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.