A statue honoring Charlie Kirk was vandalized in Phoenix days after his first death anniversary, authorities said, per KVUE. Erika Kirk broke her silence after photos of the vandalism surfaced on social media.
Red paint was sprayed across parts of the statue located outside Turning Point headquarters. The statue was unveiled on September 10.
Erika Kirk speaks out
Charlie’s widow, Erika, said in an X post that her late husband once said that “we should be building two statues for every statue that they tear down,” and that “his instinct was always to build, not to destroy.”
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“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,” Erika wrote.
She added, “And if you think crossing out the name of Jesus Christ will silence Christians, history has already proved you wrong. We know what it costs to stand firm for Christ and we will stand anyway. God will not be mocked. We’ll put His name right back where it belongs, clean up the mess, restore Charlie's statue, and keep building. We will never give up and never surrender.”
{{/usCountry}}She added, “And if you think crossing out the name of Jesus Christ will silence Christians, history has already proved you wrong. We know what it costs to stand firm for Christ and we will stand anyway. God will not be mocked. We’ll put His name right back where it belongs, clean up the mess, restore Charlie's statue, and keep building. We will never give up and never surrender.”
{{/usCountry}}Turning Point USA also addressed the vandalism in an X post, saying they will restore the statue, and are “reviewing the footage of the incident and are working with law enforcement to identify who did this and hold them accountable.”
“But vandalism like this is not funny, it’s diabolical. The incident happened in the middle of the night because evil never sleeps. Beyond spray painting on the neck and face, they made the intentional decision to cross out the name of Jesus on a nearby sign,” the post added.
Charlie, 31, was allegedly shot dead by Tyler Robinson on September 10, 2025, during an appearance at a campus event in Utah. The shooting happened around 12:20 pm local time during a student Q&A at UVU in Orem.