MTSU students and student organizations had varying reactions to Charlie Kirk’s death.

Charlie Kirk, a 31-year-old conservative influencer and close ally of President Donald Trump, was shot and killed on Wednesday, Sept. 10, during an event at Utah Valley University.

Trump announced Kirk’s death on his social media network, Truth Social, hours after news first broke that Kirk had been shot. Kirk left behind his wife and two children.

“The great, and even legendary, Charlie Kirk is dead,” Trump said in his post. “No one understood or had the heart of the youth in the United States of America better than Charlie.”

Kirk rose to prominence in the 2010s after he founded TurningPoint USA alongside fellow activist and businessman William “Bill” Montgomery. The nonprofit aims to teach young people conservative values and “the importance of limited government and free markets,” following former President Barack Obama’s reelection. 

TurningPoint now has hundreds of chapters in high schools and colleges across the country.

Its confrontational tactics on college campuses and Kirk’s endorsement of Christian nationalism caused his events to frequently be met with protests, especially from left-leaning and LGBTQ+ groups. 

MTSU’s TurningPoint chapter made a statement on their Instagram page on Thursday afternoon.

“Turning Point USA at MTSU is appalled and deeply saddened by the events of yesterday afternoon,” the statement said. “Charlie Kirk was an American hero and a role model to many young students across the nation and world. He was a true American warrior, and we must continue his legacy. We must continue to defend freedom in America.” 

MTSU College Republicans posted a statement to social media that said the violence against Kirk was encouraged by “provocative rhetoric” in liberal circles. Investigators have not released the shooter’s motive yet. 

“Despite his passing, we must never forget his contributions to furthering conservative values and the fact that this culture war we are fighting is far from over,” the statement said. 

Other students, though they may have differences with Kirk, condemned the violence.

“Even though I may have disagreed with [Kirk], I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy,” Jacob Pagel, former TurningPoint member and a senior Political Science major at MTSU, said. “What we’ve seen today is an unacceptable act of violence.” 

Student Government Association president, RJ Ware, also rebuked the violence. 

“Political violence in all forms is reprehensible,” Ware said. “This is a tragic reminder that disagreement must never turn to violence. Our democracy depends on dialogue and respect. We must all do better.”

The MTSU College Democrats quickly responded to Kirk’s death by posting a letter from the club’s executive board to social media.

“Unfortunately, gun violence knows no ideologies,” Jorge Avila, president of the student organization, said in the letter. “While we vehemently disagree with the ideas he espoused, we denounce any political violence and find the assassination reviling.” 

Not everyone immediately denounced the violence, however.

One SGA student senator, sophomore Byron Knight, admitted to commenting, “sometimes fascies get what’s coming,” to a group message on GroupMe, a popular messaging app. 

Ware confirmed the authenticity of the message after the MTSU College Republicans posted a screenshot of the chat with Knight’s name partially covered.

“I can unequivocally say that he does not in any way speak for SGA and how this organization feels about the events today,” Ware said. “I also find his remarks disturbing and not productive, considering the current state of events.”

To contact the news editor, email [email protected].