Erika Kirk, widow of slain conservative activist and Turning Point USA CEO and Founder Charlie Kirk, stood before a hushed stadium on Sunday and told mourners she forgives the man accused of killing her husband — urging unity, peace, and love in a speech that left tens of thousands in tears.
“He wanted to save young men. Just like the one who took his life,” she said through tears, speaking from the stage behind the presidential seal.
“I forgive him because it was what Christ did. And what Charlie would do,” she continued. “The answer to hate is not hate. The answer we know from the gospel is love and always love. Love for our enemies and love for those who persecute us.”
Kirk said she would not seek the death penalty for Tyler Robinson, the man charged in her husband’s killing. “I do not want that man’s blood on my ledger,” she told the New York Times.
“Because when I get to heaven, and Jesus is like: ‘Uh, eye for an eye? Is that how we do it?’ And that keeps me from being in heaven, from being with Charlie?”
President Trump embraced Erika on stage after delivering his own eulogy, calling Charlie Kirk “a great American hero” and promising that the couple’s two young children would grow up in a world where their father was remembered and revered. Trump has spoken often of his grief since Kirk’s death, even likening the activist to another son.
But it was Erika who gave the words that lingered. Her address moved the 70,000 inside State Farm Stadium, and thousands more gathered outside, many breaking down in tears.
“It was very heartfelt. I really empathized with her. Being a mom and wife myself, I can’t imagine,” said one Phoenix resident.
Dressed in white, Erika paused to gather herself at the podium, then thanked the estimated 200,000 people who came. “God bless all of you for coming here from all over the world to honor and celebrate my Charlie.”
“When you say ‘here I am, Lord, use me,’ God will take you up on that. And he did with Charlie,” she said. “Eleven days ago, God accepted that total surrender from my husband and then called him to his side.”
She recalled the moment she saw his body at a Utah hospital on Sept. 10. “I saw the wound that ended his life, I felt everything you would expect to feel. I felt shock, I felt horror and a level of heartache that I didn’t even know existed. But there was something else, too. 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 said she noticed “the faintest smile” on his lips, which she described as “a great mercy from God in this tragedy,” reassuring her that he had not suffered.
And she insisted her husband had been ready. “I want all of you to know, while Charlie died far too early, he was also ready to die. There was nothing he was putting off. There was nothing that was too hard, or too painful.”
Looking back on his mission, Erika reminded mourners of what drove him. “He named his organization well. He knew things were not right with America, especially with young people, and that they needed a new direction. Charlie passionately wanted to reach and save the lost boys of the West. The young men who feel like they have no direction, no purpose, no faith and no reason to live. The men wasting their lives on distractions and the men consumed with anger and hate.”
Watch Erika Kirk’s full speech below:
This is Erika Kirk’s full eulogy for Charlie. It’ll leave you with chills. She has Charlie’s heart and ability to connect with everyone on a personal level where it doesn’t seem like there’s a stadium of people around. Almost no one could meet this moment. She absolutely did. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/qYZIr9SR3B
— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) September 21, 2025
