Bernd Debusmann Jr and Mike Wendling
BBC News

Image source, Getty Images

Born in a suburb of Chicago in 1993, Charlie Kirk got started early in conservative politics, first penning an essay for right-wing Breitbart News at the age of 18, accusing schools of spreading "propaganda" and "indoctrination".

He caught the eye of Bill Montgomery, a retired businessman and Tea Party activist more than 50 years his senior, who took Kirk under his wing.

In 2012 – around the midpoint of Barack Obama's presidency – the pair founded Turning Point USA, a group which focused on conservative activism on college campuses, spreading rapidly along with Kirk's social media following.

The group tapped into online media and spread a slickly packaged style of conservatism to young people. It won him a speaking place, aged 22, at the 2016 Republican National Convention.

Kirk's political views drifted rightward over time. He was against gay marriage and abortion, argued for Christian nationalism and was highly critical of Islam, and famously said that gun deaths were "worth it" for the right to own firearms. He was also an opponent of diversity programmes and spread falsehoods about topics such as Covid vaccines and voting fraud.

Above all, he was loyal to Trump.

• Read the full story of Charlie Kirk's rise from activist to inner circle

As Erika Kirk's statement has ended, we're closing this page for now.

In the meantime, if you'd like to read more, here are some of our recommended news stories:

• Charlie Kirk's suspected killer brought into custody after confessing to father
• A 33-hour manhunt and morning show reveal: How police caught Charlie Kirk suspect
• How a college dropout from the suburbs became Maga star Charlie Kirk
• Who is Tyler Robinson, the suspect in custody for shooting Charlie Kirk?
• BBC Verify examines Tyler Robinson's social media accounts

Our final post of the day, up next, comes from Bernd Debusmann Jr and Mike Wendling - they're going to share how Charlie Kirk rose to fame from a teenage activist.

Thank you for joining us.

Erika Kirk is a businesswoman and former Miss Arizona USA winner who met Charlie Kirk in 2018. The couple married in 2021.

Erika, who is currently studying for a doctorate in Bible studies, has launched a Bible ministry programme and hosts the Midweek Rise Up podcast, which focuses on Biblical leadership.

She has also launched the faith-based clothing line Proclaim, which, according to the website, "reflects her vision of empowering individuals to wear their faith with confidence".

The Kirks have got a one-year-old son and a three-year-old daughter.

Image source, Getty Images

We've just watched Erika Kirk's first public remarks since her husband Charlie, an ally of President Donald Trump, was killed by a gunshot on a university campus in Utah.

• Holding back tears and wiping her eyes, she frequently quoted the Bible as she paid tribute to Charlie
• She began by thanking law enforcement and first responders for their efforts to save his life after he was shot
• She also thanked Kirk's staff, Vice-President JD Vance, and President Donald Trump
• "You supported him so well, as did he for you," she said, addressing Trump directly
• She pledged that Charlie Kirk's message will continue - his campus tour to US universities will carry on, and so will the podcast he hosted
• To the killer, she said: "You have no idea the fire that you ignited within this wife, the cries of this widow will echo around the world like a battle cry"
• She ended by pledging to Charlie that she would never let his legacy die, saying: "In a world filled with chaos, doubt and uncertainty, my husband's voice will remain"

Erika Kirk says she doesn't remember the last time she slept, and shared a story about their daughter, whom they referred to as GG, when she ran into her arms the night before.

"'Where's daddy?'" GG asked.

"What do you tell a three-year-old?" Erika Kirk says. "'Baby, daddy loves you so much. Don't you worry. He's on a work trip with Jesus [so] he can afford your blueberry budget.'"

Erika finishes by speaking directly to her late husband, saying: "I can't wait to see you again one day."

She ends: "God bless you all, and may God bless America."

Towards the end of her speech, Erika Kirk urges young people to join her late husband's political movement.

She also calls on people to become members of a church.

She then sends a message to her late husband: "I promise I will never let your legacy die," vowing to make his movement the "biggest thing this nation has ever seen".

Erika Kirk vows to keep the campus tour going - just days after her husband Charlie was shot dead during the event in Utah.

"He never gave up. One of his mottos was never surrender. So I want to tell that we will never surrender," says Erika in a defiant tone.

"The campus tour will continue. There will be even more tours in the years ahead to come," she says.

His ideology will continue to spread, she says, adding, "in a world filled with chaos doubt and uncertainty, my husbands voice will remain."

Erika Kirk addresses "the evildoers responsible" for her husband's assassination.

"They killed Charlie because he preached a message of patriotism, faith and of God's merciful love," she says.

Erika has this message for the "evildoers": "You have no idea the fire that you have ignited within this wife, the cries of this widow will echo around the world like a battle cry.

"They should all know this: If you thought that my husband's mission was powerful before you have no idea, you have no idea what you just have unleashed across this entire country and this world, you have no idea."

Erika Kirk, who's wearing a cross necklace, continues to focus on religion, quoting a Bible verse.

"Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her."

She praises God and says he is "incredibly good".

Image source, Turning Point USA

"Charlie said if he ever ran for office, his top priority would be to revive the American family. That was his priority," Erika Kirk continues.

"Charlie loved life. He loved his life. He loved America," she adds.

She goes on to list some of his hobbies, and his favourite sports teams.

"Go ducks," she says, referring to the Oregon University sports team, adding that he would want her to say that because they play on Sunday.

"But most of all, Charlie loved his children. And he loved me. With all his heart. And he made sure I knew that everyday."

She goes on to call him a "perfect" father, weeping throughout her comments.

Speaking through tears, Erika Kirk thanked President Donald Trump and his family for their support after the shooting.

"Mr President, my husband loved you. And he knew that you loved him too. He did. Your friendship was amazing. You supported him so well, as did he for you," she says.

She also thanks Vice-President JD Vance and his wife Usha for "bringing him home".

Erika Kirk, overcome with emotion, continues to thank employees of Turning Point USA - which her husband co-founded.

"My heart is with everyone of my husband's employees who lost a friend and a mentor," she says.

"He loved what he did."

Erika Kirk begins speaking after a silent prayer.

She then thanks law enforcement and first responders who "struggled heroically to save Charles' life, and the police who acted bravely to ensure there were no other victims on that terrible afternoon".

She holds back tears as she speaks.

The broadcast begins with several minutes of silence, as the camera framed Charlie Kirk's empty chair.

A photo of Kirk is displayed on her podium, with the caption: "May Charlie be received into the merciful arms of Jesus, our loving savior."

Image source, Turning Point USA

Erika Kirk, the widow of Charlie Kirk, is due to speak shortly. We will bring you the live updates here.

Stay with us, and you can watch live at the top of this page.

As we wait for Charlie Kirk's wife Erika to make her first public remarks after his death, here are some images of the latest tributes outside Turning Point USA's headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Turning Point USA has just announced that Charlie Kirk's wife, Erika, will make her first public address at 20:15 EST (00:15 GMT) since her husband's death.

We'll bring you all the key lines as they come. You can also Watch live here when it begins.

We’ve been listening back to Wednesday's episode of The Charlie Kirk Show, released just hours before he was killed.

The 31-year-old covered a range of right-wing talking points that have been driving the week's political agenda, including some which Trump and the White House have repeatedly drawn attention to. They included ICE deportations in Chicago, the murder of a Ukrainian refugee and what Kirk called the "ever-increasing amount of black crime".

During a discussion with a Department of Homeland Security official early in the podcast, Kirk said city mayors who do not co-operate with federal ICE raids should be "in jail".

On the show, he also made the false claim that George Floyd, who was murdered by a white police officer in 2020, had died of an "overdose".

In one segment, Kirk discussed the murder of Iryna Zarutska, and claimed "empirical" data showed that "black people killing white people" was the "most common race-based hate attack" in America.

"See the left, they don’t like it when I say things like this. But I’m sorry," he said.

According to the latest FBI crime data, external, 10,805 hate crimes were reported in the US in the past year, with 2,872 against black people, while 847 were recorded as "anti-white".

Here’s another video showing large crowds gathering in the UK to pay tribute to Charlie Kirk.

Over the past two days, politicians from across the political spectrum in the UK have also been reacting to the news and condemning political violence.

Our team has made it to Washington County, Utah, where the suspected killer of Charlie Kirk, Tyler Robinson, lives.

Watch below as BBC Verify correspondent Nick Beake shows us the outside of a residence linked to Robinson.

Image source, Reuters

As mentioned earlier, the killing of Charlie Kirk isn't the only act of severe political violence in the US in recent years.

2025:

• In June, two state lawmakers from Minnesota were shot in their homes. State Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, were shot and killed. State Senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, were also shot multiple times but survived
• Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro’s house was set on fire while he and his family were inside. They escaped unharmed

2024:

• In July, a man opened fire at Donald Trump while he was addressing a crowd during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania
• The trial for another man accused of trying to assassinate Trump last September has just begun

2022:

• An attacker broke into the home of former US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi with a plot to hold Pelosi captive. She wasn't home, but he attacked Pelosi's husband, leaving him in hospital for six days with a fractured skull

Read our North America Correspondent's analysis: Killing of Trump ally lays bare America's bloody and broken politics.