Conservative activist Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA and Donald Trump ally, was killed in Utah on Wednesday. Kirk, who was pro-gun ownership, was speaking about gun violence at the Utah Valley University (UVU) campus on the first stop of his American Comeback tour when he was shot in the neck with a single bullet.
US officials have described it as a “political assassination” and Trump has now posthumously awarded Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom. US officials announced on Friday afternoon that they have a suspect in custody: Tyler Robinson, a 22 year old white man from Utah. Robinson’s social media shows he grew up in a Mormon family and around guns, while bullet casings recovered from the scene suggested he carved extremely online alt-right memes onto the ammunition.
Kirk leaves behind his wife Erika Lane Kirk, 36, and their two young children, who were reportedly in attendance at the rally where he died. The couple married in 2021 and had a three-year-old daughter and a one-year-old son.
His wife accompanied his body home to Arizona on Air Force Two on September 11. Following Robinson’s capture, she made a statement on the Charlie Kirk Youtube channel. She also posted a carousel of images and videos to her Instagram showing her crying over his body before the casket is carried onto the Vice Presidential plane by a US military Honour Guard, a privilege usually reserved for veterans and state dignitaries.
Here’s everything we know about Erika Lane Kirk.
‘I want to change the world’
She was born Erika Lane Frantzve in 1988 in Scottsdale, a city in the southwestern state of Arizona. Erika was raised Catholic and began competing in beauty pageants before she went to Arizona State University, where she studied political science and international relationships and played college basketball.
After graduating she returned to pageants, including the Trump-owned Miss USA Competition. The modelling event was owned by the current US President between 1996 and 2015.
Erika was crowned Miss Arizona USA at the 2012. She went on to represent her state at that year’s Miss USA but did not place. In an interview at the time, Erika described herself as a “tomboy” who preferred sports to dressing up. “I didn’t wear my first pair of heels until I was 14 years old, but I had a really mean lay-up,” she said. She added she was motivated to compete to “further my causes”.
“My mom used to take us to soup kitchens and constantly said we needed to share our blessings with others,” said Erika. “That sparkly tiara is only a little plastic hat. What really matters is making a difference, and I want to change the world. The bling is just a bonus.”
‘God’s got this’
Erika has had a varied career by her own account. On her website, she says she used to be in the entertainment industry “model, actress, and casting director, all while remaining grounded in her Christian faith”.
She gained a master’s degree in American Legal Studies at Liberty University, a conservative private evangelical Christian institution in Virginia. Erika is currently studying for a postgraduate qualification in Bible Studies at Liberty. On her LinkedIn she lists her current occupation as a real estate agent at Corcoran Group in New York City, although her late husband often instructed that Christian wives should not work and instead rely financially on their husbands.
Erika has also founded numerous businesses themed around her faith. Like her late husband, Erika is an evangelical, a Protestant religious movement that prioritises spreading their faith (evangelism) and “born-again” conversion experiences. Around 24 per cent of Americans currently identify as evangelical, according to the Pew Research Centre.
Proclaim is her clothing line, which sells items for adults and babies with Bible-themed quotes and memes on them. Items include an $88 hoodie that says “They said Noah was a conspiracy theorist” on it, $25 baby blankets with prayer labels on them, and $5 sticker packs with faith-based slogans on holographic elements. Erika and her late husband also modelled for the brand.
Some proceeds from Proclaim go to Biblein365, a company where people can sign up for daily bible readings, “text messages of encouragement” an access to a branded app. Erika also hosts the podcast Midweek Rise Up, where she shares episodes on Mondays and Wednesdays to “provide you that deep breath of, ‘God’s got this’.”
“Above all,” says her website, “Erika cherishes her role as the wife of Charlie Kirk and the mother of their precious son and daughter.”
‘Women willing to submit’
Erika met Charlie Kirk in New York City in 2018. Erika described their first date in an Instagram post just six days before his death. “We sat inside Bills Burgers [sic] in NYC deep in conversation and banter over theology, philosophy, and politics and at the end, you paused, looked at me and said, 'I'm going to date you',” she wrote.
Kirk had also described their first date on his Turning Points USA podcast in 2024. “I met her and we had a very, very long dinner, which was very close to almost an interview,” he said. “You should absolutely interview for your spouse.”
The couple espoused conservative gender roles, in line with their beliefs. “Women should look for men who have self control,” Kirk said on his Youtube channel while discussing their relationship. “Men should look for women who are willing to submit, basically a non-feminist woman.”
Erika often rejected feminist principles as part of her speaking and advocacy duties for her late husband’s outreach to young conservative women with Turning Points USA. The couple would appear together to encourage young women to prioritise finding a husband over pursuing and education and a career.
“For the women who are getting married after 30 — that’s OK,” said Erika at a recent Turning Points event. “It’s not ideal. It’s not probably the best statistical position for you — but God is good.” Erika was 32 when she married.
‘Til death do you part’
The couple got engaged in 2020 and married in 2021. Erika wore a white fishtail strapless gown and veil. There were very few guests but lots of photographs.
“Our wedding was very intimate…no bridesmaids, no groomsman,” Erika posted on Instagram in 2024 as she provided advice to other Christian brides. “ Weddings turn people (guests) crazy and can bring out unnecessary family drama; let it go. It’s the enemy trying to distract you from focusing on the things that really matter,” she wrote. “God needs you to be for the husband He has prepared for you.…til death do you part.”
Kirk also shared his theories on the symbolism of wedding outfits. “The man is usually in black and white like he’s attending somebody’s death, because it is his death” he said . “It’s the death of promiscuity. It’s the death of the wandering eye. It’s the death of immoral behaviour. It’s the death of texting girls casually,” he added. “It’s the death of playing video games until 1am.”
The Kirks welcomed two children, and chose to keep details about them private, although they regularly shared pictures and videos of their family online.. "We have a girl and a boy and it's no one's business what their names are or their faces,” said Kirk.
As part of his anti-abortion stance, Kirk generated controversy on debate show Surrounded when he claimed that, if his daughter was raped when she was 10, he would ensure she would not be able to access abortion. “Yes, the baby would be delivered,” he said.
Erika often appeared on her husband’s podcast to share marriage advice for other Christian couples. “It’s really important that women do not gossip to their friends about their husband,” she said. “Wives, do not compare your husbands to other women’s husbands,” she added. “Just, like, love your husband. Love your husband so much, and understand and hold in your heart that God has put you guys together for a reason.”
Following the shooting on September 10, Erika was photographed on September 11 deplaning from Air Force Two with Vice President JD Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance. The widow later waved to supporters from a motorcade, all the while clutching a rosary. The vice presidential aircraft transported Kirk’s body from Utah home to Arizona. His funeral will be next week, and Donald Trump has promised to attend.’
‘My husband’s assasination’
After Robinson was turned into the authorities, Erika made a statement on her late husband’s Youtube channel in a video titled Charlie Kirk's beloved wife, Mrs. Erika Kirk addresses the Nation.
The video opened on the empty chair Kirk usually occupied and a white baseball cap with a gold 47 emblazoned on the front — a symbol of Donald Trump being the 47th US President. Erika began her speech thanking the authorities, Kirk’s Turning Points staffers, JD Vance and Usha Vance, and Donald Trump.
“Mr President, my husband loved you,” she said, dabbing at her eyes with a handkerchief. “And he knew that you loved him too. He did. Your friendship was amazing. You supported him so well, as he did you.”
She went on to reiterate her late husband’s faith and his beliefs about traditional gender roles. “Now and for all eternity he will stand at his saviour’s side wearing the glorious crown of a martyr,” she said. “He was the perfect father. He was the perfect husband. Charlie always believed that God’s design for marriage and the family is amazing, and it is,” she added. “Over and over he would tell all these young people to come and find their future spouse, become wives and husbands and parents.”
Erika also discussed her late husband’s political ambitions. “Privately he told me that if he ever did run for office that his top priority would be to revive the American family,” she said.
She also vowed to continue his “movement” and reprimanded his killer — although she did not mention Robinson by name and used a collective pronoun.“The evildoers responsible for my husband’s assassination have no idea what they have done,” she said. “They killed Charlie because he preached a message of patriotism.” She added: “You have no idea what you have just unleashed across this entire country. 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.”
Erika closed her eulogy by encouraging young people to join their conservative organisation. “If you’re in high school or in college, go find your local Turning Point USA chapter.”
