Charlie Kirk's casket will be flown from Utah to his home state of Arizona on Thursday aboard Air Force Two, accompanied by family members, Vice President JD Vance, and Second Lady Usha Vance, a source familiar with the matter told Scripps News.
Kirk, a conservative political influencer and long-time ally of President Donald Trump, was shot and killed Wednesday while speaking at a Utah Valley University event in Orem, Utah. He was 31 years old.
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Kirk was the founder of Turning Point USA, a right-wing political nonprofit organization that advocates for conservative politics on high school and college campuses across the U.S. — making him a major figure and voice within the young conservative movement, with millions of followers across his various social media platforms.
Kirk often engaged in spirited and sometimes testy debates with people from different sides of the political aisle. He was recently invited as one of the first guests on California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom's podcast, with the two discussing a wide range of political topics and their different views on the direction of the country. He was also front-and-center at the inauguration of President Donald Trump earlier this year and has frequently appeared alongside Republican politicians at rallies and fundraising events.
Kirk's stop Wednesday at Utah Valley University was part of his "The American Comeback Tour," where he engaged students through political debates under tents branded with phrases like "Prove Me Wrong." Kirk's events attracted hundreds of attendees while his social media videos of interactions with participants have garnered tens of millions of views online.
The events, however, have been both widely attended and widely protested by people who disagreed with his takes on hot-button issues like abortion, LGBTQ+ rights, immigration and the Black Lives Matter movement.
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The FBI on Thursday released images showing a "person of interest" in connection to Kirk's assassination. Authorities did not release the person's name, but photos showed dressed in a black hat, black shirt with U.S. flag imagery, blue jeans, and sunglasses.
Anyone with information is urged to contact 1-800-CALL-FBI. The FBI said it is also offering a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to the identification and arrest of anyone linked to the shooting.
Kirk is survived by his wife, Erika, and two young children.
