Biography
Charlie Kirk founded Turning Point USA in 2012 and led it until his death on September 10, 2025, when he was shot while speaking at an outdoor event on the campus of Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah.
Turning Point USA
Turning Point USA is a 501(c)(3) organization, tax-exempt since July 2014, that organises chapters on college and high school campuses. Its own tax filings show the scale it reached: for the fiscal year ending June 2025 it reported revenue of 103,939,274 and salaries and wages of nearly $20 million. It is, on those numbers, a large national organisation funded almost entirely by donors rather than by programme income.
Kirk’s public method involved appearing on campuses in an open question-and-answer format, with the exchanges filmed and cut into short clips for distribution: a campus appearance reached a few hundred people in person and a much larger audience as video afterward. He also hosted The Charlie Kirk Show as a podcast and broadcast programme.
Death
Kirk was shot at approximately 12:23 p.m. on September 10, 2025 while speaking at a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University, and was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. The university closed its campus for the remainder of that week.
Tyler James Robinson was charged on September 16, 2025 in Utah’s Fourth Judicial District Court with seven counts, among them aggravated murder as a capital felony, and the Utah County Attorney filed notice of intent to seek the death penalty. The charging document alleges a victim targeting enhancement — that Robinson selected Kirk because of Robinson’s belief or perception regarding Kirk’s political expression. That is a prosecution allegation rather than an established fact. Robinson has not been tried. The last state of the prosecuting office’s docket page that can be retrieved — its capture of 13 June 2026, the live page having since gone to 404 — records a preliminary hearing set for May 18-20, 2026, a defence motion to continue it argued on May 8, and the denial on February 24, 2026 of a defence motion to disqualify the Utah County Attorney’s Office. Whether the preliminary hearing went ahead on those dates is not established by any source reachable for this page. The event itself is covered in the timeline entry.
On September 18, 2025 the Turning Point USA board elected his widow, Erika Kirk, chief executive and chair.
Sources
- 01.
Fourth Judicial District Court, Utah County, State of Utah. Information, State of Utah v. Tyler James Robinson. (2025). Charging document authorized for filing September 16, 2025. Source for the date, time and location of the shooting, the seven counts charged including aggravated murder as a capital felony, and the attached probable cause statement. The victim targeting enhancement it alleges is a prosecution allegation, not a finding of fact; the defendant has not been tried. The live URL now returns HTTP 503 on every attempt; the archived capture of 17 September 2025 was read instead — a 10-page PDF whose seven counts are Aggravated Murder (Capital Felony), Felony Discharge of a Firearm Causing Serious Bodily Injury, two counts of Obstruction of Justice, two of Tampering with a Witness, and Violent Offense Committed in the Presence of a Child.
- 02.
Utah County Attorney's Office. Charlie Kirk Case Updates. The prosecuting office's own running docket-status notices. The live URL now returns HTTP 404 — the office's own 'Utah County Attorney' error page — so the archived captures were read instead. The last capture, 13 June 2026, is also the last reachable state of the page. Source for: Judge Tony Graf denying the defence motion to disqualify the Utah County Attorney's Office on 24 February 2026, and his reasons; a preliminary hearing set for 18-20 May 2026; and a hearing on 8 May 2026 to rule on the defence's motions to continue that preliminary hearing and to exclude cameras from the courtroom. A note previously here credited this page with a 'July 6-10, 2026 preliminary hearing' and a 'September 1, 2026 oral argument on whether probable cause supports the charges'. Neither appears in any reachable capture of it, and both have been removed from the page.
- 03.
Utah Valley University. Campus Closure Until Monday, September 15, 2025. (2025). University statement closing campus September 11-14, 2025 following the shooting at the event on its campus.
- 04.
Internal Revenue Service, via ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer. Turning Point USA Inc., IRS Form 990 for the fiscal year ending June 2025 (EIN 80-0835023). (2025). Extracted Form 990 data. Turning Point USA Inc. is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt since July 2014. For the fiscal year ending June 2025 it reported revenue of $115,452,493, of which $114,463,864 (99.1%) was contributions, expenses of $103,939,274, other salaries and wages of $19,956,435, and net assets of $29,391,753. Source for the organization's scale and its near-total dependence on donations.
- 05.
Norman, G. (2025). Turning Point elects Erika Kirk as new CEO, chair of the board. Source for the Turning Point USA board electing Erika Kirk chief executive and chair on September 18, 2025.