The killing of Charlie Kirk won’t stop the political movement that he founded, a college activist said.
Kirk founded Turning Point USA, an organization for young conservatives, in 2012. The organization today has more than 3,500 high school and college chapters and a quarter-million student members nationwide, according to the TPUSA website.
Kirk, 31, was shot and killed during an outdoor event on a Utah campus on Sept. 10. A notice on the TPUSA website on Sept. 11 announced his death:
“It is with a heavy heart that we confirm that Charles James Kirk has been murdered by a gunshot that took place during Turning Point USA’s ‘The American Comeback Tour’ campus event at Utah Valley University on September 10, 2025.
“May he be received into the merciful arms of our loving Savior, who suffered and died for Charlie.”
‘It was just heart-wrenching’
Kirk’s work will continue, said Ian Hutter, president of a TPUSA chapter at Allegheny College in Meadville.
“We’re definitely not going to be too public for at least a little bit, but we definitely are not slowing down,” Hutter said. “If anything, we’re speeding up. As sad as it is, this has definitely lit a fire under us and given us new purpose.”
Hutter said he learned that Kirk had been shot when he woke from a brief rest before football practice Sept. 10.
“My phone was blowing up with all of my family members and friends saying that Charlie Kirk had just been shot,” Hutter said. “I didn’t believe it, no way. I opened Twitter and it was the first video I saw, of him being shot. It was just heart-wrenching.”
Charlie Kirk greets the crowd during the AmericaFest 2024 conference in Phoenix in December. The event was sponsored by Kirk’s Turning Point USA organization.
Hutter heard Kirk speak at TPUSA’s AmericaFest in Phoenix in December.
“It was amazing. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Hutter said. “I was in the front row, in one of the student sections, standing right by the stage. Before that, Charlie Kirk was a person on a screen,” in podcasts and media appearances. “Just like that, he became a real person. And you could feel the deep excitement of everyone in that room.”
‘Part of me is worried about their safety’
Allegheny’s TPUSA group will carry on with a sign-up event already planned for Sept. 15, said Hutter, a senior business and history major from Mount Pleasant.
“It’s going to be a little harder for us,” Hutter said. “But I think it will spark some people to come out and express how they feel.”
Hutter admits to being concerned for his group’s emotional reponse to Kirk’s death and concerned for the group’s safety.
“I’m looking out for them the best I can,” Hutter said. “Part of me is worried about their safety.”
More local TPUSA chapters
Allegheny College’s chapter of Turning Point USA was established earlier this year. The chapter in April sponsored a talk by Riley Gaines Center ambassador Olivia Krolczyk titled “The Fight is Far From Over: Defending Free Speech and Women’s Sports,” about efforts to prevent transgender athletes from participating in women’s sports.
Turning Point USA’s college webpage lists a Mercyhurst University chapter but doesn’t specify the number of members and start date. However, a Mercyhurst official said there isn’t an official chapter.
“Mercyhurst University does not have an official chapter of Turning Point, though there might be individual students from the university who have chosen to affiliate with this organization,” David Raymond, the school’s executive director of marketing and communications, said via email. “We celebrate the fact that our students come from a range of political affiliations, and we work very hard to cultivate an atmosphere of critical, respectful dialogue. Mercyhurst University does have officially recognized student clubs for Democrats and Republicans.”
Raymond went on to say that Mercyhurst officials “are aware that some students are deeply affected by (Sept. 10’s) tragic events and our staff have been offering support to students. University personnel have reached out directly to students we believe to be affiliated with Turning Point to offer support and to connect them with campus resources they might need at this time, such as the counseling center and campus ministry.”
On Oct. 24, before the 2024 presidential election, Mercyhurst released a statement related to requests to have political figures on campus. The statement didn’t name Kirk or any other individuals. It did say that “Mercyhurst University is committed to creating a safe, non-partisan space for students, faculty, staff, administration, and public visitors alike. We also want to promote civil discourse.
“In the midst of a contentious presidential election, we are also concerned about unrest and discord after the election, and therefore, we are revising our public schedule of events for the next few months to abstain from speaking events for political figures and related activists, and to focus on the mission and values of the university.”
Penn State Behrend’s Turning Point USA chapter had 20 active members and was established in 2022, according to information on the TPUSA college page. However, Behrend spokesman Robb Frederick said the college doesn’t currently have a Turning Point chapter on campus. He said students with Behrend’s College Republicans group have engaged with Turning Point in previous years.
Members of the College Republicans at Behrend couldn’t immediately be reached for comment. Frederick said the college did reach out to students who might be affected by Kirk’s death.
The only high school TPUSA chapter in the region was founded at Fairview High School in 2021. The group has 25 active members, according to the TPUSA high school webpage.
Contact Dana Massing at dmassing@gannett.com.
Contact Valerie Myers at vmyers@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Charlie Kirk death hits Erie PA region colleges, high school
