Erika Kirk Extends Forgiveness to Husband’s Killer

September 22, 2025 OLAOLUWA AYOMIDE

“Forgiveness, not revenge: Erika Kirk’s final gift to Charlie”

At a memorial service that drew tens of thousands to State Farm Stadium, Erika Kirk, the widow of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, delivered a message that left the crowd in tears: forgiveness.

Speaking through grief, she explained that Charlie had dedicated his life to reaching young men who felt lost — even men like the one accused of ending his life. “Charlie wanted to rescue young men, even the kind who would one day take his own,” she said, her voice breaking as mourners listened in silence.

Erika declared she could not seek vengeance, saying forgiveness was both the path of Christ and the path her husband would have chosen. “Hate cannot heal hate. The gospel teaches love, and only love. Love for enemies, love for those who persecute us,” she added.

Rejecting the idea of a death sentence for the suspected gunman, Tyler Robinson, Erika explained: “I cannot carry that blood on my conscience. If I stand before Jesus and he asks, ‘Eye for an eye? Is that what you chose?’ — I don’t want that to keep me from eternity with Charlie.”

The memorial also featured a tribute from former President Donald Trump, who described Kirk as “a great American hero” and promised Erika that their two children would grow up in a nation that remembered their father with honor.

But it was Erika’s words, not the political tributes, that most deeply moved the audience. Clad in white, she slowly approached the podium, greeted by thunderous applause from more than 70,000 inside the stadium, with thousands more watching outside. “God bless all of you for gathering from across the world to celebrate my Charlie,” she began.

Reflecting on the day of the tragedy, she shared the devastating moment she saw her husband’s body in a Utah hospital. “I felt the shock, the horror, the kind of heartache I didn’t know existed,” she admitted. Yet she also spoke of a small mercy in the midst of loss: a faint smile on Charlie’s lips that convinced her he had not suffered.

Erika went on to describe her husband as a man who lived without hesitation. “Charlie’s life wasn’t easy, but he never ran from hardship. There was nothing he was postponing. In that sense, he was ready, even though he left too soon,” she said.

Praising his work through Turning Point USA, she explained that Charlie’s mission was to guide young men away from anger, despair, and destructive habits. “He knew America’s youth were in crisis — directionless, purposeless, faithless. He wanted to give them hope, a reason to live, and a better way forward,” she said.

In one of the most emotional moments, Erika spoke directly about the accused shooter: “That young man. On the cross, Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.’ Today I say the same — I forgive him.” The stadium rose in a standing ovation, many openly weeping.

She also revealed that Charlie had been wearing a St. Michael pendant when he was shot — an item now stained with blood that she keeps close. Erika admitted she had asked her husband to wear a bulletproof vest or stand behind protective glass, but Charlie had declined. “He trusted his team, and he believed in his mission. He left this world without regret,” she said.

Even as she acknowledged that his work remained incomplete, Erika emphasized that his life’s mission — strengthening families and calling people back to God — would continue. “Our marriage, our family, was beautiful and still is. Charlie’s greatest cause was to restore the American family. He told young people that God’s vision for marriage would enrich their lives, just as it did ours,” she concluded.

The service ended not with bitterness, but with a reminder of the values Charlie lived by — faith, family, and forgiveness.