Noem reveals last text message from Kirk
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem shared Wednesday that conservative activist Charlie Kirk had texted her just hours before his assassination last week.
“The last message he had texted me was the day before he passed away,” Noem said during an appearance on "Pod Force One" with host Miranda Devine.
“And it said, ‘We have to hold these mayors and local officials accountable for what they’re doing,'" she continued. "I think he was watching across this country as people were continuing to be victimized by illegal criminal activity, and he wanted someone to be held accountable.”
Kirk frequently spoke out against illegal immigration, echoing President Trump's harsh rhetoric, and often promoted stricter security at the southern border. Like Noem, he also pushed back against "sanctuary cities" during his speeches and public debates.
“Sanctuary cities are catch and release factories for career criminal illegals, allowing them to maim, rob, and kill Americans again and again,” Kirk wrote Sept. 8 in a post on the social platform X, just days before he was shot and killed during an event at Utah Valley University.
“Why are we putting up with this?” he asked.
Kirk was well revered by high-ranking Republican leaders including Noem, who said she regrets not responding to him prior to his death.
“I was traveling and in meetings in a different time zone and I didn’t see it and missed it,” Noem told Devine. “And I will always feel bad that I didn’t respond because I would have said, 'Absolutely, I’m on it,' which I am. And — but I think he knew that.”
The suspected assassin, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, was arrested Thursday for Kirk's shooting. He faces a state murder charge, and several felony counts, including discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury, obstruction of justice, witness tampering and commission of a violent offense in the presence of a child. Utah prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
The conservative activist’s death reignited concerns about rising political violence and how to handle "hate speech" online in the U.S., while also prompting partisan finger-pointing over what was to blame.
Erika Kirk, the widow of the Turning Point USA co-founder, has promised to take up his legacy by promoting more chapters of the organization across the country.
“The evildoers responsible for my husband’s assassination have no idea what they have done. They killed Charlie because he preached a message of patriotism, faith, and of God’s merciful love," she said during a Sept. 12 livestream on her husband's social media accounts. "They should all know this."
“If you thought that my husband’s mission was powerful before, you have no idea. You have no idea what you just have unleashed across this entire country and this world," she added.