Kirk, a charismatic activist and close ally of President Donald Trump, has transformed TPUSA into a dominant force since its founding in 2012.
On September 10, 2025, the conservative world was rocked by the assassination of Charlie Kirk, co-founder and CEO of Turning Point USA (TPUSA) , during an event on the campus of Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah.
Kirk, 31, was shot in the neck by a sniper from a nearby rooftop in what Governor Spencer Cox described as a «political assassination» targeting his ideological expression.
At 18, along with Bill Montgomery, a Tea Party activist, Kirk founded the organization to counter «leftist indoctrination» on college campuses.
His focus on open debate, such as the «Prove Me Wrong» style, attracted thousands of young people, promoting free-market values, limited government, and Christian faith.
Under his leadership, TPUSA grew to more than 900 college chapters and 1,200 high school chapters, with an annual budget exceeding $95 million by 2025.
The Utah event was the first stop on TPUSA’s «American Comeback Tour,» a campus tour aimed at energizing conservative Generation Z. About 3,000 attendees, including families and students, were listening to Kirk answer questions about gun violence when the shot rang out.
TPUSA announced it received 54,400 inquiries for new chapters in the six days following the assassination: 27,800 from college students and 26,600 from high school students. Initially, within 48 hours, the number reached 32,000, surpassing 60,000 shortly afterward. «This was Charlie’s vision for America,» TPUSA said in a statement.