Far-right influencer and podcaster Charlie Kirk, who was shot dead on Wednesday, was a leading voice among pro-Trump youth in the US. He was also a sought-after spokesman on TV networks and right-wing youth conferences at US universities.
Just weeks into the fall semester, a crowd gathered around a white canopy on a grassy college courtyard. They were eager to hear what the speaker beneath it had to say. It was a typical university scene, with its promise of the exchange of ideas and debate, except in one way: its size.
The speaker was Charlie Kirk, one of the most influential voices in the MAGA (Make America Great Again) movement, and the event on Wednesday at Utah Valley University drew more than 3,000 people. Backpack-toting students watched from surrounding buildings as Kirk, wearing a white T-shirt that said “Freedom", tossed red MAGA caps, Frisbee-style, to his fans.
He took his place beneath the canopy, the slogans “The American Comeback” and “Prove Me Wrong” emblazoned across it. He picked up a handheld microphone and he began to address the audience.
As he answered a question about gun violence, a single shot cracked. The influential conservative youth activist was fatally shot.
US President Donald Trump said Kirk's killing was "a dark moment for America". In a video posted to his Truth Social website hours after the shooting, Trump hailed Kirk as a "martyr for truth."
Read moreTrump ally, far-right activist Charlie Kirk shot dead at Utah campus event
Rise up rightwing ranks
Kirk, 31, a podcaster, founded the conservative youth organisation Turning Point USA. He embraced notions of Christian nationalism and often made provocative statements about gender, race, religion and politics. He had insisted that it was worth it to have “some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God-given rights".
Often he brought those ideas onto college campuses, where they were especially controversial. Kirk was known for openly debating progressives and challenging audiences to stump him on political points.
Born in the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights, Kirk was raised in the nearby affluent neighbourhood of Prospect Heights.
While he was a junior in high school, the young Kirk first heard conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh during his lunch break. "I would never forget: on my lunch break, from like 12:17 to 12:55, I’d listen. Just me. I went all in on Rush,” Kirk told the New York Times.
It was Limbaugh who helped launch the teen into a conservative icon. The radio "shock jock" who died in February 2021 sent the young Kirk's youth conservative organisation a cheque for $1 million, according to the New York Times. "Before Kirk had fully developed a worldview of his own, he possessed a gift for stirring the affection of older people, many of them inordinately wealthy," noted the US daily in "How Charlie Kirk Became the Youth Whisperer of the American Right," a feature story on Kirk's rise.
Kirk cut his political teeth during the Tea Party movement, which began around 2007.
In 2012, aged just 18, he co-founded Turning Point USA with Bill Montgomery, a seasoned Tea Party activist. The goal of the organisation was to drive conservative, anti-woke viewpoints among young people.
After the founding of Turning Point USA, Kirk's rise up the US right ranks was rapid. In 2016, he became the youngest speaker to address the Republican National Convention and assisted the Trump campaign. In 2019, he became chairman of Students for Trump, a youth mobilisation group.
By the time Trump was re-elected in November 2024, Kirk had turned into a sought-after spokesman on TV networks and at conferences for young right-wingers at US universities.
A shot at a campus event
His campus appearances often drew protests, and Wednesday's was no different. Online petitions signed by thousands of people had called for his talk at Utah Valley University, as well as another, scheduled for September 30 at Utah State University, to be canceled.
“As students at Utah Valley University, we have come to cherish an environment that strives for inclusivity and diversity,” one said. “Yet, the planned speaking engagement of Charlie Kirk threatens this ideal. Kirk’s presence and the messages he delivers stand in contrast to the values of understanding, acceptance, and progress that many of us hold dear.”
The university responded by affirming its “commitment to free speech, intellectual inquiry, and constructive dialogue".
As was typical for Kirk's events, security was light. There were six university police officers assigned to the event, plus some private security. There were no metal detectors or bag checks, students told The Associated Press. Some attendees said no one even checked their tickets.
As Kirk arrived, cheers rose. The crowd packed a terraced courtyard, and students, including some protesters, watched from nearby buildings or overlooks.
“Do you know how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years?” an audience member asked.
Kirk responded, “Too many.”
The questioner followed up: “Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years?”
“Counting or not counting gang violence?” Kirk asked.
Those were his last words before a bullet struck Kirk, killing the 31-year-old father-of-two.
