Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk used his final social media posts to address the Charlotte light rail killing of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska, focusing on the suspect’s criminal history, media response, and race-related debate. Kirk was fatally shot while delivering a speech at Utah Valley University on Wednesday.
In the hours and day before his assassination, Kirk shared five posts on X centered around Zarutska’s killing. At 12:34 p.m., he wrote: “If we want things to change, it’s 100% necessary to politicize the senseless murder of Iryna Zarutska because it was politics that allowed a savage monster with 14 priors to be free on the streets to kill her.”
At 10:30 a.m., Kirk quote-tweeted a report from Right Angle News Network stating, “BREAKING — The official black lives matter account has posted a video stating that black people ‘have a right to violence’ amid mass outrage over the slaying of Iryna Zarutska at the hands of a black male in Charlotte, North Carolina.” Kirk added, “Official Black Lives Matter account justifying the murder of Iryna Zarutska.”
Earlier that morning at 9:14 a.m., he highlighted Jillian Michaels’ post about CNN contributor Van Jones, who said racism in white people was like a “virus in their brain.” Kirk wrote, “That all white people have a ‘virus in their brain’ is legitimately one of the most racist things I’ve ever heard.”
The previous evening, September 9 at 10:45 p.m., Kirk posted a photo of Zarutska recoiling in shock and pain moments after the stabbing, writing, “America will never be the same.” At 7:22 p.m. that evening, he pointed out a screenshot of a news article about mainstream media coverage, noting the capitalization of “Black” but not “white,” adding, “They are a pack of liars who have racialized quite literally everything in America since at least 2014, but really since long before that. They’re not mad we’re talking about race, they’re just mad their white guilt spell is no longer working. Enough. (H/T @DougMackeyCase).”
The stabbing of 23-year-old Zarutska occurred on August 22, when Decarlos Brown Jr., 34, allegedly attacked her with a pocketknife on a Charlotte light rail train. Video footage released by transit officials showed Zarutska seated before Brown stood up and stabbed her three times in the throat. She died from her injuries. Brown, a repeat offender with multiple prior arrests, was charged with first-degree murder.
North Carolina officials have since pledged federal prosecution. Attorney General Pam Bondi stated her office would seek the “maximum penalty” for Brown, calling Zarutska’s killing an “unforgivable crime.” FBI Director Kash Patel described the attack as a “disgraceful act that should never happen in America.”
Two days before the shooting, CNN’s Abby Phillip and Van Jones criticized Kirk on-air for comparing Zarutska’s killing to the George Floyd case. Jones accused Kirk of “race-mongering” for suggesting Zarutska was targeted for being white.
Kirk had also warned earlier this year about what he termed an “assassination culture.” In an April X post, he stated, “Forty-eight percent of liberals say it would be at least somewhat justified to murder Elon Musk. Fifty-five percent said the same about Donald Trump.” He observed that the trend reflected a broader tolerance for violence in politics.
On Wednesday, Kirk was shot in the neck during a speech at Utah Valley University. President Donald Trump announced Kirk’s death on Truth Social, praising him as “The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk” and ordering U.S. flags flown at half-mast through Sunday evening. Turning Point USA confirmed his death in a statement asking for prayers for his family.
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