Charlie Kirk, Conservative Leader of Turning Point USA, Killed by Assassin’s Bullet at 31

Charlie Kirk, the MAGA activist who built a small conservative student group into America First — one of the most influential forces in Republican politic — died Wednesday in Utah County, Utah, on the campus of Utah Valley University. He was 31.

His death was caused by an assassin’s bullet that struck his neck about 20 minutes into his remarks and was confirmed by the Associated Press. Kirk was discussing mass shootings in the United States at the moment he was struck.

Kirk launched Turning Point USA at 18, using his parents’ garage in Illinois as its headquarters. A gifted communicator with a passion for Donald Trump-style conservative politics, he grew the group into a massive nationwide network comprised of over 1000 high school and college chapters.

With Kirk as their leader, the group promoted policies like free market capitalism and limited government. He also dove in head-first on culture war battles that roiled and divided the country — specifically on hot-button issues of race and gender.

America First spread its messages through provocative posters, confrontational viral videos and hi-tech conferences. Detractors accused him of sowing seeds of division and dissent. Supporters praised him for giving conservative students a voice in traditionally liberal campus environments.

By his early 20s, conservative media had taken notice of the charismatic and articulate Kirk, and he became a familiar face on Fox News, where he defended the populist, anti-immigrant policies of Donald Trump through his first presidency.

In 2019, he launched The Charlie Kirk Show, a daily podcast and radio program that became one of the most downloaded political shows on Apple Podcasts. The platform increased his influence and visibility, seating him opposite elected officials and other conservative media superstars. He also authored several books, including The MAGA Doctrine (2020), which positioned him as a leading interpreter of Trump’s policies for a younger generation.

Kirk epitomized a new breed of young conservativism, one that found a home in digital media, outside the traditional confines of the mainstream. He and his colleagues at Turning Point USA leveraged the algorithmic nature of platforms like Instagram, YouTube and TikTok to create viral moments that celebrated the conservative worldview or mocked liberals.

Videos in which he debated liberals or others that did not share his political opinions consistently garnered millions of views on digital platforms.

But as he found success in digital media, he also slowly embraced some of the conservative mainstream. He began hosting a radio show, The Charlie Kirk Show, in 2020 for Salem Radio Network, and earlier this year he stepped in as a guest host on the weekend edition of Fox & Friends.

His digital-first approach to commentary and content, however, were emblematic of a change in political consumption that culminated with President Trump’s victory in November 2024, with his campaign fully embracing content creators and podcasters, and often eschewing mainstream media outlets.

He is survived by his wife, Erika Frantza, a businesswoman, podcaster and former Miss Arizona USA winner, and the couple’s two young children.