Erika Kirk Withdraws from Event with JD Vance, Presumably Over Threats
By Reuters | 14 Apr, 2026

The widow of slain activist Charlie Kirk withdrew Tuesday from a Turning Point USA event featuring the Vice President, citing threats, according to Vance.

FILE PHOTO: Erika Kirk, the widow of slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk, and U.S. President Donald Trump's special guest, looks up as she arrives for U.S. President Donald Trump's State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 24, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo

Erika Kirk, widow of slain activist Charlie Kirk, withdrew on Tuesday from a Turning Point USA event featuring U.S. Vice President JD Vance due to threats on her life, the vice president said.

"I know that she did get some threats," Vance told an audience of University of Georgia students in Athens, Georgia. "I was a little worried that we were going to have to cancel the event because Erika was not going to come, and she was very worried about it."

Vance said he had talked to the Secret Service and was not concerned about his own safety. He gave no details about the threats to Erika Kirk, who is the CEO of Turning Point USA.

The Secret Service and Turning Point did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

A gunman, who faces murder charges, killed Charlie Kirk in September during a campus speaking event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. Authorities describe the shooting as politically motivated. Kirk co-founded Turning Point USA to galvanize young voters for conservative causes.

The killing intensified debate over political violence in the United States, prompting condemnation from officials across the political spectrum and leading to increased security at subsequent campus events involving high-profile political figures.

(Reporting by Jarrett Renshaw and Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Ross Colvin and Lisa Shumaker)