Charlie Kirk’s heartbroken widow said her husband gave his life for his country and family in an emotional speech just two days after the conservative activist was publicly assassinated during an outdoor speaking event in Utah.
A teary-eyed Erika Frantzve Kirk, wife of the slain founder of Turning Point USA, addressed mourners for the first time Friday night in Arizona, where her husband will be buried.
“My husband laid down his life for me, for our nation, for our children,” Erika said behind a podium with a sign of her late husband’s face, saying “May Charlie be received into the merciful arms of Jesus, our loving Savior.”
“Now and for all eternity, he will stand at his savior’s side wearing the glorious crown of a martyr.”
“No one will ever forget my husband’s name, and I will make sure of it,” she added in the room where Kirk filmed his popular podcast.
Kirk, 31, was ruthlessly gunned down with a single bullet to the neck at Utah Valley University while addressing thousands during the inaugural stop of his American Comeback Tour Wednesday afternoon.
Here’s the latest on the Charlie Kirk shooting in Utah
- Police identified Tyler Robinson, 22, as the alleged assassin who fatally shot Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10.
- Robinson is expected to be charged with aggravated murder, among other state charges, according to a probable cause affidavit released on Sept. 12.
- Kirk, the 31-year-old Turning Point USA creator, was attending an event on his American Comeback Tour when he was fatally shot in the neck by a single shot.
- President Trump was among many who have called for the assassin to receive the death penalty.
- Kirk’s body was brought to Arizona from Utah on Air Force Two, accompanied by Vice President JD Vance, and taken to Phoenix’s Hansen Mortuary Chapel.
- Kirk, a rising MAGA star, is survived by his wife and two young children.
Tyler Robinson, 22, is accused of firing the fatal shot roughly 200 yards away from the pop-up tent where the right-wing influencer was answering questions about mass shootings committed by transgender people during the outdoor event on the Orem campus.
Robinson, a devout Mormon and trade student in Utah, was taken into custody Thursday night after a massive manhunt and is expected to face aggravated murder and other state charges, according to a probable cause affidavit released Friday.
Frantzve, the 2012 Miss Arizona, married the MAGA icon in 2021, and they share two young children – a 3-year-old daughter and a 1-year-old son.
The shattered wife, host of devotional podcast “Midweek Rise Up,” escorted her husband’s body to Phoenix’s Hansen Mortuary Chapel Thursday after it was flown from Utah on Air Force Two.
Vice President JD Vance arranged the flight after Wednesday’s savage execution and, along with Second Lady Usha, stayed by the grieving widow’s side following her husband’s death.
Vance, 41, then helped carry Kirk’s wooden casket to Air Force Two during a private ceremony at Roland R. Wright Air National Guard Base in Salt Lake City.
President Trump said Friday he plans to attend Kirk’s funeral, calling it an “obligation.”
The 79-year-old commander in chief previously announced he would posthumously award Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom – the nation’s highest civilian honor.
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