Erika Kirk skipped a Turning Point USA event at the University of Georgia on April 14 after receiving “some very serious threats,” event organizers said.
Turning Point USA spokesman Andrew Kolvet was explaining why he filled in for Kirk, widow of the late conservative commentator and Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, at the event featuring Vice President JD Vance.
“It’s a terrible reflection on the state of reality and the state of the country,” Kolvet said onstage.
He did not provide details about the threats.
Vance said he knew about the threats directed at Kirk, which he said left her “very worried.” The vice president said he spoke to the Secret Service and advised Kirk to “do what she needs to do for her and her family.”
Erika Kirk, Turning Point’s CEO, later posted on X to explain why she was absent from the event and to express her gratitude to the university, but she did not provide any details.
“I was so looking forward to tonight’s event at the @universityofga with our Vice President @JDVance, but after all our family has been through, I take my security team’s recommendations extremely seriously,” she said. “Thank you to our amazing Georgia chapter for your support. God bless you all!”
The event was part of a college tour by Turning Point USA, a nonprofit organization that Charlie Kirk co-founded in 2012. Charlie Kirk was assassinated during an event at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10, 2025, and authorities later arrested 22-year-old Tyler Robinson as the suspected gunman.
Speaking at the event at the University of Georgia on April 14, Vance condemned those criticizing the way that Erika Kirk was grieving in public about her husband’s death.
“Most of us cannot even put ourselves in her shoes, while at the same time, she’s trying to make sure that Charlie’s legacy doesn’t die,” the vice president said.
“If your instinct is to go after a young mother because she’s grieving in a way that you find wrong, well, why don’t you stay in your lane and mind your own business?
“Grief is complicated.”
“I will never let your legacy die,” she said. “I'll make Turning Point USA the biggest thing this nation has ever seen.”
