They Killed My Hero
A 22-year-old conservative's reflection on the gruesome political assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk
Charlie Kirk speaks with attendees at the 2025 Chapter Leadership Summit at the Tampa Convention Center in Tampa, Florida. | Credit: Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Wednesday afternoon, I settled down in my university campus library to get some work done. Just as I was about to start, a notification flashed across my computer: “Trump ally Charlie Kirk shot in Utah.”
Something absolutely terrible had just happened.
I quickly logged onto X, only to see the worrying news confirmed.
I doom-scrolled for the next two hours, praying for a miracle, and tuned into Megyn Kelly’s special broadcast, where, eventually, the horrible news we all feared became true: Charlie Kirk, 31 years old, husband and father of two, was dead.
He was assassinated. Assassinated for being a conservative. And assassinated for trying to have conversations, something he believed was essential to preventing political violence. It was the very thing he ultimately became a victim of.
They killed my hero.
Why His Death Hit So Close To Home
I began crying.
I don’t cry often. In fact, I believe the last time I shed tears was on October 7, 2023, when I heard about innocent Israeli families being kidnapped and killed by bloodthirsty Hamas terrorists.
I had never met Charlie. Yet I was, and still am, devastated and overwhelmed by it all.
Why? Because he was one of my biggest inspirations. One of my biggest role models. He was my hero.
He built a global youth conservative movement from scratch, starting with modest seed money, hosting small events, and growing it into a multimillion-dollar organization that put on massive events like the Student Action Summit and AmericaFest. Last year’s AmericaFest in Phoenix drew 20,000 young people and featured some of the biggest names in the global conservative movement.
It had always been a bucket-list dream of mine to attend a Turning Point USA mega-event. But I was waiting to finish university to finally go, since they usually fall around exam season.
It was also a personal goal of mine to bring Charlie Kirk to Canada, and to try to build a similar movement here.
But now, a Charlie Kirk Canadian tour will never happen. Because he is dead.
I Am Not the Only One Who Feels That Way
I am one of millions of young conservatives around the world who are mourning today.
We all feel the same deep grief.
Yesterday, my phone blew up with texts from fellow young conservatives. We were all in shock. Many of my friends were crying too. Literally everyone I follow on Instagram posted about this. In the U.S., university students gathered to pray.
This is a huge loss.
Charlie had an incredible gift. He understood young people. He was willing to tackle real issues affecting our generation: housing, the cost of living, freedom. He wasn’t obsessed with niche cultural “luxury beliefs” the way too many commentators on both sides of the political spectrum seem to be today.
He also wasn’t afraid to challenge us.
Not all Gen Z conservatives are religious, yet Charlie spoke openly about his love for Jesus Christ.
He spoke to young men about dating and how to be gentlemen.
He was a proud Zionist who strongly defended Israel, yet he also took the time to listen to younger conservatives who were skeptical of foreign aid to Israel.
He gave thoughtful advice. He built bridges. He welcomed everyone, even people who disagreed with him. He was gracious. He was kind.
And that was the essence of Charlie. He treated people the way Jesus wants us to treat people.
In a world full of grifters and clout-chasing influencers, Charlie Kirk was a man of principle.
This was why Kirk had amassed millions of social media followers across platforms and had earned considerable trust among young Trump voters.
He was our hero.
Moving Forward
So where do we go from here, both as young conservatives and as members of the broader conservative movement?
The answer: We cannot shrink back.
This was an attempt to scare us conservatives into silence. We must not let them win.
We cannot just double down, or even triple down. We must quintuple down on our principles, our organizing, our movement.
Charlie Kirk devoted his life to building something extraordinary. Now, it is up to us to continue his legacy. Us young conservatives must strive to become the next Charlie Kirks, standing strong for truth, for freedom, for life, for Western civilization itself.
We must do it for Charlie. But more importantly, we must do it for the future of our movement and for the survival of our society.
Having started this new independent media venture, I feel a duty to build something amazing. Not only for me and my country, but now also for Charlie.
They killed our hero. But they sure as hell have not killed our movement. In fact, just the opposite is true. Young conservatives are only getting started.