Who was Charlie Kirk and what did he believe in as activist is shot dead in US

American conservative speaker Charlie Kirk has died at the age of 31 after being shot during an event in Utah yesterday (10 September).

The shooter is still at large as police search for the killer and US President Donald Trump called it a 'dark moment for America'.

If you're wondering exactly who this man was, he was the co-founder of right-wing group Turning Point USA which was set up in 2012 and supported Trump's bids for the White House.

Kirk gained a significant following on social media and, according to The Times, a TikTok survey found that Americans under 30 who voted for Trump considered him to be their most trusted figure.

He gained notoriety for his various debate appearances where he would challenge people to 'prove him wrong' on various topics.

Charlie Kirk was shot dead at an event yesterday (Bethany Baker/The Salt Lake Tribune/Getty Images)

It was at one of these events where he was shot dead, with 'prove me wrong' banners set up in Utah at the scene where a single shot was fired and appeared to hit him in the neck.

For those wondering what some of his views were, Kirk was never particularly shy about expressing what he believed in as he would often talk about his opinions, which gained him his following along with a significant amount of criticism.

Abortion

Kirk said he believed abortion ought to be illegal in all cases except for where the life of the mother was threatened.

Speaking at the Oxford Union, he said he would oppose abortion even in the case of the mother having been raped.

He said: "I have two ultrasounds. One of the ultrasound is a baby that is conceived in rape. The other one is a loving marriage. Do we know which ones? They’re both human beings.

"What is the moral difference between the baby and the woman?

"In the UK and America, we wouldn’t need as many third-world immigrants if we didn’t kill our babies."

Charlie Kirk said he did not support abortion in any case, except if the mother was in danger (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune/Getty Images)

Gun rights

The 31-year-old previously described himself as a 'big Second Amendment fan', meaning he was a vocal supporter of the right for US citizens to bear arms.

Kirk said it was not about owning guns for hunting or personal defence, but 'so that you can defend yourself against a tyrannical government'.

He laid out his position saying that 'having an armed citizenry comes with a price, and that is part of liberty' at a Turning Point USA Faith event in 2023 before going on to make controversial comments about how he believed having some gun deaths was 'worth it'.

A quote from Kirk has been circulated on social media following his death and it is something he said at the event two years ago.

He had said: "You will never live in a society when you have an armed citizenry and you won't have a single gun death. That is nonsense. It's drivel.

"But I am, I think it's worth it. I think it's worth to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God-given rights. That is a prudent deal. It is rational."

Kirk said he thought some gun deaths were 'worth it' so Americans could keep the Second Amendment (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune/Getty Images)

LGBTQ

The right-wing speaker criticised what he claimed was an 'LGBTQ agenda' on multiple occasions, on a podcast last year he described being gay as an 'error'.

He said: "It’s very simple. So how do you love somebody? You love them so much to correct their error. So let’s just take the Pride conversation out because people think it’s an identification... It’s not, it’s sexual behaviour.

"But if you meet an alcoholic or you meet a drug addict, do you affirm their struggle? No. You say, you’re better than this, let’s get you free from that, let’s get you free from that activity."

Later on in the podcast, Kirk added: "Thou shall lay with another man shall be stoned to death, just saying."

He claimed this 'affirms God's perfect law when it comes to sexual matters'.

Kirk said in 2023 that 'the transgender thing happening in America' was 'a throbbing middle finger to God', then called the swimmer Lia Thomas 'an abomination to God'.

The Anti Defamation League (ADL) said that Kirk had 'demonized the transgender community'.

Kirk was heavily criticised for his views, but also gained a large following (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune/Getty Images)

Racism

Kirk was accused of racism at various points during his career, and called out for using false statistics in an attempt to make his arguments.

At the aforementioned Oxford Union event, he said police violence against black people was a result of a 'disproportionate crime problem' from black people, and claimed that 'only about 12 unarmed black people in America are shot' each year.

Figures show that in the US black people are shot at more than twice the rate of white people, proportionate to the population.

Kirk promoted a right-wing narrative that diverse pilots were part of the reason for a number of aviation disasters, saying: "I’m sorry, if I see a Black pilot, I’m going to be like, ‘Boy, I hope he’s qualified'."

The ADL warned in 2023 that Turning Point USA 'continues to attract racists to the group'.