Erika Kirk, widow of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, delivered a moving message of forgiveness during a memorial service held Sunday in Arizona, saying she bore no hatred toward the man accused of killing her husband.
The father of two was fatally shot earlier this month while speaking to students at Utah Valley University. Prosecutors allege the suspected gunman, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, told his partner beforehand that he had “had enough” of Kirk’s “hatred.”
Addressing thousands of mourners including President Donald Trump and senior officials Erika said her late husband devoted his life to helping young people, even those who opposed him.
“My husband Charlie, he wanted to save young men just like the one who took his life,” she said, her voice breaking with emotion.
“That man, that young man. I forgive him. I forgive him because it was what Christ did. And it’s what Charlie would do. The answer to hate is not hate,” she added.
Obama condemns Kirk’s killing
Former US President Barack Obama has denounced political violence in the wake of the assassination of the conservative activist, describing the country as being “at an inflection point”
Speaking at the Jefferson Educational Society in Erie, Pennsylvania, last Tuesday, Obama said that while political violence was “not new” in American history, it remained “anathema to what it means to be a democratic country”.
Addressing the killings of Mr Kirk and Minnesota lawmaker Melissa Hortman earlier this year, Obama called both incidents “a tragedy” and criticised President Donald Trump for deepening national divisions rather than seeking unity.
“There are no ifs, ands or buts about it,” Obama said. “The central premise of our democratic system is that we have to be able to disagree and have sometimes really contentious debates without resorting to violence.”
The former president warned that the political fallout from Mr Kirk’s assassination, which has sparked debate over free speech and incitement, risked exacerbating cultural and ideological rifts.
