Police were notified on Sunday about vandalism at Turning Point USA’s headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona, shortly after a new statue of conservative activist Charlie Kirk was unveiled to memorialize him—a year after he was fatally shot at Utah Valley University.
The incident involved vandals spray-painting red paint that appeared to mimic the fatal wound Kirk suffered, with an “X” also painted over his face on the statue itself. Tyler Bowyer, Turning Point USA’s chief operating officer, called the act “horrifying,” noting that assailants had applied what looked like blood to both a nearby sign and the statue.
Andrew Kolvet, Turning Point USA’s spokesman and executive producer of The Charlie Kirk Show, stated the organization would not be deterred from its mission. Quoting a phrase attributed to Kirk: “Demons don’t sleep, so we will just have to sleep less. We won’t be cowed.” Kolvet added that vandalism efforts had energized volunteer participation in Turning Point USA’s “Commit 100” ballot-chasing initiative and spurred donors to offer rewards for identifying the perpetrators.
Turning Point USA described the act as “diabolical,” noting that the name of Jesus Christ was painted over the vandal markings. Charlie Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, shared a social media statement emphasizing her husband’s legacy: “Charlie once said we should be building two statues for every statue that they tear down. His instinct was always to build, not to destroy. They thought a bullet would silence my husband’s voice but it only made it louder. They think spray paint can obscure his legacy, but it will only spread it further. Every attempt to tear down what Charlie built makes us root deeper and work even harder.” She concluded: “We will never give up and never surrender.”
