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Tens of thousands of mourners attended Charlie Kirk’s funeral, honoring his life as a prominent conservative activist. His widow delivered an emotional eulogy and forgave the man accused of killing him, receiving a standing ovation from the crowd.
“‘I forgive him because it was what Christ did and it is what Charlie would do,’ Erika Kirk, 36, told the Glendale, Arizona, crowd,” she said on September 21. “The answer to hate is not hate. The answer we know from the Gospel is love.”
Erika Kirk detailed her husband’s final moments, describing his death as “so instant” and that he felt “no fear, no agony.” She noted that even in death, she saw the man she loved, detecting a “faintest smile” on his lips. She said this revealed to her a great mercy from God, knowing he didn’t suffer.
Erika Kirk said her husband wrote love notes to her every Saturday, calling it “our little secret” to keep their marriage strong. He ended each note by asking, “How can I better serve you as a husband?” Erika Kirk shared, “My marriage with Charlie was the best thing that ever happened to me, and I know it was the best thing that ever happened to him as well.” She explained that her husband wanted everyone to experience this joy.
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She also noted during the memorial service that her husband died with “incomplete work, but not with unfinished business.” Erika Kirk called on men to follow her husband’s example, saying: “Accept Charlie’s challenge and embrace true manhood.”
“Please be a leader worth following,” she said. “Your wife is not your servant or employee; she is your helper. You are not rivals; you are one flesh, working together for the glory of God.”
Just days after her husband was fatally shot, Erika Kirk promised in a speech that she would continue his work and that “the cries of this widow will echo around the world like a battle cry.”
“‘The evil-doers for my husband’s assassination have no idea what they have done,’” she said.
Erika Kirk was named CEO of Turning Point USA, an organization Charlie Kirk led.
