❓WHAT HAPPENED: Turning Point USA will honor its slain founder, Charlie Kirk, with a tribute in Minnesota as the “American Comeback Tour” continues following his assassination.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Catholic conservative commentator Michael Knowles, Turning Point USA, and Charlie Kirk’s supporters.
📍WHEN & WHERE: Monday evening, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.
💬KEY QUOTE: “I will appear tonight. There will be an empty chair on stage. I will give a tribute to Charlie and then we will open up the floor to an open conversation.” – Michael Knowles
🎯IMPACT: The tour continues as a defiant response to those who sought to silence Kirk and his movement.
Turning Point USA (TPUSA) will pay tribute to its late founder, Charlie Kirk, on Monday at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities as part of the ongoing “American Comeback Tour.” The event follows Kirk’s assassination on September 10, when he was fatally shot during an American Comeback Tour stop at Utah Valley University.
Catholic conservative commentator Michael Knowles, who is scheduled to headline the event, confirmed that a chair will be left empty on stage in Kirk’s honor. “I will appear tonight. There will be an empty chair on stage. I will give a tribute to Charlie and then we will open up the floor to an open conversation,” Knowles said.
He emphasized that Kirk’s commitment to free speech and open dialogue would continue. “Charlie’s enemies will not have stopped that. People who disagree can, like at all of his events, cut to the front of the line and we will continue to have a healthy debate,” he added.
Despite the shock of Kirk’s assassination, the organization has pledged to move forward with the tour. “I think that Charlie’s enemies thought that they could not only silence him, but in fact silence his whole movement. That will not happen,” Knowles said. “In fact, they will not even silence his speaking tour.”
Following Kirk’s death, his widow Erika Kirk was appointed CEO and Chairwoman of Turning Point USA in a unanimous vote by the organization’s board. The decision reportedly fulfilled Kirk’s personal wishes, as he had privately indicated to staff that Erika should lead the organization if anything happened to him. Erika Kirk stated her intention to continue her husband’s mission to promote conservative values, freedom of speech, and Christian principles among young Americans.
TPUSA has faced heightened security concerns in the days following Kirk’s murder. On September 17, a bomb squad was called to TPUSA’s headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona, after a suspicious bag was discovered outside the building. Authorities later determined the bag was not a threat, and no injuries were reported. The incident occurred as staff and mourners gathered at the site in remembrance of Kirk.
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