Erika Kirk Forgives Husband’s Assassin in Tearful Memorial Speech: ‘He Wanted to Save Young Men — Just Like the One Who Took His Life’
In a moment that left tens of thousands in stunned silence, Erika Kirk took the stage at her late husband Charlie Kirk’s memorial service and offered a message not of vengeance — but of forgiveness, faith, and purpose.
Standing behind the presidential seal at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona — flanked by a crowd of more than 70,000 inside and over 130,000 outside — the widow of the Turning Point USA founder delivered an emotional tribute that stunned the nation.
“He wanted to save young men. Just like the one who took his life,” Erika said through tears, as a wave of grief swept across the stadium.
“I forgive him,” she said, referring to the alleged assassin, Tyler Robinson. “Because it was what Christ did. And what Charlie would do.”
A hushed audience broke into tears and applause as she continued:
“The answer to hate is not hate. The answer we know from the gospel is love. Always love. Love for our enemies and love for those who persecute us.”
Erika Kirk forgives the man who murdered her husband:
“My husband Charlie…he wanted to save young men just like the one who took his life…that young man…
I forgive him.
I forgive him because it was what Christ did and is what Charlie would do.” pic.twitter.com/Pd1yGRMRVw
— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) September 21, 2025
Dressed in all white, Erika stepped slowly to the podium, her hands trembling, her voice steady but breaking. She began by thanking the massive crowd, saying, “God bless all of you for coming here from all over the world to honor and celebrate my Charlie.”
She recalled the horrific moment she arrived at the Utah hospital on September 10 and saw her husband’s lifeless body — the moment, she said, that changed her forever.
“I saw the wound that ended his life. I felt everything you would expect to feel. Shock, horror, and a level of heartache I didn’t even know existed,” she said.
But amidst the grief, Erika found peace in a final detail:
“Even in death, I could see the man that I love. I could see the single gray hair on the side of his head, which I never told him about — now he knows. Sorry, baby.”
She described the faintest smile still visible on Charlie’s face. “A great mercy from God in this tragedy,” she said. That smile, she believed, was a sign that “he didn’t suffer.”
And in a statement that drew both awe and tears from the crowd, Erika declared:
“Charlie was ready to die.”
She didn’t mean he sought it. But that he was spiritually prepared for the ultimate sacrifice.
“When you say, ‘Here I am, Lord, use me,’ God will take you up on that. And He did with Charlie.”
Throughout her speech, Erika emphasized her husband’s mission — one that extended far beyond political debate.
“He named his organization well,” she said of Turning Point USA.
“He knew things were not right with America, especially with young people. And that they needed a new direction.”
Charlie’s focus, she said, was clear: reaching the “lost boys of the West” — young men adrift in a culture of purposelessness, digital distractions, and rage.
“He wanted to save them. He wanted to give them a reason to live. A reason to believe in something greater than themselves.”
And in the most astonishing moment of the day, Erika addressed the man who took Charlie’s life by name:
“That young man,” she said slowly. “On the cross, our Savior said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.’ That man. That young man. I forgive him.”
The crowd rose to their feet. Many were openly weeping.
She ended with a commitment to continue Charlie’s mission. She now wears the blood-stained St. Michael pendant Charlie was wearing when he was shot, and says she has no plans to let his work die.
“The movement my husband built will not die,” she vowed.
“It will become stronger. Bolder. Louder and greater than ever.”
The night before the shooting, Erika revealed she had urged Charlie to begin wearing a bulletproof vest — even suggesting speaking behind bulletproof glass. His response was hopeful and calm:
“Not yet,” he told her. “I trust my security team. I trust what’s being put in place.”
Eleven days later, Erika Kirk stood in front of the nation, embodying everything her husband stood for: truth, faith, courage — and the power of love to conquer hate.