Charlie Kirk’s widow vows ‘I will never let your legacy die’ after suspect Tyler Robinson arrested: Live updates
The widow of conservative activist Charlie Kirk has pledged to carry on his work through the right-wing movement he established as she spoke publicly for the first time since his assassination.
An emotional Erika Kirk paid tribute to her husband Friday from Phoenix, Arizona, just two days after he was fatally shot.
Kirk’s wife and mother of his two young children promised to make the conservative youth group Turning Point USA “the biggest thing this nation has ever seen.”
”I promise I will never let your legacy die,” Kirk said, addressing her husband.
She revealed that “The American Comeback” tour would go on this fall despite Wednesday’s shooting at Utah Valley University.
“Our campus tour this fall will continue,” Erika Kirk said. “There will be even more tours in the years to come.”
Her defiant address comes as suspect Tyler Robinson, 22, of Utah, is in police custody and is expected to appear virtually in court for the first time Tuesday.
His motive is still unclear, and a fierce debate over political violence sparked by the assassination is far from over.
Student who quizzed Charlie Kirk moments before assassination breaks silence
The last person to talk to conservative activist Charlie Kirk before he was shot dead by a sniper on a Utah university campus has broken his silence by posting a video to social media giving his version of events and expressing his shock.
“I don’t know how to make this video, it’s been a rough 24 hours,” Hunter Kozak, 29, a mathematics student at Utah Valley University, says in the video first posted to Instagram.
Joe Sommerlad has the story.
Office Depot says worker who refused to print Charlie Kirk poster has been fired
Josh Marcus has the story.
Might Patel’s odd ‘Valhalla’ comment derail suspect’s prosecution?
FBI Director Kash Patel’s bizarre parting words to the late Charlie Kirk after saying a suspect had been caught, 33 hours after his assassination, could threaten the prosecution of Kirk’s alleged killer, a former prosecutor said Saturday.
Patel said he would see Kirk in the utopian realm from Norse mythology, likened to a heaven for warriors.
“To my friend Charlie Kirk, rest now, brother, we have the watch, and I’ll see you in Valhalla,” the FBI director said.
Patel’s comments sparked widespread confusion and mockery online, largely due to the use of Norse mythology, given that Patel is Hindu and Kirk is an evangelical Christian.
On the legal side, however, Patel’s comments could raise questions in court about whether the FBI’s investigation was compromised or at least affected by impartiality, Robert James, former district attorney for DeKalb County in Georgia, warned during an appearance on CNN Saturday.
“You have to be careful when you’re running an investigation as a law enforcement officer,” he said.
“Impartiality is very important when you’re looking at facts and determining who did what, what the motivation was, and that sort of thing. So you never want to put yourself in a position where lawyers get involved and then you open yourself up to cross-examination in a courtroom about your perception or perspective, and it happens in high-profile homicide cases all the time.”
James further warned: “For instance, I’ve prosecuted cases where police officers were killed, and the same police department investigated those cases and it’s always a question when the officers are on the stand, whether or not their opinions are slanted or motivated by the grief or anger of what happened, and so it’s the same type of scenario here, so you have to be careful.”
ANALYSIS: Political violence expert reveals his biggest worry after Charlie Kirk’s assassination
Alfonso Serrano, a politics editor at The Conversation, spoke with University of Massachusetts Lowell scholar Arie Perliger after Kirk’s shooting. Perliger studies political violence and assassinations and spoke bluntly about political polarization in the United States.
Patel to answer to Congress on missteps in Kirk probe and turmoil at FBI
Hours after the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, FBI Director Kash Patel announced online that “the subject” involved in the killing was in custody.
The shooter had not been caught, and over the day after the shooting, two men who had been detained were quickly released. Utah officials acknowledged that the gunman remained at large.
The false reassurance was more than just a slip; it highlighted the high-stakes uncertainty about Patel’s leadership of the bureau, especially as its credibility — and his own — faces extraordinary pressure.
Making the matter worse, according to reporting by NBC News, this confusion over whether a suspect had been apprehended was tweeted out by Patel as he prepared to dine at Rao’s, one of New York City’s most exclusive restaurants, with a follow-up tweet posted later in the evening.
Patel now faces congressional oversight hearings this coming week, confronting not only questions about that investigation but also broader doubts about whether he can stabilize a federal law enforcement agency fragmented by political battles and internal turmoil.
Democrats are ready to confront Patel on a purge of senior officials that has led to a lawsuit, his ongoing pursuit of President Donald Trump’s grievances long after the Russia investigation concluded, and a shift in resources that has focused on fighting illegal immigration and street crime — even though the agency has historically been known for tackling complex threats like counterintelligence and corruption.
With reporting by the Associated Press
You cannot cherry-pick which incidents of violence you’re going to condemn.. We have to condemn all political violence. Violence against one particular politician, no matter their party, makes us all less safe.
What was Charlie Kirk talking about when he was shot?
Joe Sommerlad has the details of his final conversation.
‘I don’t know a single Democrat’: Suspect’s grandmother says their entire family are Republicans
The grandmother of Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old who allegedly shot Charlie Kirk, spoke out for the first time Friday, claiming there’s no way her quiet and reserved grandson killed the conservative activist.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Debbie Robinson, 69, claimed she “never” heard Tyler Robinson discussing politics despite his father’s support for President Donald Trump, whom Tyler Robinson dressed as for Halloween in 2017.
“My son, his dad, is a Republican for Trump,” Debbie Robinson told the outlet. “Most of my family members are Republican. I don’t know any single one who’s a Democrat. I’m just so confused.”
Erin Keller has the story.
Local community depicts suspect as ‘quiet’ young man from normal family
Neighbors and members of the local community describe Tyler Robinson, 22, the suspect in the assassination of Charlie Kirk, as a smart, “quiet” young man from a typical family.
“I know for some people when their identities come out, and they’re labeled as a shooter, everyone’s like, ‘You could tell.’ And he’s not one of those people,” Jaida Funk, a 22-year-old who lives in the same neighborhood as Robinson, told The Associated Press. She said Robinson’s arrest in the suburb outside St. George was “completely unexpected.”
Robert Sylvester, who has lived on the same street as the Robinson family for about six years, told the AP that he last saw Tyler Robinson a couple of years ago while they were both helping fix a leaky pipe at a neighbor’s house. He described the family as “pretty quiet,” noting that the suspect’s father works as a contractor and that, “They’re not unlike most families.”
Utah State University told Fox News on Friday that Robinson “briefly attended Utah State University for one semester in 2021.”
He’s now a third-year student in the electrical apprenticeship program at Dixie Technical College in St. George, according to the AP.
Durban Mickelson told the news agency that Robinson often bought supplies from a store where he worked and didn’t draw attention.
“He wouldn’t really talk to you unless you said something to him,” Mickelson added. “Just always very quiet, kept to himself.”
Conservatives call for Charlie Kirk statue in the Capitol after his assassination
“This is not a symbolic gesture, but a permanent testament to his life’s work, his courage, and his sacrifice,” the letter, signed by 12 other members of Congress, read. “It will stand as a reminder that political disagreement must never be answered with violence, and that the fight for truth must carry on.”
Mike Bedigan reports.
Source: independent.co.uk
