Charlie Kirk’s widow: ‘You have no idea what you have just unleashed’
Erika Kirk, the widow of Charlie Kirk, the right-wing activist and podcaster who was assassinated Wednesday, says her husband’s college tour and radio show will continue.
She said the “evildoers” responsible for his death “should all know this: If you thought my husband’s mission was powerful before, you have no idea,” she said on Fox News Friday evening. “You have no idea what you just have unleashed across this entire country, and this world.”
Kirk was speaking on the first stop of his “American Comeback Tour” at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, when he was fatally shot. A suspect is in custody.
The tour had 14 more dates planned at college campuses, according to Charlie Kirk’s organization, Turning Point USA. The next stop was scheduled for Sep. 18 at Colorado State University. His radio show and podcast The Charlie Kirk Show aired daily, and Erika Kirk said it will continue.
She encouraged young people to join their local Turning Point USA chapter, or start their own. The organization promotes “traditional American values like patriotism, respect for life, liberty, family, and fiscal responsibility,” its website says.
The organization and Kirk also courted controversy — he claimed that the civil rights legislation of the 1960s had turned into an anti-white weapon and mocked what he described as America’s deification of Martin Luther King Jr. The group’s conferences and shows regularly hosted conspiracy theorists and fellow provocateurs, including Alex Jones, the broadcaster who lost a $1.3 billion defamation suit brought by the family of the victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre.
“[Kirk] wants you to make a difference, and you can,” Erika Kirk said.
She additionally thanked law enforcement, first responders, President Trump and Vice President Vance for supporting her family in the last few days.
“Mr. President, my husband loved you,” she said. “And he knew that you loved him too. Your friendship was amazing.”
Trump has said Kirk’s involvement with young people contributed to his presidential win last year.
Erika Kirk said she has not found a way to tell her 3-year-old daughter that her father has died.
“He’s on a work trip with Jesus,” she said.
Crew of fatal US military crash included Alabama father recently deployed
The six U.S. service members who died in the crash of a U.S. military refueling aircraft included an Alabama father who had just been promoted and deployed. The U.S. government released the identities of the deceased service members Saturday.
Israeli soldiers fire on family car in occupied West Bank, killing 4
Israeli soldiers fired on a car carrying a family in the northern West Bank, killing four people including two children, the Palestinian Authority's Health Ministry said.
U.S. military names six killed in plane crash as Iran war enters third week
The conflict in the Middle East has entered a third week, with Israel announcing a barrage of new strikes on western Iran on Sunday, while the U.S. defense department released the names of six service members who died when their military refueling aircraft crashed.
Alabama poised to drastically overhaul utility regulation. Will it lower electric bills?
The Alabama Senate unanimously voted to expand the public service commission, and create a Secretary of Energy to address rising electricity prices. A bill in the House would go even further, requiring rate case hearings and limiting utility profits.
Sunday Puzzle: BAD!
Ayesha Rascoe plays the puzzle with KCUR listener Justin Marciniak and Weekend Edition Puzzlemaster Will Shortz.
Acclaimed 20th century philosopher Jürgen Habermas dies at 96
Associated with the Frankfurt School, Habermas was a world-renowned thinker on modernity and democracy who helped shape German post-war and post-reunification political discourse.
