Three months after Charlie Kirk was assassinated on a college campus, his widow, Erika Kirk, sat down for a town hall moderated by Bari Weiss to discuss grief, forgiveness, political violence, and civic discourse. Erika — now CEO and chairwoman of Turning Point — described stepping into public life amid sorrow and a renewed commitment to the movement her husband built.
Erika recounted the immediate aftermath of the shooting: going live from Charlie’s podcast studio because transparency mattered to them and because he always broadcast live. She said the response to his death revealed both deep compassion and disturbing dehumanization; some online voices cheered or justified the killing. Erika rejected any notion that words alone justify violence, calling celebratory reactions “sick” and urging for repentance and prayer for those who rejoiced.
A theme of the town hall was the erosion of civil conversation. Erika maintained that Charlie’s approach was to “give people the microphone” — to invite interlocutors to the front of the line and hear them out rather than shout them down. She blamed social media and a culture of instant judgment for dehumanizing opponents and making dialogue difficult. She and Weiss discussed the personal step Erika has taken to disconnect: Erika removed social apps from her phone and delegated online management to a team. She emphasized focusing on family, faith, and direct, in-person conversations as antidotes to online toxicity.
Erika pushed back on clipped portrayals of Charlie. Weiss read controversial excerpts that opponents circulated — comments about gun deaths, race, and the Civil Rights Act — and Erika argued those lines, taken out of long-form conversations, didn’t capture his complexity. She urged people to watch full contexts and to see him as a multidimensional person who encouraged conversation and exhorted people to “stop the violence” and restore civil exchange.
Audience questions addressed free speech, the idea that words are violence, and young people’s willingness to endorse or accept political violence. Angel Eduardo of FIRE cited surveys showing many undergraduates view words as violence and a substantial minority condoning violence against disfavored speech. Erika said Charlie never incited violence; his method was to engage students, encourage them to speak, and listen. She insisted that when society stops communicating across differences, violence becomes more likely.
Hunter Kozak, the Utah Valley student who spoke to Charlie moments before the shooting, asked Erika whether powerful leaders — including Donald Trump, who has used violent rhetoric — bear responsibility to cool political temperature. Erika answered that political leaders have a role but emphasized the responsibility of families and communities. She urged parents to be more involved in their children’s media consumption and formation, warning that handing a device to a child can lead them down toxic online rabbit holes. Her call to action was local and relational: parents, pastors, teachers should raise children who are resilient and humane.
Several victims of political violence joined the audience. Bob Milgrim, father of Sarah Milgrim, who was killed alongside her boyfriend in an antisemitic attack in Washington, asked Erika to condemn antisemitism on the right, including Holocaust denial and antizionist conspiracies. Erika responded forcefully: she denounced antisemitism and said Charlie had been clear in opposing Jew-hatred; Turning Point chapters host Jewish students, Shabbat dinners, and pro-Israel voices. She said dialogue is the cure for falsehoods — not suppressing voices — and that Turning Point would keep countering hate with truth.
Conspiracies and misinformation have swirled around Charlie’s killing. Erika described the strange claims: that the shooter was aligned with the right, that the attack was an “airborne elite” operation, or that she was an Israeli agent. She said the simplest explanation — that Tyler Robinson was charged and the case is being prosecuted — has been obscured by people seeking more elaborate narratives. Erika used the moment to caution against social-media-driven rumor, which creates legal complications and distorts public understanding. She criticized prominent personalities spreading unproven theories and urged listeners to let the legal process run.
The conversation turned to Erika’s public forgiveness of Charlie’s accused killer. On camera she said, “I forgive him,” explaining that her choice was rooted in faith and in a refusal to let the enemy keep her. She clarified that forgiveness did not mean excusing or ignoring the crime — she wants justice — but that releasing hatred allows her to pursue the revival she believes God has unleashed. Erika described how forgiving was a conscious, prayerful decision, and said meeting the accused would bring no words from her.
Erika also reflected on carrying on Turning Point’s work while raising young children. She described her own path: once a stay-at-home mom, she stepped into Charlie’s role out of duty and devotion. She stressed that family and faith were central; she keeps Sabbath practices and has found them restorative. On questions about encouraging young conservative women to marry and have children, Erika said it’s not a binary: women can pursue careers and families, and she advised women to prepare themselves spiritually and personally to attract like-minded partners. She urged women not to “settle” and stressed the importance of aligning priorities with prayer and community.
Audience members asked what Turning Point can do to combat antisemitism and extremist conspiracy theories. Erika said they are hosting inclusive campus programming — Shabbat dinners and events featuring Jewish organizations — and training chapter leaders to counter falsehoods through dialogue. She emphasized that truth speaking and presence on campuses create a vacuum for better ideas to take root.
Erika described practical steps she and the organization are taking: continuing campus outreach, amplifying truth, and cultivating a new generation of conservative leaders who are thoughtful and courageous. She praised student chapter leaders who operate peer-to-peer with integrity and compassion, and said the organization will keep “planting seeds” and training leaders even as it grieves.
Weiss closed by affirming that national conversation matters and that this town hall exemplified an effort to defuse political divisions by talking. Erika’s overriding message was a blend of personal faith, commitment to civil discourse, and a pledge to continue Charlie’s work without succumbing to hatred or revenge. She returned repeatedly to three themes: restore conversation, reject violence, and steward the revival she believes has been set in motion.
