A protester has been condemned after dressing as Charlie Kirk at a Turning Point USA event in Texas and ‘reenacting’ his assassination.
Kirk’s widow Erika was in attendance at the event in San Antonio Friday when an activist arrived outside wearing a papier mache head resembling her late husband and a white T-shirt bearing the word “Freedom.”
In a video posted on X by the conservative organization’s Frontlines TPUSA account, the person can be seen dropping suddenly to the floor, apparently mimicking the moment Kirk was struck by the assassin’s bullet, before getting up and walking away in nonchalant fashion.
Demonstrators could be heard shouting “he deserved to die” in the background, TPUSA said.
The X account claimed the Kirk imitator was a “radical leftwinger” and that other demonstrators had been mocking Charlie’s assassination outside of the event all morning.
Turning Point USA contributor Jack Posobiec condemned the incident in an interview on Fox News.
“When people tell you who they are, believe them. The left is isn’t out there feeling sorry for the murder of Charlie Kirk, they’re not apologizing for it, they’re out there celebrating it
“This is resentment. They hate the fact that Turning Point USA is out there showing young people specifically a different path forward.
“Not from hating their country, from hating men, from hating women, from hating capitalism, from hating innovation, to actually loving their country, building loving families and that’s exactly why they’re attacking Erika Kirk and our entire team.”
The stunt faced further backlash online, with a number of commentators branding it “evil” and another claiming, without evidence, the activist was “a paid actor, paid to divide us… Notice how they disappear from the streets for 4 years when a Democrat is president.”
Erika Kirk subsequently took to the stage at the San Antonio Marriott Rivercenter to address the TPUSA Women’s Leadership Summit, with a woman in the auditorium interrupting her to heckle her.
Kirk broke off from her speech to address the woman directly, saying: “It’s important to remember that happiness comes and goes – and I pray that you find it.
“That’s an important moment because that just shows duty to faithfulness gives life meaning, and we must pray for our enemies and those that do not feel like their life has meaning.
“And that’s a perfect example of that. A perfect example. You pray for your enemies. You pray for those that persecute you.”
The conference was targeted with a bomb threat last week, leading to the arrest of a 26-year-old man, who was charged with two felony counts of making a terroristic threat causing public fear.
Charlie Kirk was shot dead by a sniper on the campus of Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, on September 10 last year. His widow has since succeeded her late husband as TPUSA CEO.
A suspect, Tyler Robinson, 22, was arrested two days later and charged with aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury, two counts of obstruction of justice, two counts of witness tampering, and commission of a violent offense in the presence of a child.
