Moments before Charlie Kirk was fatally shot on stage at a Utah college, he was confronted with a question tied to one of the very conspiracies he helped mainstream.
“Do you know how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years?” an audience member asked Kirk, 31, during his event at Utah Valley University.
Kirk’s reply was curt: “Too many.”
In reality, transgender people have been responsible for only a tiny fraction of mass shootings. According to the Gun Violence Archive, just 0.11% of such incidents over the past decade involved transgender suspects.
That same audience member—who has not been identified—told Kirk the number is five, and asked if the Turning Point USA founder if knew how many total mass shooters have been in America over the past ten years.
Kirk paused. “Counting or not counting gang violence?” he said.
What happened next was a horrific scene, captured on countless social media videos that left countless Americans, most of all the ones who credit him with rebuilding the right-wing through extremism, reeling.
A single shot rang out and Kirk was struck by a bullet, blood spewing at his neck. Hours later, it was President Donald Trump himself who confirmed the 31-year-old father’s death.
“The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. “ “No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!”
“The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. “ “No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!”
For years, far-right figures have made baseless claims linking transgender people to violent crime, according to MediaMatters, a think tank that monitors misinformation. Almost none as prominent as Kirk, a white nationalist who eventually gained a seat at Trump’s table.
Just days before Kirk’s Utah Valley University appearance, hundreds signed a petition asking President Astrid Tuminez to cancel his scheduled appearances.
“Kirk has built his platform on divisive rhetoric—attacking LGBTQ communities, encouraging women to “submit” to their husbands, and repeatedly making racist remarks,” the petition reads. “While free speech is essential to higher education, universities also have a responsibility to protect students from harassment, hostility, and the legitimization of hate under the banner of “debate.”
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