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Charles “Charlie” James Kirk, born October 14th, 1993, succumbed to a gunshot wound sustained during a rally at Utah Valley University one year ago today. Among a crowded array of young conservative activists, Kirk rose to national prominence for his provocative and controversial political viewpoints, his involvement in electoral politics, and his close influence within the Trump administration.

Kirk was raised in Prospect Heights, Illinois, a predominantly white, moderately wealthy Chicago suburb, by his parents, Robert Willard Kirk and Kathryn Smith Kirk. In early adolescence, Kirk entered a political awakening supported by the literature of Milton Friedman and the guidance of his father, a major donor to Mitt Romney’s 2012 Presidential campaign. At Wheeling High School, Kirk clashed with so-called “Marxist” teachers over his proud conservatism. His involvement in conservative politics led him to pursue a local issue: a 25-cent price increase in the cafeteria’s cookies. Kirk and friends organized a successful boycott over Facebook.

 In 2012, as a senior at Wheeling, he published an opinion piece in Breitbart News, decrying the prevalence of economics textbooks imbued with a “liberal-leaning agenda.” Kirk gained significant attention from conservative media, appearing on Fox News and speaking at various conferences in the area. It was at one such conference, a “Youth Government Day” event at nearby Benedictine University, that Kirk met Bill Montgomery, a conservative business owner who pleaded with him not to go to college: “I don’t know you, but you need to start an organization to reach out to young people with your message.”

Two days after graduating from Wheeling, Kirk and Montgomery formed a nonprofit organization aimed at fostering conservative viewpoints within college campuses. Kirk’s father came up with the name: Turning Point USA (TPUSA). Kirk found massive success in pitching his vision to conservative notables (often after an introduction by Montgomery), raising hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations. Though initially embedded in the conservative cadres of college campuses, TPUSA quickly branched out into “culture war” protests and electoral politics. Kirk and his allies backed various Republican candidates, for which TPUSA was rewarded with around $1 million in donations in 2014.

During the highly contested 2016 Republican presidential primary, Kirk was not quick to support Donald Trump. He preferred Scott Walker, then Ted Cruz, and eventually followed Cruz (with help from Donald Trump Jr.) to the Trump campaign as a social media coordinator. During President Trump’s first term, Kirk connected with Candace Owens and Kanye West, made regular appearances on conservative television, and found a devoted audience for his increasingly evangelical messaging. His popularity did not go unnoticed within the Trump administration: Kirk claimed to have “visited the White House about 100 times” and raised hundreds of millions of dollars for TPUSA.

As the head of a growing empire, Kirk capitalized on the political complexity of the COVID-19 pandemic and Trump’s loss in the 2020 Presidential election. His provocations reached new heights: he reinforced misinformation regarding the pandemic’s origins, attacked the “Wuhan [World] Health Organization,” battled mask mandates, and fully endorsed hydroxychloroquine as being “100 percent effective” against COVID. Montgomery, a guiding hand in Kirk’s meteoric rise to fame, died from COVID complications in mid-2020. Kirk responded publicly, “I can’t put into words how saddened I am by the death of my dear friend.”

In 2021, Kirk married Erika Frantzve, a former Miss Arizona USA. He also bolstered his media presence, embarking on the “Exposing Critical Racism” speaking tour and launching The Charlie Kirk Show to a daily audience of 1 million people. In preparation for Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign, Kirk leveraged his vast influence to attract prominent conservatives, including JD Vance, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Tucker Carlson, and Tulsi Gabbard. His knack for controversy only grew, exemplified by attacks on notable African Americans (calling George Floyd a “scumbag,” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. a “bad man,” and the Civil Rights Act a “huge mistake”) and religious minorities (calling Islam “not compatible with Western civilization” and accusing “Jewish donors” of financing white replacement). In the face of his political capital, Kirk’s abhorrent statements hardly shook major Republicans, including conservative Jewish donors. Just days after the assassination attempt on Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, Kirk took the stage at the 2024 Republican National Convention.

Kirk and TPUSA spent millions of dollars on voter mobilization in a successful effort to court the youth vote. Following Trump’s victory in November 2024, Kirk followed what he saw as an “American Renaissance,” moving his family (including his and Erika’s two children) to a rented condo near Mar-a-Lago. Though he never held an official position, Kirk remained a critical part of Trump’s affairs.

As part of his highly publicized “American Comeback” speaking tour, Kirk spoke to an audience of nearly 3000 people at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. At 12:23 p.m. on September 10th, 2025, Kirk, age 31, was shot in the neck. He was pronounced dead at Timpanogos Regional Hospital later that afternoon.

Kirk is survived by his wife, Erika, their two children, his mother, and his sister.

The Hare found no record of Kirk ever visiting Maryland. Nevertheless, the TPUSA chapter at the University of Maryland, College Park, held a controversial vigil for Kirk at the Memorial Chapel in October 2025. The club challenged a fee associated with the 15 security personnel in attendance. Club officials refused to pay; a conservative activism institute covered the fees instead.

The Hare also recognizes Kirk’s assassination as being foundational to a recent subgenre of surrealist humor. To commemorate his sacrifice, our journalistic productions will observe a daylong moment of silence.