- Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist, was shot and killed at Utah Valley University.
- Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, was a staunch ally of Donald Trump.
- He was known for his viral Q&As and had 7.3 million followers.
SALT LAKE CITY — Conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot and killed while speaking at Utah Valley University on Wednesday.
Kirk, the founder and president of conservative action group Turning Point USA, was 31 and left behind a wife and two children, according to CBS News.
The rise of Charlie Kirk
Kirk had developed a large and loyal online following and was an ally of President Donald Trump. Many of Kirk's college Q&As, similar to what was supposed to transpire on Wednesday, went viral over the years.
Kirk co-founded Turning Point USA at the age of 18 in 2012, according to the BBC. Kirk grew up in the Chicago suburbs and dropped out of college to focus full-time on political activism.
Known as the "Trump whisperer," Kirk was "deeply involved in vetting top positions for the administration following the election and was in constant communication with top advisers and the president himself," ABC News reported.
Kirk had remained a staunch ally of Trump even as other high-profile conservative media figures had criticized Trump for issues ranging from Iran to Jeffrey Epstein during the early portion of his second term, according to a recent Deseret News profile.
A leader of the "America First" political movement, Kirk looked to expand his influence in the GOP through Turning Point Action.
Kirk amassed 7.3 million followers over the years and was known for his debate style and appearances at high-profile political conferences, the Deseret News indicated. Kirk accumulated 15 billion views across 2024 alone, according to a Turning Point spokesperson.
At the time of his death, Turning Point USA was considered the largest and most influential conservative youth organization in the U.S.
"Judging by what drew the most cheers and clicks, Kirk's appeal to young voters owed as much to his willingness to break liberal taboos as to his social-media-savvy style," the Deseret News profile states.
A keen observer and participant in the modern conservative movement, Kirk wrote a 2024 book called "Right Wing Revolution," and in 2024 alone, Kirk dedicated around 200 hours at more than 60 colleges for his "Prove Me Wrong" college tours.
Why was Charlie Kirk in Utah?
Kirk was kicking off his "Prove Me Wrong" college tour at UVU on Wednesday. He was due to return to Utah on Sept. 30 to Utah State University for another stop on his tour.
Before the tour stop on Wednesday, Kirk had talked with Sen. Mike Lee about his stop in Utah on his podcast. Kirk had said he was surprised by some of the criticism the colleges that were scheduled to host him had received.
"What is going on in Utah?" he said on X.
The Deseret News profile said prior to Kirk's UVU stop, some backlash stemmed from students considering him too "inflammatory" for campus.
