WASHINGTON – Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett lauded Charlie Kirk’s widow for showing “strength with grace” in the aftermath of her husband’s assassination and urged others to follow Erika Kirk’s example.
Barrett and her colleague, Justice Brett Kavanaugh, were the surprise guests at the Federalist Society’s Antonin Scalia Memorial Dinner Thursday night in Washington, where they both talked of coping with harassment, protests and death threats as conservative members of the nation’s highest court.
Barrett, 53, marveled at Erika Kirk forgiving her husband’s accused murderer just days after investigators say Tyler Robinson fatally shot the Turning Point USA co-founder during an event Sept. 10 at Utah Valley University.
“In the face of the kind of poisonous hostility that led to Charlie Kirk’s murder, and which still exists on campuses and elsewhere … the best response really is to kind of keep Erika Kirk’s example in mind — strength with grace,” Barrett told a packed ballroom full of lawyers and conservative-minded law students. “I think that fighting poison with poison doesn’t work, [and] leads to more poison.”
Barrett urged the audience not to cower in the face of criticism, but look for the high road when responding.
“When you fight fire with fire in a poisonous way, it just fans the flames and they get out of control,” Barrett said. “I think you will win if you fight fire with strength and with grace.
“In the wake of Charlie Kirk’s death, and the kind of choices and backlash that students are facing, take the high road like Erika Kirk and show grace and strength in the face of hatred.”
Erika Kirk, who succeeded her late husband as Turning Point USA CEO, accepted the inaugural “Charlie Kirk Legacy Award” Thursday night at the Fox Nation Patriot Awards, pledging in her remarks to keep speaking the truth “no matter the cost.”
“He knew that evil wins when good people stay silent,” Erika Kirk, 36, said of her late husband, who was 31 when he was killed.
Kavanaugh, 60, was the target of a June 2022 assassination plot in which Nicholas Roske, now 29, flew from California and took a taxi to the justice’s Maryland home with a firearm, crowbar, duct tape and zip ties.
Roske, who now identifies as a trans woman named “Sophie,” was sentenced Oct. 3 to eight years and one month in prison, despite federal prosecutors requesting that he receive 30 years to life.
Kavanaugh told the audience he was guided by a principle instilled in him by a prep school teacher to “be not afraid” in the face of struggles.
“The principle of being not afraid to make the right decision,” Kavanaugh said. “Be not afraid to stand up for your principles. Be not afraid to resist peer pressure. Be not afraid to pursue what you know is right, even when you’re going to get criticized for it.”
Kavanaugh and Barrett, both first-term nominees of President Trump, appeared one day after hearing oral arguments over whether Trump has the legal authority to impose his “Liberation Day” suite of tariffs.
A decision in that case is expected by the end of June.
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