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Charlie Kirk, the conservative activist and TPUSA founder, was tragically assassinated during a university rally on Wednesday, leaving behind his family, movement, and enduring impact on American politics.

“He was only 31.” So said a friend who called me early this morning to tell me the horrible news. Charlie Kirk — the young, brave conservative commentator and head of Turning Point USA (TPUSA) — was assassinated today at a college campus. It happened early Wednesday afternoon (American time) at yet another rally at a university campus — this time, Utah Valley University.

Speaking to a crowd of 3,000, Charlie Kirk was shot in the neck while on stage and was pronounced dead at the hospital. It seems the killer used a high-powered rifle. Kirk leaves behind a wife and two young children. Two potential suspects have been interviewed but released, and there is an ongoing crime scene investigation.

The brilliant conservative activist was hugely popular and had a monumental influence on American political and social life. It is certainly true that TPUSA had a real impact on last year’s American presidential election, helping to bring so many young people into the Trump campaign.

Charlie Kirk’s Faith and Legacy

Charlie Kirk loved debating one and all, taking on leftists and hate-filled opponents. Kirk was also a born-again Christian who loved the Lord Jesus Christ, and he was happy to debate hard-core secularists and angry atheists. He was a modern-day evangelist and truth-teller.

One Fox News writer had this to say about him:

Kirk grew up in the northern Chicago suburbs and got his start in politics while in high school as a volunteer for the 2010 campaign of former Republican Sen. Mark Kirk (no relation). In 2012, as a high school senior, he got national attention for warning about liberal bias in high school economics textbooks. He was outspoken about dropping out of college to pursue political activism.

At just 18 years old, Kirk, along with Bill Montgomery, co-founded Turning Point USA, best known for promoting conservative causes on college campuses. In the 13 years since its founding, Turning Point USA has become one of the most prominent and influential conservative groups in the nation, holding several massive events throughout the year which have drawn big-name speakers, including President Donald Trump.

His other organization, Turning Point Action, played a pivotal role in boosting Republican turnout across the country, most recently in Trump’s 2024 election victory.

President Trump, who was himself the victim of political assassination attempts, said this about Kirk:

The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead. No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!

An ‘Invisible Line Has Been Crossed’

Many other tributes are pouring in. Adam Rubenstein had this headline for an August 2018 cover story he wrote about Kirk for The Weekly Standard: “Kid Trump”. Such was Charlie Kirk’s impact even back then as a 24-year-old.

Konstantin Kisin said this about Kirk:

I hope I’m wrong. But tonight feels like some sort of invisible line has been crossed that we didn’t even know was there. The last time I felt like this was 9/11 when it was clear, without knowing the how and the what, that the world was about to change forever. Like the rules of the game had been permanently altered and there was simply no going to back to the innocent, peaceful past.

I didn’t feel like this when an attempt was made on President Trump’s life. If I had to rationalise why I didn’t, I guess it’s because several US Presidents have been shot at and even assassinated. Somehow it was within the realms of the possible, no matter how awful.

But to murder a young father simply for doing debates and mobilising young people to vote for a party that represents half of America? This is something else.

Charlie’s death is a tragedy for his wife, his children and his family. I don’t pray often. I am praying for them tonight. But I fear his murder will be a tragedy for all of us in ways we will only understand as time unfolds. I hope I’m wrong. I fear I’m not.

Please keep Kirk’s wife and children in your prayers. And pray for America, where the divide between Christian conservatism and secular leftism is getting greater, and where far too often the main way the angry left deals with those with different ideas is with hate and sometimes by committing violence — even murder — against their opponents.

Charlie Kirk Martyred for Opposing a Demonic Worldview

There are already many online posts from devilish people who are jubilant about Kirk’s assassination and are celebrating his murder. That tells you everything we need to know about so many of those in the secular left.

Kirk enraged the radical left because he was a happy Christian with a wonderful family, and he dealt with his intellectual and ideological opponents with facts and good cheer. He invited his most ardent detractors to come and debate him. His mastery of the facts and his debating skills meant he constantly was getting the best of his countless debating partners. No wonder so many leftists hated him so much.

For simply challenging the leftist narrative and asking hard questions, Kirk got plenty of people to think and rethink. This also made plenty of unhinged people go ballistic. As Jessie Watters said, “They killed Charlie for asking questions”.

Satan is alive and well, and he especially hates those who above all love Jesus Christ and seek to champion the King of Kings. Kirk was the first to admit that as important as political action is, even much more important is spiritual action: turning a heart of stone into a heart of flesh by putting one’s faith in the finished work of Christ.

Believers can ask why God allows certain things to happen. Why did the assassin’s bullets fail in Butler on July 13, 2024 with President Trump, but not with Kirk’s killer? What we do know with certainty is that Charlie is right now enjoying fellowship with his beloved Saviour, who also died at an early age.

“The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.” So said Tertullian. This murder of Kirk was certainly a political assassination. But more than that, Charlie Kirk is one of the most recent Christian martyrs. He was killed for proclaiming truth and loving others enough to challenge them. He simply followed in the footsteps of his Lord.

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Republished with thanks to CultureWatch. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.