And on the bright side, you don't have to pretend anymore that you like Disneyland."

Kimmel's show "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" was taken off the air on Wednesday following comments he made in his Monday monologue about Charlie Kirk and his alleged assassin.

This is an excerpt from an article by Joseph Wulfsohn.

The assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk loomed over a Republican campaign rally in Chesterfield, Virginia Friday for Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears where speakers including Vivek Ramaswamy and Gov. Glenn Youngkin framed his death as a call to action.

Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy told supporters that honoring Kirk meant rejecting political violence and turning to the ballot box. “If you want to restore the rule of law in this state, vote Sears. If you want to restore meritocracy in this state, vote Sears. If you want to grow the economy in this state, vote Sears. If you want to bring down costs in this state, vote Sears. If you want Virginia to pave America's path back to greatness, vote Sears,” Ramaswamy said. “Don’t just come to this event. We’re asking you go home, you take those signs, you put them up in your yard, put that bumper sticker on your car, leave this event tonight, get ten more people who haven’t voted early today to get out in early voting and actually do it. We don’t win through bullets, we win through ballots. That’s how we do it in the Republican Party, that’s how we do it in the United States of America. That is who we are.”

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin called Kirk’s killing “a horrific display of evil” and led the crowd in prayer. “What happened last week was an assault on America, but also a violation of everything we hold dear. A man who was standing for God and engaging in a discussion with America was assassinated. A father, a husband. A child of Christ. And so if we could just gather together for a minute.”

Early voting began in Virginia's gubernatorial election earlier this week, with Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears taking on Democrat Rep. Abigail Spanberger.

Utah Valley University hosted a 'vigil for unity' Friday to honor Charlie Kirk, the Turning Point USA founder killed during an event on the Orem campus last week.

Hundreds gathered to remember his life and reflect on the impact of his death.

Caleb Chilcutt, one of the speakers, urged unity in a time of national grief. “In times of loss and hardship, it can be easy to focus on differences, but Charlie reminded us that our true strength is found in what brings us together,” he said. “Let us choose courage. Courage to listen. Courage to love and courage to heal together.”

Elder Matthew Holland, former president of UVU, framed his tragic death in a broad view of American resilience. “Another harbinger of hope is that while this nation is reeling from a level of division not seen in recent times, America has a solid history of facing even worse,” Holland said. “It’s been wisely observed that hope is being able to see that there is light, despite all of the darkness.”

Current UVU President Astrid Tuminez shared how the community had responded in the immediate aftermath of the shooting. “I have seen goodness and mercy. Our community, the wounded, showed up to serve one another. We hugged each other. We offered trauma and mental health support,” she said.

The vigil closed in prayer, with speakers urging attendees to carry Kirk’s legacy forward through acts of service and faith.

In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital after delivering his Red Mass homily to Minnesota’s Catholic lawyers and judges, Bishop Robert Barron warned that the brutal murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk represents a cultural breaking point for America — not only because of the tragedy itself, but because it symbolizes an assault on free speech and civil dialogue.

Barron argued that Kirk’s killing is resonating so strongly because "he died not with a gun or a knife or a grenade in his hand, but a microphone." To Barron, the attack reveals that something "basic to our civilization is in danger of being lost."

Speaking inside St. Paul Cathedral, Barron said Kirk’s death "shook the foundations" of American civic life because it struck at the heart of free and open dialogue. "Each human being is a subject of infinite dignity, and without that recognition, conversation devolves into violence."

Barron described Kirk as "a man of great intelligence, charm, and goodness of heart." Charlie, he said, embodied a tradition of open debate stretching back to the roots of Western civilization.

"Charlie, as thousands of videos on YouTube attest, was committed to open dialogue, particularly on college campuses."

The bishop explained that this tradition rests on two bedrock assumptions: the dignity of the individual and the objectivity of truth."

There is a rational structure to the world and moral values to which anyone, by virtue of being a rational creature, can appeal."

Both principles, he added, are grounded in God. "Thomas Jefferson knew that human rights were rooted in this divine soil: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights'."

Barron said Kirk himself understood that faith was central: "He always made it clear that the most important thing in his life—the thing he most wanted to be remembered for—was not his party affiliation or political philosophy but his Christian faith."

This is an excerpt of an article by Fox News' Jasmine Baehr.

Former Walt Disney Company CEO Michael Eisner blasted his former company’s indefinite suspension of "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" on Friday.

In an X post, Eisner claimed that the federal government pressured Disney into suspending the ABC late-night show, suggesting it was an attack on free speech. He also wondered why more people weren’t standing up to this supposed government pressure.

"Where has all the leadership gone? If not for university presidents, law firm managing partners, and corporate chief executives standing up against bullies, who then will step up for the first amendment?" Eisner wrote.

Eisner, who was Disney’s CEO from 1984 to 2005, published the post in response to Disney pulling late-night host Jimmy Kimmel’s show off the air on Wednesday. 

This is an excerpt from an article by Gabriel Hays.

Rep. Mikie Sherrill, D-N.J., a Democratic nominee for governor, called Charlie Kirk a Christian nationalist who wanted to roll back the rights of women and Black people following the passage of a House resolution honoring the conservative activist.

“I take my oath to the Constitution seriously. I believe in free speech. And that the First Amendment wouldn’t be necessary if it were only meant to cover language we agreed with," Sherrill said in a statement. "It is meant to protect people like Charlie Kirk who present vile dissenting views. But it is also meant to protect teachers, doctors, and TV comedians who may express views the president doesn’t like."

“Charlie Kirk was advocating for a Christian nationalist government and to roll back the rights of women and Black people — this flies in the face of every value I hold dear and that I fight for," she added. "But the Constitution protects free speech, even for those I vehemently oppose. 

In addition, the lawmaker said President Donald Trump continues to "define hypocrisy."

“On one hand, he denounced Kirk’s politically motivated killing, while on the other hand, is instigating a witch hunt worthy of Joseph McCarthy to shut down the free speech rights of anyone who disagrees with Kirk’s racist, anti-American views," she said.

While condemning Kirk's murder, she said she will continue to "condemn political violence, racism, attacks on women, and the hypocrisy coming from Trump and his acolytes."

President Donald Trump on Friday announced that a deal is "well on its way" with China on TikTok, and credited conservative activist Charlie Kirk as being a proponent of the popular social media platform, particularly among younger voters, that helped get him elected last fall.

"I was helped very much by Charlie Kirk," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. "He was very much in favor of it and said I should use it. It had a pretty good effect on the election because we won by a lot."

Police bodycam footage shows Tyler Robinson, the alleged gunman accused of killing Charlie Kirk, after a May 2022 traffic incident in Utah.

The video, obtained by Scripps News, shows the moments after an apparent fender bender in St. George, Utah, in which Robinson, 22, and another driver collided in an intersection.

No driver was cited and neither appeared to be seriously injured.

Robinson, who was 19 at the time, was driving an Audi when he slammed into a Ford sedan that was making a left turn in front of him, according to the video. He appeared cooperative.

"It just turned yellow as I was getting into the intersection," he told officers.

Robinson said he was driving with his brother and that he had contacted his mother to help provide his insurance information.

She arrived later to provide information to the officer.

Robinson is being held in jail while facing charges for Kirk's fatal shooting. Prosecutors have said they plan to seek the death penalty.

Turning Point USA’s future could entail expanding the organization under the leadership of Erika Kirk, who was appointed to lead the conservative nonprofit following the assassination of her husband, Charlie Kirk, last week.

Alex Clark, host of the podcast "Culture Apothecary with Alex Clark" and a longtime TPUSA personality, explained that Kirk held a Zoom call on Wednesday with employees, noting that she has been an "absolute force" who wants to "10x the organization."

Since the assassination, the group has received more than 62,000 new requests for high school and college chapters.

"I'm excited because Charlie had said on his show at one point that Erika was actually more conservative than he was, so I can't wait to see what that means," Clark told Fox News Digital in a phone interview on Thursday.

"I think that's kind of a poetic justice that will be done to the left, because, obviously, they were excited that they took out Charlie, and they thought that everything would die with him. And that's just clearly not even close to the reality of the situation."

This is an excerpt from an article by Cameron Arcand.

U.S Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said he condemned the killing of Charlie Kirk but could not vote in favor of a resolution honoring him because of his "divisive" and "disparaging" views.

In a statement, Thompson, a ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee, said while he condemns “the violent murder” of Kirk, “my deep regret that Mr. Kirk was killed and my respect for his First Amendment right to express himself freely does not make him someone that should be elevated as a role model for the American public.”

Thompson said the resolution would have done so.

“The fact is Charlie Kirk’s rhetoric was divisive, disparaging, and too often rooted in grievance. The beliefs he evangelized normalized views on race, sex, and immigration,” Thompson said

He also said Kirk's views “resurrected dangerous prejudices of a dark past.”

"I cannot in good conscience honor someone who demeaned women, immigrants, and Black Americans, and who questioned the very foundation of civil rights progress in this country," he added.

Scores of protesters gathered outside Walt Disney Studios to rail against Disney’s suspension of ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel on Thursday evening.

Entertainment outlets reported that around 200 protesters demonstrated outside of Disney’s location in Burbank, Califwornia to demand that Disney put "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" back on the air after it was pulled after Kimmel’s comments on the alleged murderer of Charlie Kirk.

"It’s a First Amendment right. Our freedom of expression, our freedom of speech, is fundamental. And last night ABC and Disney broke that," Writers Guild of America West President Meredith Stiehm told The Hollywood Reporter while attending the protest.

Liberals have rallied together to denounce Kimmel’s removal from the airwaves since Disney-owned ABC announced it on Wednesday. The stunning move came after Kimmel seemingly suggested on Monday that Kirk’s suspected assassin, Tyler Robinson, was a MAGA supporter, despite reports he had a left-wing ideology.

Outside the studio, a protester named Matty Thorn told the BBC, "This is the ultimate in cancel culture."

This is an excerpt from an article by Gabriel Hays.

The White House released an emotional video tribute to Charlie Kirk featuring excerpts from a speech his widow, Erika, gave in the wake of his assassination in which she declared, "You have no idea the fire that you have ignited." 

"Charlie always said that when he was gone, he wanted to be remembered for his courage and for his faith," Erika Kirk is heard saying as the video displayed scenes of memorials and vigils held for Kirk around the U.S. "Now and for all eternity, he will stand at his Savior's side, wearing the glorious crown of a martyr." 

"The evildoers responsible for my husband's assassination have no idea what they have done," she added. "They killed Charlie because he preached a message of patriotism, faith, and of God's merciful love. They should all know this: If you thought that my husband's mission was powerful before, you have no idea. You have no idea what you just have unleashed across this entire country, in this world. You have no idea." 

The clip also features Erika Kirk vowing: "The movement my husband built will not die. It won't. I refuse to let that happen."  

At one point, Kirk’s casket is shown being taken off Air Force Two after it arrived in Arizona following his assassination on Sept. 10 at Utah Valley University.

In another portion, Kirk is seen walking alongside President Donald Trump. 

The is an excerpt from an article by Greg Norman.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas praised the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel after his show was yanked off the air, calling it a "fantastic thing" while also criticizing Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr, calling his actions “dangerous as hell” and “right out of ‘Goodfellas.’”

"I think Jimmy Kimmel is putting up garbage for a long, long time," Cruz said on his podcast, "The Verdict with Ted Cruz."

Cruz also said there were questions about the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and its role in Kimmel's suspension.

“If the government gets in the business of saying: ‘We don’t like what you, the media, have said. We’re going to ban you from the airwaves if you don’t say what we like,' that will end up bad for conservatives,” he said.

Cruz warned that the FCC could leverage its power under a Democratic administration.

“They will silence us,” he said. “They will use this power, and they will use it ruthlessly.”

Later on Friday, President Donald Trump said he disagreed with Cruz's remarks about Carr.

"I think Brandon Carr is a great American patriot," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. "So I disagree with Ted Cruz on that."

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., said on the House floor Friday that the resolution passed honoring Charlie Kirk pushes a “legacy of bigotry,” despite his “horrific” assassination. 

Ocasio-Cortez was one of 58 Democrats to vote against the resolution. 

“Charlie Kirk's assassination was a horrific and vile attack, an incident of political violence. And condemning the depravity of Kirk's brutal murder is a straightforward matter, one that is especially important to help stabilize an increasingly unsafe and volatile political environment where everyday people feel more at risk,” she said. 

“The majority proceeded with a resolution that brings great pain to the millions of Americans who endured segregation, Jim Crow, and the legacy of bigotry today,” Ocasio-Cortez continued.  

She said Kirk’s “rhetoric and beliefs were ignorant, uneducated and sought to disenfranchise millions of Americans, far from the ‘working tirelessly to promote unity' asserted by the majority in this resolution.” 

“We continue to pray for Mr. Kirk's family and loved ones in the wake of this terrible act. I am thinking, especially of his children and his wife, whose grief cannot be measured,” Ocasio-Cortez also said. 

The assassination of political activist Charlie Kirk is prompting Timothy Cardinal Dolan to call it a moment of spiritual awakening for young people. Dolan, the Archbishop of New York, compared Kirk to a "modern-day St. Paul." 

"He was a missionary, he's an evangelist, he's a hero. He's one I think that knew what Jesus meant when he said the truth will set you free," Dolan said Friday on "Fox & Friends." 

He noted that while Kirk had a blunt style, he respected opposing views.

"The difference is the way, the mode, the style that he did it always with respect and not only was that a gracious kind of virtuous thing to do, it's effective."

Dolan said he began learning more about Kirk’s faith work only after his death on Sept. 10. Kirk, co-founder of Turning Point USA, was shot and killed while speaking at Utah Valley University. He leaves behind his wife and two children. 

The cardinal believes the tragedy could inspire a renewed interest in faith among young people, a trend he says has already been growing.

"What they're seeing is almost this kind of revival of a sense of value and truth and conviction, almost an elevation of the role of faith back into the public square where our founders intended it to be from the beginning," Dolan said. 

After the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, his friend and fellow conservative influencer Riley Gaines is speaking out about her own experience with left-wing campus violence – and what comes next for conservatives on college campuses.

Gaines said that at a 2023 Turning Point USA event at San Francisco State University, radical trans student activists attacked her and forced her to take refuge in a classroom for hours as university police failed to disperse the hostile crowd. The former NCAA swimmer, who rose to prominence in 2022 for speaking out about her experience competing against transgender swimmer Lia Thomas, said that a mob of protesters stormed the event, disrupted her with aggressive chanting, flickered the lights and surrounded her.

"I [was] so disoriented, you have men and dresses and women with beards. I'm confused, fists are flying in my face," Gaines, who is a host of her own Outkick show, told Fox News Digital.

The conservative activist said that a plainclothes police officer pulled her out of the scrum and through a back exit into a hallway, where even more protesters were waiting. She said she took refuge in a nearby classroom for hours into the night as demonstrators gathered outside.

Gaines told Fox News Digital that protesters demanded money if she wanted "to see my family again," and the campus cops failed to disperse the crowd, allegedly saying they couldn’t be seen as antagonistic to the transgender community.   

"I was scared. I was scared for my life. I broke down in tears and I looked at the officer and I said, ‘I just want to go home,’ and he looked at me and he said, ‘that's a bit selfish, don't you think we want to home too?’" Gaines told Fox News Digital.

Federal law enforcement agencies are monitoring for threats ahead of Charlie Kirk's memorial service in Arizona this weekend, according to a new report.

They are "tracking several threats of unknown credibility," according to a law enforcement bulletin obtained by ABC News.

"Violent extremists and unaffiliated lone offenders may view the memorial service or related events as attractive attack targets due to the attendance of these individuals, other senior U.S. government officials, state and local government officials, and political activists and due to major international media attention," the memo reportedly says.

Federal authorities have long warned about potential lone wolf attackers.

"The U.S. Secret Service has been designated as the Federal Coordinator for this effort. Our teams are already on the ground in Phoenix and Glendale, working side-by-side with state, local and federal partners," the U.S. Secret Service's Special Agent in Charge of Phoenix William Mack said in a statement. "Together, we are fully committed to ensuring that these solemn events receive the comprehensive protection and support they require."

The Department of Homeland Security also designated the memorial as a Special Event Assessment Rating Level 1, "reserved for events of the highest national significance" and the same severity as the Super Bowl.

"The Department of Homeland Security has designated the upcoming funeral and memorial service as a Special Event Assessment Rating (SEAR) Level 1 event," a DHS senior official said. "This designation is reserved for events of the highest national significance and enables the federal government to provide the full range of law enforcement and security resources necessary to support local officials in ensuring a safe and successful event."

Turning Point USA announced Friday that it “has received 62,000+ requests from high school and college students nationwide to start a chapter or get involved with an existing chapter."

The reported surge in interest comes after Charlie Kirk was assassinated at Utah Valley University on Wednesday, Sept. 10. 

Andrew Kolvet, executive producer of "The Charlie Kirk Show," told Fox News Digital earlier this week that Turning Point USA currently has 900 official college chapters and approximately 1,200 high school chapters. 

Kirk co-founded Turning Point USA in 2012. After his death, the board unanimously elected his widow, Erika Kirk, to succeed him as CEO and Chair of the Board.

Fox News Digital's Amanda Macias contributed to this report.