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One year ago today, conservative pundit Charlie Kirk was shot and killed at a speaking engagement at a college in Utah.
In the 12 months since Kirk’s death, he’s been the subject of countless thinkpieces, conspiracy theories, memes, and heated debates.
The trend shows no sign of stopping, and on the first anniversary of the tragedy, both Kirk’s supporters and critics are discussing his legacy.
Perhaps the most moving tribute came from Charlie’s widow, Erika Kirk, who wrote about her year of mourning in an article for the Salt Lake Tribune.
“Grief is strange. Time continues even when every part of you wants it to pause or, better yet, rewind. But the people we love who have passed on would not want us to spend the rest of our lives trying to rewind,” she wrote.
“At first, I needed to survive the next 15 minutes. Over time, I’ve realized that Charlie would want me to live them.”
Erika took over as CEO of Charlie’s Turning Point USA in the wake of his passing, and she’s often been criticized for exploiting the tragedy.
Many have argued that Erika’s time and attention would be better spent on her two young children.
But in her article, she argues that carrying on his mission is exactly what Charlie would have wanted.
Commenters countered that he was generally opposed to the idea of working mothers.
Elsewhere on the internet, The Intercept published a piece entitled “They Tried to Make Charlie Kirk a Saint. They Made Him a Meme.”
“By elevating Kirk to a martyr and clamping down on free speech, the right assured that he would be ridiculed even in death,” columnist Katherine Krueger argues in the article.
She goes on to argue that there’s a tragic irony to the reaction, as Kirk considered himself a free speech warrior.
“President Trump and his allies almost immediately blamed Democrats and ‘the radical left,’ without evidence, for Kirk’s assassination,” Krueger writes, adding:
“At the Department of Defense, Secretary Pete Hegseth promised to investigate whether members of the armed forces were inadequately mournful and terminate them. The State Department revoked visas of noncitizens who ‘celebrated’ Kirk’s death
Even right-leaning commentators like Richard Hanania have noted that Kirk’s death did not have the unifying, “galvanizing” effect that so many conservatives anticipated.
“The truth is, Charlie Kirk helped build up the culture of conspiracism that would come to haunt his own death,” Hanania writes, noting conspiracy theories advanced by Candace Owens and other media figures.
One year on, there’s no denying that Charlie Kirk’s legacy remains complicated. But knowing how highly Kirk valued debate, perhaps his supporters can take comfort in the knowledge that he’s still being discussed every day.
One Year After Charlie Kirk’s Death His Widow and Critics Debate His Legacy was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.