Charlie Kirk’s widow has delivered her first public remarks since the fatal shooting of her influencer husband at a university in Utah on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Speaking from the office where Mr Kirk hosted his podcast, Erika Kirk said her husband loved America, nature and the Chicago Cubs baseball team.<\/p>\n
“But most of all, Charlie loved his children and he loved me with all of his heart,” Ms Kirk said.<\/p>\n
She had a pointed message for “the evildoers responsible for my husband’s assassination”, though she did not specifically name the alleged shooter Tyler Robinson, who law enforcement officials believe acted alone.<\/p>\n
“You have no idea the fire that you have ignited within this wife,” Ms Kirk said.<\/p>\n
“The cries of this widow will echo around the world like a battle cry.”<\/p>\n
She thanked Donald Trump, saying through tears that her husband loved the US president, and vowed to keep her husband’s work alive, continuing his campus tour, radio show, and podcast.<\/p>\n
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MAGA influencer Charlie Kirk was shot dead while giving a speech at a rally in Utah this week. (Reuters: Cheney Orr, file)<\/p>\n
Mr Kirk was a staunch supporter of the Republican Party and an influential conservative voice among younger Americans.<\/p>\n
The suspect, identified as 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, was taken into custody on Thursday night local time, after his family notified police that Mr Robinson had “implied that he had committed” the murder, police said.<\/p>\n
Security camera images, some previously released to the public, and evidence gathered from the suspect’s profile on the chat and streaming platform Discord also helped investigators link him to the crime, Utah Governor Spencer Cox said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Tyler Robinson, 22, is suspected of shooting conservative activist Charlie Kirk. (AP: Utah Governor’s Office)<\/p>\n
The suspect has not yet been formally charged, but an affidavit shows he was arrested for aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm causing serious injury, and obstruction of justice.<\/p>\n
Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray told the ABC he planned to file formal charges next Tuesday.<\/p>\n
‘The movement built by my husband will not die’<\/p>\n
Mr Kirk, 31, was a close ally of US President Donald Trump and helped build Republican support among young voters during his election campaign last year.<\/p>\n