Turning Point USA CEO Erika Kirk accepted the inaugural “Charlie Kirk Legacy Award” Thursday at the Fox Nation Patriot Awards, nearly two months after her husband’s assassination.
The award honors individuals who “embody Kirk’s enduring mission of faith, family and free speech,” and will be presented annually in tribute to the slain conservative activist, who was horrifically shot dead at 31 on the campus of Utah Valley University on Sept. 10.
“Thank you to everyone who loved my husband so well,” Erika, 36, said as she accepted the award at The Tilles Center for the Performing Arts in Brookville, New York.
“I know this award is about legacy,” she added. “It’s about my legacy, our children’s legacy, my husband’s legacy. But it’s also about your legacy. And I really want you to take a minute tonight to think about what that is.
“He knew that evil wins when good people stay silent,” Erika continued. “And so for the rest of my life, I will make sure that I don’t stay silent.
“I’ll keep speaking the truth no matter the cost.”
Country music superstar Jason Aldean, his wife, Brittany, and Fox News host Jesse Watters presented the award to the grieving widow.
“He led a powerful movement rooted in faith, freedom, and a deep love for this country,” Jason Aldean said of Kirk.
“In the wake of Charlie’s death, Erica has made it her mission to keep his legacy alive,” he added.
Brittany Aldean described Erika as ”the woman who refuses to surrender.”
Erika was unanimously elected to lead the influential conservative student organization founded by her late husband in the wake of his shocking assassination.
At Charlie’s funeral in September, the mom of two left mourners speechless and in tears when she revealed that she forgives the man who killed her husband.
“I forgive him because it was what Christ did. And what Charlie would do,” she explained.
Tyler Robinson, 22, has been charged with aggravated murder and a slew of other charges related to Charlie’s assassination.
Robinson potentially faces death by firing squad if convicted.
In her first sit-down interview since the assassination of her husband, Erika refused to say Robinson deserves the death penalty.
“I do not want this man’s blood on my ledger when I stand before the Lord,” she explained to Fox News “Jesse Watters Primetime” host Jesse Watters Wednesday. “I want the government to decide. That’s biblical, too.
“Justice will ultimately be served.”
Erika made her first appearance at a TPUSA event since the tragedy last week, appearing alongside Vice President JD Vance at the University of Mississippi.
“He didn’t leave us empty-handed. He built a machine. And all of you are a part of that,” she told the students.
Robert Misseri, president of Paws of War, who received a Patriot Award last year, told The Post the award to Erika was “well deserved.”
“A great patriot lost his life, and it’s important to honor for keeping his legacy and what he started alive,” he said about Charlie.
“It’s special,” another attendee, Daniel, said, when asked about the award to Erika.
“It’s sad her husband is not here, and if anybody deserves it, she definitely does,” he added.
Read the full article here
