Charlie Kirk’s widow, Erika, laid her grief bare in a series of emotional photos and videos shared in the wake of her husband’s assassination at Utah Valley University.
The heartbreaking tribute, shared with her 3.8 million Instagram followers early Saturday morning, shows Erika weeping over Kirk’s open casket in one photo, while another sees her pressing her forehead to his hand.
The carousel also includes video of Erika embracing Usha Vance, the wife of Vice President JD Vance, as well as a clip of of her whispering “I love yous” to her slain husband.
“The sound of this widow weeping echoes throughout this world like a battle cry,” she wrote in the caption of the post. “They have no idea what they just ignited within this wife.”
The message mirrored the address she delivered Friday night from her husband’s studio, where he produced “The Charlie Kirk Show.” It marked the first time Erika spoke publicly about her husband’s death.
The “evildoers” responsible for his killing “should all know this: If you thought my husband’s mission was powerful before, you have no idea,” she said. “You have no idea what you just have unleashed across this entire country, and this world.”
She also encouraged young people to join their local Turning Point USA chapter, or to start their own. The organization, co-founded by Kirk, encourages “traditional American values like patriotism, respect for life, liberty, family, and fiscal responsibility,” according to its website.
Kirk was participating in a Q&A during the first stop of his American Comeback Tour at Utah Valley University when he was fatally shot just after noon on Wednesday.
Tess Crowley/The Deseret News via AP
Charlie Kirk speaks before he is shot during Turning Point’s visit to Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. (Tess Crowley/The Deseret News via AP)
Video later shared on social shows Kirk responding to a question about mass shooters right before he’s struck in the neck by a single bullet, fired from the roof of a building several hundred feet away.
Authorities said the suspected shooter, identified as 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, used the ensuing chaos to flee the Orem campus, though he was eventually apprehended after a two-day search.
Utah Governor’s Office via AP
This photo released by the Utah Governor’s Office on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025 shows Tyler Robinson. (Utah Governor’s Office via AP)
President Trump announced Robinson’s arrest during a Friday morning appearance on Fox News, telling viewers that he was taken into custody by U.S. Marshals after a family member and local pastor urged him to surrender.
Robinson’s motive remains under investigation.
He was arrested on suspicion of of aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury, and obstruction of justice.
He’s currently being held at the Utah County Jail, and is expected to be formally charged early next week.
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