A demonstrator appeared outside a Turning Point USA event in San Antonio wearing a papier-mache head resembling Charlie Kirk, then fell to the ground in what looked like a staged recreation of the conservative pundit’s killing.
Footage of the moment was posted online by TPUSA’s Frontlines account on X. The video shows the person — dressed in a white T-shirt with the word “Freedom” — dropping down as if shot, before getting back up and walking away without acknowledging anyone around them.
The protest happened on Friday as Kirk’s widow, Erika, who became Turning Point USA’s CEO after his death, was inside the San Antonio Marriott Rivercenter getting ready to speak at the group’s Women’s Leadership Summit.
Turning Point USA described the person in the mask as a “radical leftwinger,” and claimed protesters had spent much of the morning outside the venue making light of the assassination.
The account also said chants of “he deserved to die” could be heard in the clip.
TPUSA contributor Jack Posobiec later criticized the demonstration during an appearance on Fox News.
Speaking to the channel, he said: “When people tell you who they are, believe them.
“The left isn’t out there feeling sorry for the murder of Charlie Kirk, they’re not apologizing for it, they’re out there celebrating it.
“This is resentment. They hate the fact that Turning Point USA is out there showing young people specifically a different path forward, not from hating their country, from hating men, from hating women, from hating capitalism, from hating innovation, to actually loving their country, building loving families. And that’s exactly why they’re attacking Erika Kirk and our entire team.”
Reaction on social media was similarly harsh, with some users calling the performance “evil.”
Tensions reportedly carried into the summit itself. As Erika Kirk began speaking, a woman in the audience interrupted with a heckle, prompting Kirk to address her before continuing.
Kirk paused, addressed the woman directly, and told the room: “It’s important to remember that happiness comes and goes, and I pray that you find it.
“That’s an important moment because that just shows duty to faithfulness gives life meaning, and we must pray for our enemies and those that do not feel like their life has meaning. And that’s a perfect example of that. A perfect example. You pray for your enemies. You pray for those that persecute you.”
The summit had already drawn heightened concern after a bomb threat the week before, which resulted in the arrest of a 26-year-old man accused of making terroristic threats that caused public fear. He faces two felony counts.
Charlie Kirk was killed on September 10 last year after being shot by a sniper at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah.
A 22-year-old suspect, Tyler Robinson, was taken into custody two days later and charged with aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury, obstruction of justice, witness tampering, and commission of a violent offence in the presence of a child.