Conservative activist Charlie Kirk eased the crowd with a joke when he began to speak in Shepherdsville in late June.
“I travel the country — I go to college campuses so you don’t have to,” he said, drawing laughs from the audience, estimated at over 1,000 people, that had greeted him with a standing ovation. “I take the goofiest questions imaginable, and the new battleground for the future of our country is happening on college campuses.”
Ten weeks later, those words feel like a warning. Kirk, the 31-year-old founder of Turning Point USA, was shot and killed on Sept. 10 at a public forum at Utah Valley University, sparking outrage from the White House all the way to local communities like Cecilia, the Hardin County town where Kirk said some of his family members lived.
“I love Kentucky,” he said on June 30. “I’ve got to come back more often.”
Conservative activist Charlie Kirk speaks at a June 30 rally for Nate Morris. Kirk was killed in a targeted shooting on Sept. 10, sparking national outcry.
Kirk was in the commonwealth that morning to help U.S. Senate candidate Nate Morris launch his campaign. The goal of his visit, he said, was to “speak about making sure we get a better senator than Mitch McConnell in the state of Kentucky.”
McConnell and Morris were among those who expressed their grief in the aftermath of the shooting, which occurred in broad daylight in front of a crowd of about 3,000 people, according to local police. The shooter, who had not yet been apprehended as of 1:30 p.m. Sept. 11, is believed to have fired from atop a building about 150 yards from the stage where Kirk was speaking.
Police have said six officers were on hand at the event to provide security. While the University of Louisville and Western Kentucky University did not immediately respond to requests for comment, the University of Kentucky said its police department “continually monitors safety risks and trends at universities nationwide, including high-profile events. In doing so, we actively work to strengthen our own event safety protocols and response strategies here at UK.”
Kirk’s Utah event was the first leg of his planned “American Comeback” speaking tour. The activist, a high-profile supporter during President Donald Trump’s first run for office a decade ago who boasts more than 5 million followers on X, was never shy about airing his views on controversial topics.
Hours before his death, he wrote it was “100% necessary to politicize the senseless murder of Iryna Zarutska,” a Ukrainian refugee recently killed in the U.S. by a Black man with a lengthy criminal history. He’s encouraged young women to eschew pursuing a career and instead find a husband and settle down with kids. And he’s said an armed citizenry is the best defense against shootings — it’s “worth it … unfortunately, (to have) some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our God-given rights,” he said in April 2023.
They’re not positions everyone across the political spectrum agreed with, though his death also drew condemnations from Kentucky Democrats including Gov. Andy Beshear, Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman and the Kentucky Democratic Party, which called the shooting “a despicable act of political violence that has no place in our democracy.”
But for many Republicans, Kirk was viewed as one of the preeminent voices of Millennials and Gen Z. A February profile headline in the New York Times referred to him as “the Youth Whisperer of the American Right.”
Carrie Sanders McKeehan, a teacher running for a state House district in southwestern Jefferson County, attended Morris’ campaign rollout in June specifically to hear him speak. “I love his tenacity and his way of talking with people, especially when there’s conflicting beliefs,” she said that morning. “I think he just does a great job of bringing people together.”
On Sept. 11, a day after the shooting, McKeehan called his death “a heartbreaking loss for our nation.”
“He was a tireless advocate for America’s youth and a bold defender of conservative values,” she said in a text message. “… Violence must never be a part of our political life.”
Kirk, an ardent Trump backer frequently photographed at the White House, was backing Morris in his ongoing primary campaign. The candidate called him a “force of nature” in a social media post after his death.
“I’ll never forget the energy in the room when he came to Kentucky to help me launch my campaign for Senate,” Morris wrote. “… Folks traveled from hours and hours away to see him – and anyone who was ever privileged enough to spend time with him knows why: Charlie was smart, funny, witty, principled, articulate. But above all else he was a fundamentally good man.”
Conservative activist Charlie Kirk met with fans after speaking at a June 30 rally for Nate Morris. Many in the crowd of more than 1,000 said they came specifically to hear Kirk speak.
He wasn’t alone. Morris’ GOP primary opponents both chimed in as well.
U.S. Rep. Andy Barr called the shooting “national disgrace, a national tragedy, and a wake up call for America” in a statement. And former Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron said he’d pray for his wife, Erika, and two young children.
McConnell, who Kirk ripped repeatedly at the June rally, called the shooting “horrific.” U.S. Sen. Rand Paul said he’d join other supporters in prayer for his family. And each U.S. representative from Kentucky issued a statement condemning his killing.
In the meantime, a search for the shooter continues.
A memorial was held at Turning Point USA’s Arizona headquarters on Sept. 10 after founder Charlie Kirk was shot and killed at an event in Utah.
The FBI’s Salt Lake City office issued a statement just before noon on Sept. 11 confirming it was searching for a person of interest, publishing photos of an individual wearing sunglasses, a dark cap and a shirt that appeared to show an American flag. Anyone with information is asked to call 1-800-CALL-FBI or reach out to the office’s online tip line at fbi.gov/UtahValleyShooting.
President Donald Trump has ordered flags to fly at half-staff through the end of the weekend, a move Beshear has followed in Kentucky.
“Yesterday we saw a horrific act of violence,” Beshear said at a Sept. 11 press conference. “Political violence, or any violence, is never, ever, ever the answer.”
Reach Lucas Aulbach at laulbach@courier-journal.com.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Charlie Kirk shooting draws grief, outrage from Kentucky