Erika Kirk Tearfully Forgives Husband Charlie’s Murderer: ‘The Answer to Hate Is Not Hate’

Erika Kirk referenced her deep faith while giving an emotional speech at husband Charlie Kirk’s memorial in Glendale, Arizona, on Sunday, September 22, per NPR.

“That man, that young man … I forgive him,” Erika tearfully told the crowd of tens of thousands at State Farm Stadium. “I forgive him because it was what Christ did and is what Charlie would do.”

Tyler Robinson, 22, has been arrested and charged with murder in connection with the Turning Point USA founder’s assassination. Officials said the Utah native had confessed the crime in a text to his roommate, writing, “I had enough of his hatred.”

The mother of two, 36, continued, “The answer to hate is not hate. The answer we know from the gospel is love and always love. Love for our enemies and love for those who persecute us.”

Charlie, 31, was fatally shot during an appearance at Utah Valley University on September 10. The reaction to his death, Erika said, was “what my husband always prayed he would see in this country: We saw revival. We saw people open a Bible for the first time in a decade.”

“Pray again, read the Bible again, go to church next Sunday, and the Sunday after that,” Erika urged her fellow mourners, “and break free from the temptations and shackles of this world.”

Last week, the former Miss Arizona was named the new CEO of Turning Point USA.