Erika Kirk Forgives Her Husband’s Killer During an Emotional Memorial Service
- Sep 22
- 3 min read
22 September 2025
Erika Kirk stood before a crowd in Glendale, Arizona on September 21 and offered words that trembled with loss yet resonated with grace when she publicly forgave the person who killed her husband Charlie Kirk just eleven days earlier. The memorial was held at State Farm Stadium where she addressed mourners with a voice steady enough for such sorrow.
She began her speech by quoting Isaiah 6:8 from the Bible “Here I am, Lord. Send me” and then turned toward the tragedy, toward the young man named Tyler Robinson who is accused of fatally shooting Charlie at Utah Valley University while he spoke. Erika said through tears that she forgives him because forgiveness was what Christ did and it is what Charlie would have done. She spoke of love as the only answer to hate love even for those who persecute and hurt. She said that her husband wanted to save young men just like the one who took his life.
Erika also spoke of her marriage to Charlie of the way they built something strong despite the demands of his work and travel and of the bittersweet honor she now holds stepping into the role of CEO of Turning Point USA in his stead. She and Charlie shared two young children a daughter born in 2022 and a son born in 2024. It was clear that in her words she bore not only the weight of mourning but a resolve to carry forward their shared ideals.
Moments later Donald Trump took the stage to reflect on Charlie Kirk’s legacy and to offer his perspective on opponents and disagreement in the public sphere. He said that Charlie was a missionary in spirit that he did not hate his opponents but wanted the best for them. Then he added that he himself could not stand his opponents and that his disagreement with that part of Charlie’s outlook was real. He apologized to Erika saying “I am sorry.” He invited the possibility that she might convince him that resisting hate matters too. He observed that Charlie looking down might be angry with him now.
Earlier in her address Erika had invoked what many came to see as a higher standard of moral clarity one rooted in her Christian faith. She declared that the response to hate is not hate but love always love. Her forgiveness was not framed as a lesser choice but as one born from her belief in Christ’s teachings and in what Charlie would have chosen. It was a painful act of opening her heart wide under public scrutiny and in personal devastation.
Tyler Robinson who stands accused remains in Utah County Jail without bail. The legal process is ongoing while questions swirl over motive, accountability, and grief. For the many who listened to Erika it was a moment to witness courage not often asked for in such raw measure. The service was also a space for others to reflect on their own relationships with forgiveness anger and justice.
Erika’s speech seemed to be both an anchor and a proclamation. She anchored herself in faith in love and in Charlie’s memory even as she proclaimed that what he stood for was bigger than his death. She seemed to step into a public role not just defined by widowhood but by a hope to transform pain into something that might heal. Her words asked those present not just to mourn but to examine how sorrow is carried how love is offered even when all that seems easier is hatred.
The contrast between the public grief and the private depth of her forgiveness left many in the crowd moved. In agreeing to take on Turning Point USA leadership she also accepted that Charlie’s beliefs and voice would echo through hers. She is now part of his legacy and has become the bearer of a challenge: that in the face of violence the response can be love.
Erika Kirk’s act at the memorial served not simply as a tribute to a life lost but as a lived example of what forgiveness asks of us. It spoke quietly yet forcefully to faith grief identity and public witness. It reminded all who listened that to forgive is not to erase what happened but to choose what comes next.
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