FILE PHOTO: Founder and president of Turning Level USA Charlie Kirk speaks on the Conservative Political Motion Convention (CPAC) at Nationwide Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland, U.S., February 28, 2019.
Kevin Lamarque | Reuters
Conservative political activist Charlie Kirk may need been a family title in America, however as information of his taking pictures and dying unfold on Wednesday, many individuals past the U.S. have been left asking who he was.
Google tendencies confirmed a spike in searches of the phrase on Wednesday as information alerts pinged on cellphones spreading the phrase of Kirk’s taking pictures, as he spoke at a rally at Utah Valley College in Orem.
U.S. President Donald Trump introduced his buddy and ally’s dying on social media, saying he was full of “grief and anger” over the homicide of “patriot” Kirk, whereas Utah Republican Gov. Spencer Cox described the killing as a “political assassination.”
“I need to make it crystal clear proper now to whoever did this, we are going to discover you, we are going to attempt you, and we are going to maintain you accountable to the furthest extent of the legislation,” mentioned Cox.
The manhunt for Kirk’s killer was ongoing as of Thursday morning, after legislation enforcement launched two preliminary suspects of their investigation.
CNBC has a short abstract of Charlie Kirk’s life and work, and why he mattered to the Republican Celebration and U.S. conservative motion.
Who was Charlie Kirk?
Born in 1993 in Illinois, Charles James Kirk confirmed the early indicators of his political leanings in highschool, when he volunteered to assist in the profitable U.S. Senate marketing campaign of Illinois Republican Mark Kirk, to whom he bore no relation.
Kirk later went on to co-found the conservative pupil group Turning Level USA on the age of 18, which actually established the activist in Republican circles.
The group turned notorious for its well-liked rallies on college and faculty campuses, drawing giant crowds with the heady mixture of rock music and competition vibes with provocative right-wing rhetoric on race, Islam, immigration and American id.
U.S. right-wing activist and commentator Charlie Kirk throws hats to the group shortly earlier than he was shot at a Utah Valley College talking occasion in Orem, Utah, U.S. September 10, 2025.
Trent Nelson/the Salt Lake Tribu | By way of Reuters
The group’s capacity to impress America’s conservative youth meant Kirk’s prominence grew within the Republican Celebration, and in 2019 Kirk launched Turning Level Motion — an affiliate advocacy group backing conservative candidates for workplace, together with Trump.
Turning Level USA was seen as pivotal in rallying younger folks’s assist for Trump after he misplaced the 2020 presidential election — which Kirk and his teams disputed. Social media later helped gas youth assist for the president’s 2024 election marketing campaign that secured his second mandate.
On Wednesday, Kirk was murdered at one in all Turning Level USA’s campus occasions throughout “The American Comeback Tour” at Utah Valley College, which was attended by 3,000 folks, in accordance with the FBI.
Kirk was married to Erika, a former Miss Arizona USA magnificence pageant winner, with whom he had two youngsters. He amassed a big following on social media, with 8.7 million followers on Instagram and 5.6 million followers on X. He additionally offered The Charlie Kirk Present podcast which garnered 8.2 million followers on TikTok and 254.3 million likes as of Thursday morning.
Constructing that viewers attain to unfold the political proper’s message in an period of heightened tradition wars and division made Kirk a family title. He steadily appeared on TV and right-leaning information retailers equivalent to Fox Information, participating in fractious information debates.
The assist for Trump wasn’t a one-way avenue, with the Republican politician exhibiting his appreciation for Kirk at a rally in Washington the day earlier than he was sworn in for a second time period in workplace in January, telling the viewers: “Charlie Kirk is right here. And I need to thank Charlie. Charlie is unbelievable.”
On Wednesday, Trump reiterated his admiration for Kirk, calling him “Nice, and even Legendary” in a submit on Fact Social that introduced the activist’s dying.
“Nobody understood or had the Coronary heart of the Youth in america of America higher than Charlie. He was beloved and admired by ALL, particularly me, and now, he’s now not with us.”
Trump ordered American flags all through the U.S. to be flown at half-mast till Sunday night.
