VP Vance hosts 'The Charlie Kirk Show' as memorial for conservative icon nears

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WICS ABC 20 Illinois reporter Beni Rae Harmony says she is resigning after being suspended over what she called a “non-partisan tribute” to Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk.

Harmony posted on X that she is quitting “effective immediately” after being punished for the segment. In the tribute, she expressed sympathy for viewers grieving Kirk’s death, spoke fondly of him as her first boss and mentor, and quoted one of his sayings about standing up for beliefs even when “your voice shakes.”

She added that her resignation was “guided by values that are essential to who I am, which I refuse to set aside in order to keep a job. I choose my faith and love of country, and always will.”

Harmony’s decision has drawn attention on social media, where supporters praised her stand while critics questioned the station’s handling. Kirk was murdered Sept. 10 during a campus event in Utah. His memorial is scheduled for Sunday at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.

Erika Kirk, the widow of Charlie Kirk, posted a touching video of her late husband on Instagram Monday night.

In the video, Charlie Kirk was seen telling his young daughter about how he met Erika.

"Right near this very table was the first time Dada met Mama, and it started as a job interview," Kirk said.

"And I was asking all these questions, asking all of these questions. Philosophy, religion, Jesus."

"And then I realized Mama was beautiful and smart and elegant and Christ-like," Kirk added. "So I said, forget this job interview. I want to date you. I said, I have enough friends. And that's where your journey started."

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi appeared on "Hannity" Monday night to discuss the Trump administration's efforts to prosecute Tyler Robinson, the suspect behind Charlie Kirk's Sept. 10 murder.

Speaking to host Sean Hannity, Bondi said that the Utah state government is prosecuting Robinson now.

"They will indict most likely tomorrow or this week, and they will indict him for first-degree murder," Bondi said.

Bondi also shared her thoughts on whether Robinson will face the death penalty.

"It's too soon right now, legally to say, but I think the governor has said that they want to seek the death penalty, which is very real in Utah, and they still have the firing squad in Utah," she said.

"And then we as federal prosecutors, we'll look to see if we have federal charges as well. And of course, if we do, we will also indict and work hand in hand with the state to ensure that this horrible human being faces the maximum extent of the law."

The Dallas Cowboys were among the teams to honor Charlie Kirk before kickoff on Sunday following the conservative influencer’s assassination in Utah earlier in the week.

The Cowboys put a picture of Kirk onto their videoboard in AT&T Stadium before the team played the New York Giants.

Cowboys team owner Jerry Jones talked to reporters after the game and explained why the team decided to honor the 31-year-old.

Read the full article about Jerry Jones by Ryan Gaydos

The media frenzy had mostly dissipated on Utah Valley University’s campus on the evening of Monday, Sept. 15, 2025, as students and locals returned to campus to pay their respects to conservative influencer Charlie Kirk.

As campus reopened for UVU students seeking mental health resources and employees returning to work, memorials filled the grass outside campus.

Inside the UVU Courtyard, an American flag now hangs where Kirk stood before his assassination less than a week ago. More tributes, including flowers, American flags and messages to Kirk have been placed inside the courtyard.

Republican lawmakers are lashing out at Big Tech in the wake of the Charlie Kirk assassination, Politico reported on Monday.

The outlet reported that Meta, TikTok and X are all being pressured by GOP politicians to take down graphic videos of Charlie Kirk’s death.

Politico was told by a Meta lobbyist that the Big Tech platforms “are all facing this problem where the right wing has been on them repeatedly about content moderation and how they [shouldn’t] control any content.”

“And now the tables are turned in some fashion, and people are all over them, saying you can’t allow this kind of content and that kind of content,” the lobbyist added.

“A lot of [the companies] are going to be whipsawed.”

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., shared a nearly four-and-a-half minute video on social media following the assassination of Charlie Kirk that warned about "a disturbing rise in political violence," which the senator fears could lead to folks being afraid to participate in public life.

He added that "every American" must condemn what happened to Kirk. Sanders has long been a staunch opponent of Republicans and conservatives like Kirk, but the progressive senator said Thursday that this disagreement is precisely what democracy and freedom are all about. He added that anyone who thinks violence is an answer is simply a coward. 

"A free and democratic society, which is what America is supposed to be about, depends upon the basic premise that people can speak out, organize and take part in public life without fear," Sanders said in the video. "Without worrying that they might be killed, injured or humiliated for expressing their political views. In fact, that is the essence of what freedom is about and what democracy is about."

Read the full article about Bernie Sanders by Alec Schemmel

Students at the University of South Carolina (USC) held a vigil for Charlie Kirk on Monday night.

Pictures show mourners filling up a lecture hall during the tribute. A source told Fox News Digital that the event reached full capacity, forcing organizers to turn away some people.

In a post, the USC chapter of Turning Point USA announced the event and encouraged people to "continue to pray for each other."

"We are experiencing an incredibly dark time in this nation, and there are no words to express how lost we have become," the post read. "Charlie Kirk was a man who gave a microphone to people who hated him, a man who invited those who disagreed to come and express their views, a man so strong in his faith—assassinated at 31 years old."

More than 100 teachers in Texas will have their certification suspended after calling for violence following the assassination of Charlie Clark, Gov. Greg Abbott said Monday.

"Those educators—more than 100–will 'have their teacher certification suspended and be ineligible to teach in a Texas public school,'" Abbott wrote on X.

"The Texas Education Agency is investigating Texas teachers whose actions called for or incite violence following the Charlie Kirk assassination," he said.

A Washington, D.C.-area pastor disparaged the tributes to Charlie Kirk, whom he called an "unapologetic racist" in a fiery sermon.

Pastor Howard John-Wesley was speaking Sunday to parishioners at the Alfred Street Baptist Church in Alexandria, Va., when he criticized Kirk, who he said "spent all of his life sowing seeds of division and hate."

"I do not celebrate the killing of anyone. Charlie Kirk did not deserve to be assassinated," he said. “But I’m overwhelmed seeing the flags of the United States of America at half-staff, calling this nation to honor and venerate a man who was an unapologetic racist and spent all of his life sowing seeds of division and hate into this land."

"And hearing people with selective rage, who are mad about Charlie Kirk, but didn’t give a damn about Melissa Hortman and her husband when they were shot down in their home," he added, referring to the Minnesota state lawmaker who was fatally shot in her home with her husband by a gunman.

“There is no where in the Bible where we are taught to honor evil, and how you die does not redeem how you lived," the pastor continued. "You don’t become a hero in death when you are a weapon of the enemy in life."

"I can abhor the violence that took your life, but I don't have to celebrate how you chose to live," he added. 

President Donald Trump on Monday said he would be open to designating Antifa, the far-left movement, as a domestic terrorist organization.

"Well, it's, something I would do," Trump said while speaking with reporters in the Oval Office. "I would do that 100%. And others also, by the way. But Antifa is terrible."

Trump noted violent protests with alleged Antifa members throwing objects and assaulting law enforcement officers.

"We have some pretty radical groups and they got away with murder," he said. "And also, I've been speaking to the attorney general about bringing RICO (charges) against some of the people that you've been reading about that have been putting up millions and millions of dollars for agitation."

"This these aren't protests. These are crimes what they're doing where they're throwing bricks at cars of ICE and Border Patrol," he added.

Neighbors who knew Tyler Robinson, the suspected assassin of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk, told Fox News Digital that he was a "sweet," smart, nice kid.

Ray Hardy, a resident of the 22-year-old suspect's hometown who said his kids went to high school with Robinson, described him as "normal."

"This is not who we are," Hardy said. "This is not our society. It's not our community. It is not who we grew up with. I don't think this is the kid who grew up with us either. Something changed and affected him, almost infected him."

Robinson's charging documents, which are expected Tuesday, could shed more light on the suspect's motive. Attorney General Derek Brown told Fox News Digital on Friday that Robinson could face a combination of state and federal charges. 

Another Washington County local told Fox News Digital that her brother was friends with Robinson in high school, and he would occasionally come over to her family's house. She said her brother lost touch with him over the past few years as he started working full-time and Robinson spent more time online. 

As the community tries to make sense of Robinson's attack, the Utah governor said Robinson's digital footprint could have the answers. 

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News Digital's Deirdre Heavey.

Sen. Ted Cruz took matters into his own hands after profanity was graffitied alongside a roadway in Houston, painting over the message that included the word "F[---]" and the name of Charlie Kirk, the prominent conservative activist who was assassinated in Utah last week.

"Some deranged bastard put this graffiti on the 59 freeway in Houston. TXDOT has been notified & I’m sure they will remove it expeditiously. But, in the meantime, Texans don’t have to look at this hateful garbage anymore," Cruz noted in a Sunday post on X.

Business tycoon Elon Musk replied with an American flag emoji, apparently expressing approval for the senator's action.

Cruz also shared a video of himself painting over the graffiti. "Erasing evil," the senator's post reads.

Sharing a Fox News tweet featuring Cruz's video, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce applauded the senator for the move.

In a post that included two clapping hands emojis, she wrote, "Well done. Thank you from all of us @tedcruz" — she ended the post on her personal X account with an American flag emoji and a heart emoji.

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News Digital's Alex Nitzberg.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker criticized President Donald Trump on Monday for “fanning the flames of division” in the wake of the assassination of Charlie Kirk.

“This should come from the top, yet with each new crisis in recent years, we are reminded that we cannot rely on President Trump to tamp down the anger and the passion in the aftermath of political violence,” Pritzker said after meeting with students attending the City Colleges of Chicago.

"Instead, he actively fans the flames of division, as he did on Friday, regularly advocates violence for political retribution, and in more than one case, declares we are at war, not with a foreign adversary, but with each other," he added.

The governor has regularly criticized Trump over a range of issues.

The suspected gunman accused of fatally shooting Charlie Kirk reportedly confessed to the killing online shortly before turning himself in to authorities.

“Hey guys, I have bad news for you all,” said a message to friends from an account belonging to Tyler Robinson on the online platform Discord. “It was me at UVU yesterday. im sorry for all of this.”

The Washington Post reported that the message was sent Thursday night, two hours before officials said Robinson had been taken into police custody.

A member of the group chat shared an image of the conversation with The Post and confirmed that it came from Robinson’s account, the newspaper reported.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., on Monday said political violence needs to be addressed following the assassination of Charlie Kirk last week.

Johnson was asked about the political rhetoric in the wake of Kirk's murder.

"If you are inciting violence, inciting others to political violence, that is a serious problem and it's something we must address," he said. "There are not easy answers to this, but it's something we've got to address and face the reality of."

The assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk is having a heightened impact on the young people of Arizona, where his organization is headquartered.

The location of TPUSA, as well as its political arm, Turning Point Action, headquarters has resulted in the group playing an outsized role in the Grand Canyon State, which was considered hotly competitive in 2024.

A Fox News voter analysis found that 48% of people aged 18-29 voted for President Donald Trump in Arizona, with former Vice President Kamala Harris only narrowly winning the demographic with 51%. Overall, Trump won the state with over 52% of the vote. 

Arizona State University’s College Republicans and TPUSA are hosting a large vigil for Kirk on Monday night, which a source familiar with the event told Fox News Digital that it already has roughly 10,000 people that have registered to attend. 

Jordan Oveson and Chandler Buchanan, both 23 years old, told Fox News Digital outside the Hansen Mortuary Chapel in Phoenix, where Kirk's body is being held, on Saturday that Kirk had a major impact on Generation Z.

"He really meant a lot to me, helping younger people find their voices and talking about faith and politics. And I feel like a lot of young people have a hard time figuring out what they believe in, and I feel like Charlie Kirk really helped a lot of people, and especially younger people, realize and find what they believe in and find their voices for that," Buchanan said.

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News Digital's Cameron Arcand.

Philanthropist Lynn Friess announced on social media that she will donate $1 million to support new Turning Point USA chapters across the country in the wake of Charlie Kirk's assassination.

Lynn Friess and her late husband, investment manager and political donor Foster Friess, were early funders and supporters of Turning Point USA.

"Foster always believed in Charlie’s vision and often said that helping Charlie build TPUSA was the best investment he ever made. I know he would be grateful to see how Charlie’s legacy is inspiring young Americans to stand up for faith and freedom," Lynn Friess wrote in a note that was posted on the X account of advocacy group Foster's Outriders.   

"I invite you to join me in honoring Charlie by helping this incredible movement grow even stronger," she continued.

This is an excerpt from a FOX Business article by Daniella Genovese.