A day after conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot dead during an event at Utah Valley University, his wife Erika Kirk addressed an emotional press conference in Phoenix on Friday, saying the movement her husband built would never die.
"If you thought that my husband's mission was powerful before, you have no idea. You have no idea what you have just unleashed across this entire country," she said.
Erika, who was accompanied by US Vice President J.D. Vance and his wife, Usha Vance, vowed to take forward the fight Kirk left unfinished.
"Charlie, I promise I will never let your legacy die, baby. I promise I'll make Turning Point USA the biggest thing that this nation has ever seen," she said.
Erika recalled the moment when their three-year-old daughter asked about her dad on the day he was fatally shot.
"I said, 'Baby, daddy loves you so much. Don't you worry. He's on a work trip with Jesus so he can afford your blueberry budget’,” she said.
“I can’t wait to see you again one day,” the 36-year-old broke down at the press meet.
Kirk and Erika have been married for four years, getting engaged two years after their first meeting. Erika was often seen by her husband’s side as he travelled across the country. The couple have two kids—a one-year-old boy and a three-year-old girl.
Kirk, a right-wing commentator and a close aide of President Donald Trump, was shot at while speaking at the university on Wednesday. A 22-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the murder.
The suspect, identified as Tyler Robinson, a native of Utah, was arrested on suspicion of aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily harm, and obstruction of justice charges, according to a court affidavit.