Charlie Kirk statue vandalized in Phoenix days after installation marking the 1-year anniversary of his assassination
A Charlie Kirk statue in Phoenix, Arizona, was vandalized just days after it was installed to mark the one-year anniversary of his assassination.
Red paint was smeared across the eight-foot-tall, bronze-colored statue, marking its neck, face and hand, with a frowning face on the torso.
Phoenix police confirmed to media outlets that they responded to calls about the defacement just after 8:00 a.m. on Sunday.
The sculpture was unveiled on Thursday, one year after 31-year-old Charlie, founder of Turning Point USA (TPUSA) was fatally shot during a speaking event at Utah Valley University (UVU).
Featuring the same T-shirt, which reads “FREEDOM,” that he wore on September 10, 2025, the statue also held a stack of hats in its left hand, with the right hand raised high. Charlie began that fateful event by throwing “Make America Great Again” caps with the TPUSA logo on the side into the crowd of students.
A nearby sign was also vandalized, with Charlie’s face crossed out and red paint sprawled over the word “Jesus.”
Erika Kirk, Charlie’s widow and CEO of TPUSA, responded to the vandalism in a Sunday social media post.
“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 said.
“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,” she went on.
Erika asserted that both the sign and the statue would be restored.
“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,” she stated.
TPUSA also confirmed that the site would be cleaned, noting that an investigation was being made into who committed the act of vandalism.
“But vandalism like this is not funny, it’s diabolical. The incident happened in the middle of the night because evil never sleeps,” TPUSA said. “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 organization went on to quote the Bible verse John 15:18, in which Jesus addressed his disciples: “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.”
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… https://t.co/nfMlpsSwKd
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