Erika Kirk, the widow of slain Christian conservative influencer Charlie Kirk, forgave his killer as she delivered an address to tens of thousands of people gathered at a memorial service in his honour.
The event honouring Kirk's life was held at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, on Sunday and was watched by millions worldwide.
Speakers eulogizing Kirk's life included President Donald Trump, as well as Turning Point USA and TPUSA Faith employees, Kirk's pastor, conservative media influencers. There were also musical performances by renowned Christian artists.
During her emotional speech, Erika Kirk forgave her husband’s alleged assassin, Tyler Robinson, who is accused of shooting the 31-year-old TPUSA founder at Utah Valley University on September 10 during a Q&A session on campus as part of the "America Comeback Tour."
After describing how “on the cross, our Savior said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do,’” she said, “I forgive him,” leading to heartfelt applause from the audience.
“I forgive him because it was what Christ did, and is what Charlie would do,” she said. “The answer to hate is not hate. The answer we know from the Gospel is love, is always love. Love for our enemies and love for those who persecute us.”
Erika Kirk also reflected on her late husband’s faith as well as her own, which began with her sharing how he talked about “his submission to the will of God” at TPUSA’s AmericaFest two years ago. She highlighted his reference to the Bible verse Isaiah 6:8, which she summarized as proclaiming: “Here I am, Lord, send me.”
She recalled how she spoke with her husband backstage after his speech and urged him to consult with her first before making a statement like that again, warning him, “God will take you up on that.”
“And he did with Charlie,” she said, referring to her husband’s assassination.
“Eleven days ago, God accepted that total surrender from my husband and then called him to His side. More than anything, Charlie wanted to do not his will, but God’s will. And over these past 11 days, through all the pain, never before have I found as much comfort as I now do in the words of our Lord’s Prayer, ‘Thy will be done.’”
Erika Kirk also detailed how, when visiting her husband in the hospital after he was fatally shot, she “saw on his lips the faintest smile.” She described this facial expression as “a great mercy from God in this tragedy,” adding that she was told “Charlie didn’t suffer.”
She then shared another example of how “God’s mercy and God’s love” had been revealed to her in the 11 days since her husband’s assassination. “We didn’t see violence, we didn’t see rioting, we didn’t see revolution. Instead, we saw what my husband always prayed he would see in this country: We saw revival.
"This past week, we saw people open a Bible for the first time in a decade. We saw people pray for the first time since they were children. We saw people go to a church service for the first time in their entire lives.”
“The greatest cause in Charlie’s life was trying to revive the American family,” she added. “When he spoke to young people, he was always eager to tell them about God’s vision for marriage and how if they could just dare to live it out, it would enrich every part of their life in the same way that it enriched ours.”
Erika Kirk praised her late husband’s understanding of “God’s role for a Christian husband” as “a man who leads so that they can serve.” She delivered a message to “all the men watching around the world,” encouraging them to accept Charlie’s challenge and embrace true manhood.”
She also called on men to “be the spiritual head of your home” and reminded them that husbands and their wives are “one flesh working together for the glory of God.”
“His love for me drove me to be a better wife,” she added. “Every day, he honored me, and I prayed that I could be the wife that God needed me to be for my husband. Women, I have a challenge for you too. Be virtuous. Our strength is found in God’s design for our role. We are the guardians. We are the encouragers.”
