Widow stuns world with her forgiveness

In a moment that ebbed between agony and awe, Erika Kirk stood before tens of thousands at State Farm Stadium and forgave the man who killed her husband – the conservative Christian influencer Charlie Kirk.

The memorial, in Glendale, Arizona, drew an estimated 90,000 people, and was also streamed to millions worldwide.

Charlie Kirk, aged 31, was shot on 10 September 2025 while speaking at Utah Valley University during a Turning Point USA event. His accused killer, Tyler Robinson, is 22.

During her address, Erika invoked Jesus’ words from the cross: “Our Saviour said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.’”

She then paused and shared: “That young man, I forgive him… I forgive him because it was what Christ did, and it is what Charlie would do.”

The audience broke into heartfelt applause, and she added: “The answer to hate is not hate … the answer we know from the gospel is love, is always love. Love for our enemies and love for those who persecute us.”

Her speech wove together grief and faith, recalling how Charlie often spoke of “submission to the will of God” and quoted Isaiah 6:8: “Here I am, Lord, send me.”

Erika described a haunting moment in hospital: she “saw on his lips the faintest smile,” which she called “a great mercy from God … I was told Charlie didn’t suffer.” During the 11 days that passed after his death, she said, “we didn’t see violence … we saw revival. … People opened a Bible for the first time in a decade, prayed for the first time since they were children,” — signs she believes echo Charlie’s mission.

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