I found it ironic that his death took place only a day before the infamous 911 date where almost 3,000 peoples lives were taken from us. Immediately following 911, it seemed for a time that America could change – perhaps get back to our freedoms and moral footings. Churches were packed and people in unity sang “God Bless America.” But no – the aftermath lasted only weeks before we were back at it again, with even greater violence and decay to follow.

Charlie Kirk was a martyr – he only wanted what was best for this country. He died pushing free speech – something our country fought hard for over 200 years ago. This was an attack on something our nation was founded on! People died so we could have free speech and Charlie died while exercising that freedom. That alone should greatly upset every single one of you reading this article!

I’m in tears as I write this – not only for Charlie and his precious family but for our wonderful America! Can this be America’s turning point? Maybe ~ Someone once stated that history is changed by martyrs who tell the truth. Well…here we are!

We need to safely be able to have a clash of ideas. As Charlie Kirk has said, “We need more courage to debate.” Ya think?! If we have to harm or malign everyone who disagrees with us, I don’t believe our Constitutional Republic will survive. As G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936) so rightly noted: “We shall soon be in a world in which a man may be howled down for saying that two and two make four…and hang a man for saying that grass is green.”

Let’s update that just a tad – people are now “howling down” people for saying a man cannot have a baby. We are throwing people in jail simply for praying on the sidewalk outside abortion clinics, and Charlie was martyred for speaking his mind. This is not right. This is pitiful.

As Christ-followers we are called to be salt & light – but our challenge here is that men love darkness more than light. Isaiah 5 even goes so far as to tell us: “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.” I don’t know about you, but I sure don’t want to ever be on the “woe” side of God!

How do we change culture when we realize that this is not just a matter of differing opinions or perspectives but a deliberate attempt to redefine what’s morally good & acceptable? As Christ-followers we have been called, not to be a sub-culture, but a counter-culture! That takes guts! It takes courageous faith-filled people allowing their hearts to be broken by the things that break the heart of God.

In short we need a spiritual awakening. Soren Kierkegaard said: “The tyrant dies and his rule is over, the martyr dies and his rule begins.” History will dictate if this is a

Turning Point for our country. Many have said that Charlie’s death will be the birth of 10,000 more Charlie’s! I pray so.

Of all people, Napoleon Bonaparte acknowledged, “It is the cause, not the death, that makes the martyr.” Yes! Yes!! Yes!!!! Go Napoleon. So what exactly was Charlie Kirk’s cause? Here is something he loved to quote: “It’s all about making heaven crowded!” Absolutely – and last week we added another saint. Selah!

Bob and Susan Beckett pastor The dwelling Place City Church at 27100 Girard Street in Hemet, CA. For more information you may contact them at DPcitychurch.org

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Well-connected to the MAGA movement’s highest ranks, Thompson, who leads 412 Church Temecula Valley, got to know Kirk through local conferences and events hosted by Kirk’s Turning Point USA. In 2021, Kirk also appeared on Thompson’s “Our Watch” program that’s shared on social media.

Thompson and other Inland Empire conservatives are mourning Kirk, who was shot and killed Wednesday, Sept. 10, while speaking to thousands at a Utah university.

Authorities arrested a 22-year-old man and booked him on suspicion of murder and other charges in the assassination of Kirk, a close ally of President Donald Trump who built a media empire focused on recruiting young people to the conservative movement.

Chino Valley school board President Sonja Shaw and Temecula school board member Jen Wiersma, both Christian conservatives, took to Instagram to share photos of themselves with Kirk along with their shock and grief over his violent death.

“Charlie poured his life into equipping the next generation with courage and truth,” Shaw, who spoke with Kirk at events, said via text. “My husband even left work early so we could mourn together as a family, because this feels so personal to us all.”

Shaw, a Republican running for state superintendent of public instruction in 2026, once emailed Kirk asking for advice. He also highlighted her activism in a social media post.

Wiersma’s daughter works at Turning Point.

“Though I was not a personal friend of Charlie Kirk, our family has long supported the mission of the Turning Point organization and their focus on faith, family and freedom while passionately pursuing Gen Z,” Wiersma said in a text message.

“We mourn his passing and celebrate his legacy. Thank you to President Trump for honoring him with the Medal of Freedom. We, as Americans, have lost a national treasure.”

Kirk, 31, was a divisive American political figure. While an inspiration to the Make America Great Again movement, critics denounced him as a bigot who spread misinformation and poisoned political discourse.

Comments that incensed his foes include:

• Calling the 1964 Civil Rights Act “a huge mistake.”
• Criticizing business diversity initiatives by saying “If I see a Black pilot, I’m going to be like, ‘Boy, I hope he’s qualified.’”
• Referring to the transgender identity as “a mental disease.”
• Describing Islam as incompatible with Western values.

Kirk’s brand involved visiting college campuses, debating students and sharing those exchanges on social media. He visited UC Riverside in May as part of his American Comeback tour.

The visit, staged at UCR’s Bell Tower, drew supporters and protesters. Police shut down a punk rock band attempting to protest Kirk by performing near the tower.

While critics urged UCR students to ignore Kirk, others engaged him, according to a Kirk profile — “Charlie Kirk, pied piper of the American right” — published in July by The Economist magazine.

“(A freshman) said he wanted to debate abortion,” the article states. “When Mr. Kirk, a devout, pro-life evangelical, asked the student to define life, he responded that life began at ‘consciousness and speech.’”

“Mr. Kirk interjected that babies usually don’t start speaking until they are a year old, ‘so if I murdered you at six months, that’s ok?’ Backed into a corner, the flustered student doubled down. ‘Yes,’ he said firmly.”

“The crowd bayed. ‘The fact that he’s a biology student at this university shows the horrifying moral rot happening at higher education,’ said Mr. Kirk, as the student was ushered away. Shortly after, a video was posted to Mr. Kirk’s YouTube channel: ‘UCR Bio Student Justifies Abortion Past Birth.’”

Thompson said that he, along with Calvary Chapel Chino Hills Pastor Jack Hibbs and Rob McCoy, Kirk’s personal pastor, first met Kirk at the 2019 Unite IE Conservative Conference.

Hibbs, a conservative leader like Thompson, paid tribute to Kirk on Instagram.

“Charlie was known as an intellectual giant, a very compassionate young man, and one who was tirelessly devoted to this nation’s welfare and our glorious republic,” Hibbs said in the post, which shows a picture of him hugging Kirk.

Thompson said Kirk was a skilled debater and “a man who walked in the truth and he spoke the truth and he was factual.”

“He was an educated man, a very well-read man, and that came across very clear when he would speak that he knew what he was talking about,” the pastor said. “And I watched people’s minds get changed.”

Kirk also gave courage to other conservatives to stand up for their beliefs, Thompson said.

“When he first started doing the meetings on college campuses and you look at the audience, there were many people there opposing him,” Thompson said. “And what I saw was a change over the last year, whereas you see the people there on the campus when he’s there to speak, we see MAGA hats everywhere.”

While many viewed Kirk as cocky, “when you talk to him on a personal level, he’s a very humble man,” the pastor added. “He was just a man humble and ready to serve, and he really truly loved this nation and wanted the best for it.”

Kirk’s death also affected Thompson on a more personal level.

“This has been a hard time for my family because No. 1, they knew and loved Charlie,” he said. “But (this) brings it home when people are threatening my life and threatening violence against me for speaking truth, now my wife and my kids and my grandkids are concerned.”

“I just want to encourage everybody that’s speaking the truth to continue. Don’t let this stop them. We should be bold and don’t let this silence our voice.”

Despite the “tremendous loss” of Kirk, “the Scriptures say what Satan means for evil, God will turn for good,” Thompson said.

“I believe that trying to stop the movement … I think a hornet’s nest was just swatted at. I don’t believe this is going to stop the movement. I think it’s going to propel it even further.”

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Here’s what some high-profile speakers said:

• House Speaker Mike Johnson urged the audience of mourners to adopt the Turning Point founder’s principles and approach, insisting that “Charlie loved the vigorous debate, but he loved people more.”
• White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt praised Kirk’s legacy as one that championed conservative and Christian values and highlighted the impact his organization, Turning Point USA, had on the 2024 election. “President Trump loved you, Charlie, so much too,” Leavitt said. “Charlie was a beaming light in a world that is so consumed by darkness. It’s going to take all of us in this room and all of us across the country to take up Charlie’s torch.”
• Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard recalled joining Kirk at visits to college campuses and detailed how he sought out lively debate with those who disagreed with him. “Charlie lived by the principle that no matter how horrible another person’s speech may be, their ideas must be defeated by better ideas, not by resorting to violence,” she said.
• Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. described Kirk as the “primary architect” for his “unification” with Trump, calling the conservative activist his “spiritual brother.” Kennedy went on to criticize limits on First Amendment rights he felt took place during the Covid-19 pandemic, adding that “Charlie, more than any figure in our country, led the resistance that has restored freedom of speech to this country.”

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 A 22-year-old Utah man who was arrested and booked on murder charges in the assassination of Charlie Kirk held deep disdain for the conservative activist’s provocative viewpoints and indicated to a family member that he was responsible for the shooting, authorities said Friday.

The arrest marked a major break in a case that shocked the country and raised fresh alarms about political violence in a deeply polarized United States.

Tyler Robinson had become “more political” in the run-up to the shooting and mentioned during a dinner with family that Kirk would be visiting Utah, Gov. Spencer Cox said at a news conference. The Republican governor cited as evidence engravings on bullet casings found in the rifle that authorities believe was used in the attack, as well as chat app messages attributed to the suspect that a roommate shared with law enforcement.

The governor credited Robinson’s family with helping turn him over to authorities.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we got him,” Cox said soon after the arrest was first heralded by President Donald Trump on the Fox News show “Fox & Friends.”

Robinson is believed to have acted alone, and the investigation is ongoing, Cox said. He was arrested on suspicion of capital murder, weapons and obstruction offenses. He was expected to be formally charged Tuesday ahead of an initial court appearance.

Robinson’s arrest late Thursday capped a frenetic day-and-a-half search that just hours earlier seemed stuck when authorities pleaded for tips and leads from the public. The assassination while Kirk was speaking at Utah Valley University reverberated across the country because of his outsize influence in conservative circles, his close connections with Trump and because of the questions it raised about the escalating toll of political violence that has spanned the ideological spectrum.

“This is our moment: Do we escalate or do we find an off-ramp?” Cox asked, making an impassioned plea for young people to bridge differences through common ground rather than violence. “It’s a choice.”

New details on evidence

Authorities, who have yet to reveal a motive, described evidence they said shed potential light on the slaying.

Ammunition found with the weapon was engraved with taunting, anti-fascist and meme culture messages, including one bullet casing that said, “Hey, fascist! Catch!” 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 single shot from a distant roof and then fleeing.

The clothes the suspect wore when confronted by law enforcement late Thursday matched what he had on when he arrived on campus, and a family member confirmed he drove a gray Dodge Challenger like the one seen in surveillance video that recorded Robinson driving to the university the day of the shooting, Cox said.

Robinson’s father recognized 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 contacted their youth pastor, who also occasionally works with the U.S. Marshals and called the agency so Robinson could turn himself in.

Meanwhile, investigators continued to dig into the background of Robinson, who was admitted to Utah State University, about 80 miles north of Salt Lake City, on a prestigious academic scholarship, according to a video of him reading his acceptance letter posted to a family member’s social media account. However, he attended for only one semester in 2021, a university spokesperson said.

Robinson currently is enrolled in an electrical apprenticeship program at Dixie Technical College near his hometown, a suburb of St. George in southern Utah.

He is registered as an unaffiliated voter and does not appear to have a prior criminal record. His address was still listed as his parents’ home, about a 3.5-hour drive south of the campus where Kirk was shot.

Family members of Robinson did not immediately return messages seeking comment. It was not clear if he had a lawyer.

At his family’s home, window coverings were drawn, and a pickup truck blocked access to the driveway. There was a heavy law enforcement presence, with several police vehicles parked along the street, which was closed at both ends.

‘He didn’t deserve this’

Kirk was a conservative provocateur who became a powerful political force by rallying young Republican voters and was a fixture on college campuses, where he invited sometimes-vehement debate on social issues.

Kirk co-founded the nonprofit political organization Turning Point USA, based in Arizona. He had had been speaking at a campus debate on the first stop of his “American Comeback Tour,” at the time of Wednesday’s shooting.

He was taking questions from an audience member about gun violence when a shot rang out. Kirk reached up with his right hand as blood gushed from the left side of his neck.

Two days later, law enforcement officers continued to sweep the Utah Valley campus for evidence while the announcement of an arrest brought some relief.

“There’s been this like really heavy, dark weight pressed over my heart and soul for the last two days, and waking up to the news of the shooter being captured today, it is a great thing,” said Creighton Baird, who was close enough to the stage to see horrific images that continue replaying in his mind.

Trump, who was joined by Democrats in condemning the violence, said he would award Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor. Vice President JD Vance and his wife, Usha, escorted Kirk’s casket to his home state of Arizona aboard Air Force Two on Thursday.

“He wanted to help young people, and he didn’t deserve this,” Trump said Friday. “He was really a good person.”

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The death was announced on social media by Trump, who praised the 31-year-old Kirk, the co-founder and CEO of the youth organization Turning Point USA, as “Great, and even Legendary.”

“No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie,” Trump posted on his Truth Social account.

The suspected shooter has not been arrested, Orem, Utah, Mayor David Young said. A person who was taken into custody by law enforcement at the university where Kirk was speaking was not the suspect, according to a person familiar with the investigation who was not authorized to speak publicly.

Videos posted to social media from Utah Valley University show Kirk speaking into a handheld microphone while sitting under a white tent emblazoned with the slogans “The American Comeback” and “Prove Me Wrong.” A single shot rings out and Kirk can be seen reaching up with his right hand as a large volume of blood gushes from the left side of his neck. Stunned spectators are heard gasping and screaming before people start to run away. The AP was able to confirm the videos were taken at Sorensen Center courtyard on the Utah Valley University campus.

“We are confirming that he was shot and we are praying for Charlie,” said Aubrey Laitsch, public relations manager for Turning Point USA.

Kirk was speaking at a debate hosted by his nonprofit political organization. Immediately before the shooting, Kirk was taking questions for an audience member about mass shootings and gun violence.

“Do you know how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years?” an audience members 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.

Then a single shot rang out.

The event had been met with divided opinions on campus. An online petition calling for university administrators to bar Kirk from appearing received nearly 1,000 signatures. The university issued a statement last week citing First Amendment rights and affirming its “commitment to free speech, intellectual inquiry, and constructive dialogue.”

Last week, Kirk posted on X images of news clips showing his visit to Utah colleges was sparking controversy. He wrote, “What’s going on in Utah?”

Trump and a host of Republican and Democratic elected officials decried the shooting and offered prayers for Kirk on social media.

“We must all pray for Charlie Kirk, who has been shot. A great guy from top to bottom. GOD BLESS HIM!” Trump posted on Truth Social.

The shooting comes amid a spike in political violence in the United States across all parts of the ideological spectrum. The attacks include the assassination of a Minnesota state lawmaker and her husband at their house in June, the firebombing of a Colorado parade to demand Hamas release hostages, and a fire set at the house of Pennsylvania’s governor, who is Jewish, in April. The most notorious of these events is the shooting of Trump during a campaign rally last year.

Former Utah congressman Jason Chaffetz, a Republican who was at the event, said in an interview on Fox News Channel that he heard one shot and saw Kirk go back.

“It seemed like it was a close shot,” Chaffetz said, who seemed shaken as he spoke.

He said there was a light police presence at the event and Kirk had some security but not enough.

“Utah is one of the safest places on the planet,” he said. “And so we just don’t have these types of things.”

Turning Point was founded in suburban Chicago in 2012 by Kirk, then 18, and William Montgomery, a tea party activist, to proselytize on college campuses for low taxes and limited government. It was not an immediate success.

But Kirk’s zeal for confronting liberals in academia eventually won over an influential set of conservative financiers.

Despite early misgivings, Turning Point enthusiastically backed Trump after he clinched the GOP nomination in 2016. Kirk served as a personal aide to Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son, during the general election campaign.

Soon, Kirk was a regular presence on cable TV, where he leaned into the culture wars and heaped praise on the then-president. Trump and his son were equally effusive and often spoke at Turning Point conferences.

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