Erika Kirk: Widow of Charlie Kirk delivers first public speech since shooting saying her cries will ‘echo around the world’
Charlie Kirk’s widow has said her “cries” will “echo around the world like a battle cry” in a pointed message for “the evildoers responsible” for the assassination of the conservative activist.
On Friday, Erika Kirk delivered her first public remarks since the shooting, from the office where her late husband hosted his podcast. She said he loved America, nature and the Chicago Cubs.
“But most of all, Charlie loved his children and he loved me with all of his heart,” she said. Addressing her husband’s killer, she said: “You have no idea the fire that you have ignited within this wife.
“The cries of this widow will echo around the world like a battle cry.” She also thanked US President Donald Trump, saying through tears that her husband loved the president, and vowed to keep her husband’s work alive, continuing his campus tour, radio show and podcast.
It came after authorities said the man accused in Mr Kirk’s assassination had earlier expressed to family his opposition to Mr Kirk’s viewpoints. Tyler Robinson, 22, had become “more political” in the run-up to the shooting and had indicated to a family friend afterwards that he was responsible, Utah governor Spencer Cox said.
Mr Cox also cited as key pieces of evidence engravings on bullets found in a rifle believed to have been used in the attack, as well as chatting app messages attributed to the shooting suspect which a roommate shared with law enforcement. The Republican governor called Mr Kirk’s killing an “attack on the American experiment”, and he urged a new generation to “choose a different path”.
Robinson was arrested on suspicion of aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily harm and obstruction of justice charges, according to a court affidavit. A judge ordered that he be held without bail. Formal charges are expected early next week.
Robinson is believed to have acted alone and the investigation is ongoing, Mr Cox said. Authorities have yet to reveal a motive, but they did describe evidence they said shed potential light on the killing.
That includes engravings on bullet casings recovered from the high-powered rifle believed to have been used in the attack, including one that said “Hey, fascist! Catch!”, Mr Cox said. In addition, a roommate shared with authorities messages from the chatting app Discord that involved a contact named Tyler and discussed a rifle wrapped in a towel, engraved bullets and a scope, the governor said.
A Mauser .30-caliber, bolt-action rifle was found in a towel in a wooded area along the path investigators believe Robinson took after firing a shot from a distant roof and then fleeing. The clothes the suspect wore when confronted by law enforcement late on Thursday were consistent with what he had on when he arrived on campus a day earlier, and a family member confirmed that he drove a grey Dodge Challenger like the one seen in surveillance video that recorded Robinson driving to the university on the day of the shooting, Mr Cox said.
Robinson’s father recognised him from the photos released by the FBI and told him to turn himself in. Robinson refused at first, but then changed his mind, according to a law enforcement official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.
His father asked for help from their youth pastor, who also occasionally works with the US Marshals and called the agency so he could turn himself in. Mr Kirk was killed by a single shot in what police said was a targeted attack and Utah’s governor called a political assassination.
He co-founded the nonprofit political organisation Turning Point USA, based in Arizona. He had been speaking at a debate hosted by Turning Point at Utah Valley University at the time of Wednesday’s shooting. He was taken to a local hospital and was pronounced dead hours later.