A hateful act against a memorial for Charlie Kirk mere days after its unveiling was countered with hope from the Gospel and a reminder, “Evil may never sleep, but neither do we.”
Thursday marked one year since the Turning Point USA founder was assassinated while exercising his First Amendment rights at Utah Valley University. Just as ghouls at college campuses around the country celebrated the “Kirkiversary,” the installation of a statue outside TUPSA headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona, was quickly tarnished as police responded to morbid vandalism.
Images of the 8-foot statue showed red paint had been applied to the neck where Kirk had been fatally shot. Additionally, the vandal smeared red paint on the statue’s face and hand, along with painting a frowny face on the torso. The Phoenix Police Department told the New York Post it had responded to the vandalism report after 8:00 a.m. on Sunday.
Along with the statue, a nearby sign that read “May Charlie be received into the merciful arms of Jesus, our loving Savior,” had Kirk’s face and the name of Jesus Christ crossed out. Including these images, TPUSA issued a statement assuring, “We will restore the statue and replace the signs, but we are also reviewing the footage of the incident and are working with law enforcement to identify who did this and hold them accountable.”
We will restore the statue and replace the signs, but we are also reviewing the footage of the incident and are working with law enforcement to identify who did this and hold them accountable.
But vandalism like this is not funny, it’s diabolical. The incident happened in the… pic.twitter.com/LSUJn9vYv4
— Turning Point USA (@TPUSA) September 13, 2026
“But vandalism like this is not funny, it’s diabolical. The incident happened in the middle of the night because evil never sleeps. Beyond spray painting on the neck and face, they made the intentional decision to cross out the name of Jesus on a nearby sign,” continued the statement before quoting Jesus Christ from the Gospel of John, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.”
The statue itself includes intricate details such as Kirk’s wedding ring, his “FREEDOM” T-shirt, a handful of “Make America Great Again” hats, and a cross necklace.
Speaking with ABC15 outside the headquarters, TPUSA COO Tyler Bowyer spoke about the opposition to the statue and said, “For there to be such hatred, you know, just on display, it was, it’s pretty jarring.”
He went on to add, “What Charlie stood for was disagreeing respectfully. We hope to see less animosity, less anger, less of these types of acts.”
Meanwhile, reactions sounded off across the internet, including statements from TPUSA spokesman Andrew Kolvet and Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk.
Kolvet posted, “The team rallied and got the statue back looking good as news. Evil may never sleep, but neither do we. We won’t stop. We will win. They will lose,” while Kirk spoke to her husband’s legacy and Christianity.
“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,” she began. “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.”
“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. 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,” assured Kirk, as an investigation remains ongoing.
The team rallied and got the statue back looking good as new.
Evil may never sleep, but neither do we.
We won’t stop.
We will win.
They will lose. pic.twitter.com/N4tACwNO5R— Andrew Kolvet (@AndrewKolvet) September 13, 2026
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
— Erika Kirk (@MrsErikaKirk) September 13, 2026
