Do not run from contempt; run toward it at full speed with your love.
Those were the words Professor Arthur C. Brooks delivered to a room of Deseret News staff and supporters, ahead of receiving the Deseret News Civic Charity Award on Wednesday.
The Deseret News reached its 175th birthday in June, and celebrated the milestone on Wednesday night with a gala in Salt Lake City.
Special guests at the gala included President Dallin H. Oaks, the First Counselor in the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Sister Kristen Oaks, Utah’s first lady Abby Cox, President and CEO of Deseret Management Jeff Simpson and many other distinguished religious, civic, and political leaders.
President and CEO of Deseret Management Jeff Simpson presents Arthur Brooks with the Deseret News Civic Charity Award at the Deseret News’ 175th anniversary celebration at The Commercial Club in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News
Brooks on politics, faith, hope and Utah
Brooks is a Harvard professor, a bestselling author and a self-described fan of Utah. Addressing his audience Wednesday night, Brooks said his work and ideas on happiness and love are synchronous with Utah.
On Sept. 10, Brooks happened to touch down in Salt Lake City just after conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot. He quoted Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints President Russell M. Nelson who said in 2002, “Hatred among brothers and neighbors has now reduced sacred cities to sites of sorrow.”
President Nelson’s quote was delivered over two decades ago, and now hatred (especially political hatred) seems so much more rampant, Brooks said, calling the words “prophetic.”
How does America recover from this?
Brooks said he believes American politics is fueled by something more than anger and more than disgust. It has become infused by a combination of the two: contempt.
Contempt “is the conviction of the utter worthlessness of another human being. And that’s what American politics has become today,” Brooks said.
Much like a dysfunctional marriage, political parties are riddled with those who feel contempt for those on the other side of the political divide, and perceive their foes as worthless. The contempt is “almost like a physical attack,” Brooks said. “It’s a terrible thing. And that’s exactly how we treat each other in politics in America today.”
The solution to this contempt, Brooks believes, is learning to love our enemies again.
Arthur Brooks, Harvard University professor and New York Times bestselling author, speaks at the Deseret News’ 175th anniversary celebration at The Commercial Club in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News
Being more “civil” and more “tolerant” is not the answer. “That’s not the right standard for us,” he said. “That’s not the ancient standard on which you built your church and we built ours.” Brooks is a devout Catholic.
Then Brooks quoted Jesus Christ as recorded in Matthew chapter five, verse 44. “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,” he said.
“Are you strong enough for that? Are we strong enough for that?” he asked. “That’s the medicine we need. That’s the only thing that’s going to bring our country back together again.”
“We need people dedicated across the gospel of Jesus Christ who are going to do that and do it in public and do it with the means of communication, just like the Deseret News,” Brooks said.
Brooks gives a three-part homework assignment
Sarah Jane Weaver, Deseret News editor, moderates a panel discussion with Arthur Brooks and University of Utah President Taylor Randall at the Deseret News’ 175th anniversary celebration at The Commercial Club in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News
To give people a game plan on how to love their enemies, Brooks laid out three steps.
First, “Stop being used and stop being monetized,” Brooks said. “When we hate for political reasons, somebody’s profiting, and it’s not us.”
Second, go out and find contention, and then “go running toward it with your body,” he said. Brooks then quoted Helaman from the Book of Mormon. “And as many as were convinced did lay down their weapons of war and also their hatred. And that’s how peace was made,” Brooks said.
Finally, Brooks urged his listeners to show gratitude for being American and evaluate how they are showing that gratitude.
Reflecting on the Deseret News’ reporting on Charlie Kirk
Before Brooks’ remarks, Deseret News Executive Editor Doug Wilks and Publisher Burke Olsen spoke at the event.
Wilks took a moment to explain how the newspaper was uniquely able to report on Charlie Kirk’s assassination at Utah Valley University, on Sept. 10.
Two reporters were on the ground at the event, and seconds after the shot struck Kirk, they wrapped their arms around each other and prayed.
Wilks explained that later that evening on Sept. 10, he asked them how they had the presence of mind to pray for Kirk and his family. Emma Pitts responded, “I didn’t want him to die in that car.”
“There is no better explanation than that comment to tell you about the example and the effort of our staff to do it correctly, to do it right,” Wilks said.
“What we do at the Deseret News is a reflection of who we are, and we try to do that every single day,” he said.
Wilks also thanked Abby Cox for her and Gov. Spencer Cox’s leadership after the shooting.
Utah first lady Abby Cox took a leap forward Wednesday in her mission to transform Utah’s foster care systems — but continued success in boosting foster care depends on Utah communities, she said.
Utah’s first lady, in partnership with Utah Foster Care, hosted a joint press conference Wednesday to announce the statewide launch of Care Communities for foster families.
Care Communities is a program which builds volunteer groups of eight to 10 people who together surround a single foster family and provide support where it is needed, such as making meals, doing laundry and babysitting.
“When this idea of care communities was realized, and I started thinking about it, I thought, ‘If there is one place on earth that this can be done statewide, it would be right here in the state of Utah,’” Cox said during her remarks Wednesday.
Care Communities was launched as a pilot program two years ago, with the aim to provide foster families with more stability, give foster children a stronger foundation and reduce burnout in foster parents, so they can stick to fostering for longer periods.
Through the pilot program, nearly 300 Utah adults have stepped up to volunteer for Care Communities, creating 23 Care Communities in Utah.
The goal, Abby Cox told the Deseret News, is to build 60 more of these communities in the next year. She hopes every foster family in Utah who wants support from a care community will receive it.
Utah first lady Abby Cox speaks during the launch of Care Communities, a program to support foster families, at the Governor’s Mansion in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
“This concept of Care Communities is really inherent to where we are and who we are as Utahns,” Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said during his remarks. He added that results from the Care Communities pilot program have been “overwhelmingly positive.”
He continued, “This idea that we could be the first state with families waiting for kids, instead of kids waiting for families, was something that truly felt like a rallying cry.”
The impact of Care Communities
Janelle McGinty, care team leader with Utah Foster Care, speaks during the launch of Care Communities, a program to support foster families, at the Governor’s Mansion in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
When Janelle McGinty joined Care Communities as a care team leader for a foster family, she recalled feeling “inadequate.”
McGinty added that, at first, she felt skeptical as to how much of an impact she could have on a foster family through occasional babysitting, dropping off a meal or helping with extra housework.
“But I quickly learned how much those simple acts really mattered,” McGinty said. “Babysitting gave the parents a chance to catch their breath, (a chance to get) a meal on a busy night, (it) gave them relief. After a long day, helping with housework reminded them that they weren’t carrying the load alone.”
She continued, “The most meaningful part about Care Communities is that through the act of lifting others, we are lifted ourselves.”
Gina Philips, the director of communications at Utah Foster Care, offered a similar sentiment.
She said “simple acts of service” such as taking foster kids to dance class or sports practice, providing meals and offering support to foster parents — even just going on walks with them — has made a “huge difference” in the success of the foster program.
The relationships that come from this program, Philips added, are another “beautiful” result of the community-based program.
“The relationships that are built, they’re real,” she said. “These are real people, real relationships, real children who need help and who need support.”
Faith groups rally around Care Communities
The Rev. Natan Sautter, Cottonwood Presbyterian pastor, foster parent and adoptive parent, speaks during the launch of Care Communities, a program to support foster families, at the Governor’s Mansion in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
The interfaith community in Utah also stepped in to be part of the Care Communities program.
Representing the support from Utah’s interfaith community on Wednesday was Elder Derek Miller, an Area Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and a member of the Care Community advisory board, as well as the Rev. Nathan Sautter, pastor of Cottonwood Presbyterian, who is both an adoptive parent and foster parent.
Elder Miller said he felt both humble and proud to be involved with the Care Communities program. As someone who has seen firsthand how the program operates, Miller said he is proud of its “amazing” work and humbled to play a role in it.
Miller added that he admires how the program has brought “people of goodwill together from different faiths around a shared and noble purpose.”
“I’m so delighted that the work of care communities is expanding, expanding across faiths, neighborhoods and our entire state,” he added. “This kind of service doesn’t just help those in need, it helps all of us, the giver and the receiver, and ultimately, it helps us to be the kind of people we want to be, compassionate and kind.”
For the Rev. Sautter, Care Communities has made an impact in his daily life. As a parent to foster children, Sautter has been on the receiving end of the support offered by Care Communities.
“Fostering is probably the hardest work I’ve ever done. … It’s also the most rewarding and the thing that I’m probably most proud of in my life,” Sautter said. “But my wife and I couldn’t have done it without our Care Community. I don’t know how we would have made it.”
Sautter said the community that has supported his family during the fostering program has become like an “extended family” to them, as they have shown his children how deeply they are loved.
He also highlighted how programs like Care Communities provide the support necessary to create brighter futures in the lives of vulnerable children, like those in the foster program.
“It stops cycles of poverty, of violence, of neglect, of addiction,” he said. “It chooses to disrupt those cycles in the lives of children.”
How to become part of a Care Community
Tami Carson, Care Communities director at Utah Foster Care, speaks during the launch of Care Communities, a program to support foster families, at the Governor’s Mansion in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
There are a few simple steps to becoming part of a Care Community.
First, go to Utah’s Foster Care website, where it will have all the information needed to get started. Second, reach out to your local congregation and let them know you are interested in joining a Care Community — they will help match you with a family in your area.
Once you are assigned to a family, Care Community provides robust training on how care team members can aid these families as well as a broader understanding of foster care, the first lady told the Deseret News.
“We tell our kids to go out and change the world. That is not right. Our kids need to go out and change their neighborhood,” Abby Cox said. “Each one of us has an opportunity to be a doer. … To change what is going on in the world right now, to change the fear and the anger and the skepticism about somebody that’s different from us — this is the answer today.”
Turning Point USA has announced who will take the place of slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk for an upcoming Utah State University event.
Also, the group says it will no longer hold public events outdoors, according to Turning Point Action COO Tyler Bowyer.
The “American Comeback Tour” is coming to USU on Sept. 30. It will be held indoors, and will be focused on where Utah should go from here and what healing from Kirk’s death looks like.
A panel of speakers will take part in Kirk’s place, including Utah Sen. Mike Lee, Gov. Spencer Cox, Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs, and former Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz, Bowyer told the Deseret News on Monday.
Changes and consistencies in the debates moving forward
Tyler Bowyer, Turning Point Action chief operating officer, answers interview questions in his office at Turning Point headquarters in Phoenix, Ariz., on Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
Debate will still happen at TPUSA campus events.
“This is who we are. This is the DNA of Turning Point,” Bowyer told the Deseret News. “You can’t have Turning Point and walk away from the things that made us successful.”
Coupled with elevated security measures, Turning Point is “completely committed to continuing the program,” Bowyer said.
He said the organization still has a goal of promoting civil discourse.
“That’s part of the mission, and goal of doing these things is that if you do them and you do it civilly, you win people over. … That’s what Charlie had been doing. That’s his life’s work, and that’s a beautiful thing,” he said.
Many people have reached out and said they would be willing to step in and help fill Kirk’s role on the tour stops, he said.
Kirk’s death is stirring an ‘American revival’
On Sunday, TPUSA hosted Kirk’s funeral at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, bringing in an estimated 200,000 people to honor his life.
Kirk’s wife Erika Kirk, President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, members of his Cabinet, Tucker Carlson and others spoke about God, forgiveness and faith.
“I don’t think we realized the yearning for spirituality that existed within the greater political atmosphere,” Bowyer said.
Erika Kirk is the new face of TPUSA
Erika Kirk was named the CEO and board chair of Turning Point USA on Sept. 18.
“Erika is is the face. She is the CEO. She’s one with Charlie,” Bowyer said. “We want to be respectful of her and what she wants to do.”
Two days after her husband’s assassination, Erika spoke in a video filmed at Kirk’s recording studio, thanking the people who have supported her as she grieves. Again during his funeral, Sunday, Erika took the podium, and vowed to continue Kirk’s mission and said she’s forgiven her husband’s killer.
“She’s so loved and so respected and after after yesterday in particular, I think there’s millions of Americans who have her back,” Bowyer said.
The big names filling in for Kirk on other tour stops
Three of the eleven stops on Kirk’s “America Comeback Tour” are yet to be filled. The other seven will be covered by the following politicians and political commentators:
Michael Knowles at the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities on Sept. 22.
Megyn Kelly and Gov. Glenn Youngkin at Virginia Tech on Sept. 24.
Vivek Ramaswamy and Gov. Greg Gianforte at Montana State on Oct. 7.
Glenn Beck at the University of North Dakota on Oct. 9.
Tucker Carlson at Indiana University Bloomington on Oct. 21.
Allie Beth Stuckey and Gov. Jeff Landry at Louisiana State University on Oct. 27.
Rob Schneider and Frank Turek at UC Berkely on Nov. 10.
On an Orem campus still reeling from last week’s slaying of Charlie Kirk, thousands gathered Friday to grieve together — and, collectively, begin healing.
Utah Valley University officials, students and folks of all ages and backgrounds from across the United States assembled at the school’s UCCU Center for a “Vigil for Unity” in memory of slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was killed during a campus event on Wednesday, Sept. 10.
Kirk, 31, a married father of two, was killed by a single bullet during a “Prove Me Wrong” event, in front of 3,000 students and spectators.
The speakers at Friday’s vigil included religious and campus leaders — along with musical performances, a video tribute and a hope-filled readings from sacred scripture.
The hour-long gathering ended with all in attendance standing and raising flameless candles, illuminating the darkened campus venue.
“For Charlie!”, one man from the crowd shouted.
His call was repeated, again and again, as the vigil came to its close.
A school president’s witness to campus goodness & mercy
UVU President Astrid Tuminez thanked her “beloved community” for the kindness and service offered over the past nine days.
Given last week’s events on the campus grounds, she said, it is understandable to feel like the ancient psalmist who wondered if God had forsaken him.
“Shock, grief, abandonment, fear and hurt have filled our hearts since September 10,” said Tuminez. “A father and husband was killed on our campus. A wife and children were left bereft. And thousands in our own UVU family experienced trauma.”
The UVU president offered “deep condolences and prayers of peace” for Charlie Kirk’s wife, Erika Kirk, and the couple’s two young children.
She then spoke of her love for “the UVU family” and shared a few words of hope.
Utah Valley University President Astrid S. Tuminez speaks during the Vigil for Unity at the UCCU Center at Utah Valley University in Orem on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. Charlie Kirk, conservative activist and the founder and president of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot while answering questions at his American Comeback Tour at UVU on Sept. 10. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
“My beloved UVU community, surely goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our lives,” said Tuminez. “I have seen goodness and mercy. Our community, though wounded, showed up to serve one another.
“We hugged each other. We offered trauma and mental health support. We restored belonging. Our law enforcement partners helped us feel safe again. Hundreds, if not thousands, offered prayers for peace, clarity and resilience.
“We listened and gave each other patience and grace.”
The UVU campus has again reopened. The students and their teachers and friends have returned.
“Our students described their return using words like ‘scared’, ‘violated’, ‘devastated’, and ‘sorrowful’.
“But at the same time they also said, ‘My dream of an education is still strong. We will get through it. My professors have supported me. I am thankful for my friends — most of whom I met here at UVU’.”
Tuminez ended her remarks with calls to action.
First, be grateful for broken hearts. “Our broken hearts soften us to connect with one another as humans, as citizens and residents of Utah and America, and as children of the divine.”
Second, in the coming weeks and months, “let us pause and slow down when anger rises in our hearts towards those we think might be our enemy. Let’s ask ourselves, ‘What do I have in common with them?’.”
And third: “I ask you to support UVU and be patient with us as we recover from this tragedy.
“We will help every student succeed. We will offer opportunities for skills-building in dialogue, peacemaking and hard conversations. We have a long and difficult road ahead, and we can only succeed if we unite.
“I am honored to be a part of this beloved community, and I urge each of us to remember that love can be stronger than fear.”
Hundreds attend a Vigil for Unity at the UCCU Center at Utah Valley University in Orem on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. Charlie Kirk, conservative activist and the founder and president of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot while answering questions at his American Comeback Tour at UVU on Sept. 10. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
Elder Matthew S. Holland: UVU is a place of ‘fearless resolve’
Elder Matthew S. Holland, a General Authority Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, holds a time-earned tender spot for UVU.
For nine years, he served as the school’s president. He and his wife, Paige and their children love UVU.
That love, he said at Friday’s vigil, “has never left our hearts, In fact, that love beats today as strong as ever.”
Last week’s campus shooting left wounds “seen and unseen” in every direction, said Elder Holland. First and foremost among its casualties were Charlie Kirk and his family. Additionally, this “lone act of violence” pierced hearts and minds everywhere.
“In response,” he added, “it’s natural and fitting for UVU to ask: ‘Can we possibly heal?’.”
“‘Can peace and agreement ever be found?’
“I’m only one voice, but the answer for me is, ‘Yes’,’ said Elder Holland.
Elder Matthew S. Holland, a General Authority Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, speaks during the Vigil for Unity at the UCCU Center at Utah Valley University in Orem on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. Charlie Kirk, conservative activist and the founder and president of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot while answering questions at his American Comeback Tour at UVU on Sept. 10. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
“The first harbinger or signal of my hope for peace and unity is UVU itself. This remarkable institution was created to provide space for anybody who needed access to higher education in some form.
“Since then, this school has always opened its doors widely to students from any economic, political, religious, cultural and academic background in every phase of its development, and has — by vision, policies and practice — remained a place for all.”
Thus, he declared, UVU is uniquely built to survive such a tempestuous moment.
Elder Holland added he hopes that all in the UVU community will actively respond with compassion for all who are hurting.
“This is a time,” he said. “for shared burdens and collective healing.”
The “fearless resolve” being shown at UVU is evident in a world torn by much malice and division. “You are already the hands and hearts by which peace, rather than hate, will prevail on this campus,” he said.
Seek and discover hope
UVU student body president Kyle Cullimore acknowledged Friday that it’s hard to talk about peace at such a heavy moment on campus.
“I believe,” he said, “that peace begins with something simple yet so powerful: Hope.
“I don’t mean a shallow or surface-level kind of hope that ignores the reality and the tragedy that happened on our campus, or the kind that just tells us to move on.
“I mean the kind of hope that we can find only when we willingly search the very depths of our souls. The kind of hope that tells us that even though we’ve all been through something dark, we know the sun will rise again.”
At tragic moments such as the Kirk shooting, it’s tempting to seek isolation, point fingers at others and attach labels.
“We must stop putting labels on one another,” said Cullimore. “All these labels do is divide us and limit how we see one another. When we treat each other based on these labels, that divide continues to grow and grow and grow.
“It becomes easier to dehumanize each other because we don’t remember the basic truth that we are all humans endowed with inherent rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, peace.”
Before inviting all to join in the vigil candle lighting, Cullimore was joined on the UCCU Center stage by all his fellow Utah college student body presidents as a show of Beehive State unity.
Representatives from Utah universities stand behind Utah Valley University Student Body President Kyle Cullimore as he holds up a candle after giving closing remarks during the Vigil for Unity at the UCCU Center at Utah Valley University in Orem on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. Charlie Kirk, conservative activist and the founder and president of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot while answering questions at his American Comeback Tour at UVU on Sept. 10. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
Also speaking Friday was Juliana Boerio-Goates, a BYU professor emerita and a Catholic lay ecclesial minister.
Drawing on the words of scripture, she encouraged vigil attendees to “make conscious, intentional efforts to look for whatever is true, honorable, just, and gracious in those who have wounded us.”
Sow love and respond to injury with forgiveness.
Pain felt far beyond UVU’s Orem campus
The shock of Kirk’s murder has not been confined to UVU campus.
Preston Parsons, a current freshman at Texas Tech University, stood at Kirk’s makeshift memorial on the UVU campus, Friday.
“I needed to come and pay my respects,” he said. Parsons was in his dorm room in Texas working with his own Turning Point chapter, when he heard the news Kirk had been killed.
“I think that we need, more than anything right now, to feel a sense of community and unity,” he said.
A photo of Charlie Kirk and his wife, Erika Kirk, with their children is displayed among other items in a memorial left by well-wishers in the courtyard on the campus of Utah Valley University in Orem on Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025, as students return to campus following the shooting death of Charlie Kirk in the courtyard a week prior. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News
The sidewalks surrounding UVU are colored with scriptures and messages of love to Kirk, his wife Erika and their two small children. His memorial on the grass in front of UVU is filled with American flags and flowers.
In neat, pink handwriting, leading up to the memorial are sprawled the words of Jesus Christ, as recorded in Matthew: “But I say unto you, love your enemies. Bless them that curse you. Do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you.”
Another, in all caps, says, “Rest well, my great pal. We have your back and will take it from here.”
Elisa Demartin, a senior at UVU, stood near the edge of the memorial and told the Deseret News, “I’m sad and then angry, and he made such a big impact.”
“This is beautiful,” she said, looking at the memorial.
Utah Valley University President Astrid S. Tuminez speaks during the Vigil for Unity at the UCCU Center at Utah Valley University in Orem on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. Charlie Kirk, conservative activist and the founder and president of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot while answering questions at his American Comeback Tour at UVU on Sept. 10. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
Hundreds attend a Vigil for Unity at the UCCU Center at Utah Valley University in Orem on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. Charlie Kirk, conservative activist and the founder and president of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot while answering questions at his American Comeback Tour at UVU on Sept. 10. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
Tori Merrill gets emotional during a Vigil for Unity at the UCCU Center at Utah Valley University in Orem on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. Charlie Kirk, conservative activist and the founder and president of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot while answering questions at his American Comeback Tour at UVU on Sept. 10. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
Trey Winget and Shea Winget attend a Vigil for Unity at the UCCU Center at Utah Valley University in Orem on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. Charlie Kirk, conservative activist and the founder and president of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot while answering questions at his American Comeback Tour at UVU on Sept. 10. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
A woman holds a candle, flower and flyer during a Vigil for Unity at the UCCU Center at Utah Valley University in Orem on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. Charlie Kirk, conservative activist and the founder and president of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot while answering questions at his American Comeback Tour at UVU on Sept. 10. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
Attendees hold up battery operated candles during a Vigil for Unity at the UCCU Center at Utah Valley University in Orem on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. Charlie Kirk, conservative activist and the founder and president of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot while answering questions at his American Comeback Tour at UVU on Sept. 10. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
The Utah Valley Institute Singers perform at a Vigil for Unity at the UCCU Center at Utah Valley University in Orem on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. Charlie Kirk, conservative activist and the founder and president of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot while answering questions at his American Comeback Tour at UVU on Sept. 10. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
Lydia Hopper, Marie Hopper, and Adelae Knuteson attend a Vigil for Unity at the UCCU Center at Utah Valley University in Orem on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. Charlie Kirk, conservative activist and the founder and president of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot while answering questions at his American Comeback Tour at UVU on Sept. 10. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
The Utah Valley Interfaith Choir performs “Let There Be Peace on Earth” during the Vigil for Unity at the UCCU Center at Utah Valley University in Orem on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. Charlie Kirk, conservative activist and the founder and president of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot while answering questions at his American Comeback Tour at UVU on Sept. 10. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
Elder Matthew S. Holland, a General Authority Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, speaks during the Vigil for Unity at the UCCU Center at Utah Valley University in Orem on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. Charlie Kirk, conservative activist and the founder and president of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot while answering questions at his American Comeback Tour at UVU on Sept. 10. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
Erica Carcamo and her daughter Monique Carcamo embrace during a Vigil for Unity at the UCCU Center at Utah Valley University in Orem on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. Charlie Kirk, conservative activist and the founder and president of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot while answering questions at his American Comeback Tour at UVU on Sept. 10. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
Austin Forsgren, Brody Miller and Jeb Jacobi hold their hats over their hearts during a Vigil for Unity at the UCCU Center at Utah Valley University in Orem on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. Charlie Kirk, conservative activist and the founder and president of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot while answering questions at his American Comeback Tour at UVU on Sept. 10. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
Caleb Chilcutt, president of the Utah Valley University Turning Pointing USA chapter, speaks during the Vigil for Unity at the UCCU Center at Utah Valley University in Orem on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. Charlie Kirk, conservative activist and the founder and president of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot while answering questions at his American Comeback Tour at UVU on Sept. 10. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
Dr. Juliana Boerio-Goates, lay ecclesial minister from the Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City, speaks during the Vigil for Unity at the UCCU Center at Utah Valley University in Orem on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. Charlie Kirk, conservative activist and the founder and president of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot while answering questions at his American Comeback Tour at UVU on Sept. 10. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
The Utah Valley Interfaith Choir performs “Let There Be Peace on Earth” during the Vigil for Unity at the UCCU Center at Utah Valley University in Orem on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. Charlie Kirk, conservative activist and the founder and president of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot while answering questions at his American Comeback Tour at UVU on Sept. 10. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
Representatives from Utah universities stand behind Utah Valley University Student Body President Kyle Cullimore as he holds up a candle after giving closing remarks during the Vigil for Unity at the UCCU Center at Utah Valley University in Orem on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. Charlie Kirk, conservative activist and the founder and president of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot while answering questions at his American Comeback Tour at UVU on Sept. 10. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
Representatives from Utah universities hold up candles during the Vigil for Unity at the UCCU Center at Utah Valley University in Orem on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. Charlie Kirk, conservative activist and the founder and president of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot while answering questions at his American Comeback Tour at UVU on Sept. 10. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
Elder Matthew S. Holland, a General Authority Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, speaks during the Vigil for Unity at the UCCU Center at Utah Valley University in Orem on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. Charlie Kirk, conservative activist and the founder and president of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot while answering questions at his American Comeback Tour at UVU on Sept. 10. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
WASHINGTON — A vast majority of Americans say they are more concerned about political violence right now compared to six months ago, especially after the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk at an event in Utah last week.
About 63% of Americans said they were more concerned about political violence now than they were at the beginning of this year, according to a new poll conducted by Morning Consult for the Deseret News and Hinckley Institute of Politics. Of those, 40% said they were “much more” concerned, compared to 23% who said they were only “somewhat concerned.”
That’s far higher than the 5% of respondents who said they did not have higher concerns about the state of political violence in the United States, the poll shows. Another 25% said they felt about the same as they did before.
The heightened concerns were felt across the political spectrum, with each ideological group more likely to say they were more concerned now than six months ago.
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About 67% of those who identified as liberal said they were more concerned about political violence compared to 72% of self-identified conservatives who said the same, according to the poll. Fifty-nine percent of moderates also said they had higher concerns.
That baseline of concern was evident in other areas of the survey, as a majority of respondents also said they were more concerned about the security of political events after the shooting of Kirk at Utah Valley University on the first stop of his national college tour.
About 78% of Americans say they are concerned about the security at political events, split between 47% who say they are very concerned and 31% who say they are somewhat concerned. Only 14% said they were not concerned, according to the poll.
Part of those concerns also extend to the safety of elected officials, with 77% of Americans saying they are worried about their safety while attending these events compared to just 16% who said the opposite.
Utahns concerned about rise in political violence
Utahns were on par with national findings, according to the poll, with a majority of those in the state saying they were more concerned now about political violence than they were half a year ago.
Some 73% said they were more concerned compared to just 4% who said they were less concerned, the poll showed. About 21% said they felt the same.
When it comes to security at events, 83% of Utahns say they were concerned about the level of security when attending while only 11% said they had no worries. In terms of the safety of elected officials, 80% of Utahns said they were worried for lawmakers compared to 15% who said the opposite.
Majority of Americans have rising concerns about civil unrest and political violence
A vast majority of Americans are growing more concerned about political violence in the U.S., and those sentiments are true across age, gender and political ideology, according to the poll.
More than 80% of Americans are concerned about civil unrest in the country, compared to just 11% who said the opposite, the poll showed. More Americans are concerned about political violence, with 86% who said they were worried about it compared to 8% who said they were not.
When it comes to political polarization, 77% said it was a concern and 10% said it was not.
Americans can’t decide who is responsible for rise in political violence
When asked who or what is responsible for the rise in political violence, respondents couldn’t seem to agree on a single subject.
Americans are split on whether politicians are the ones to blame, with 42% saying they bear the most responsibility, according to the poll. When it comes to which party is to blame, those who voted for President Donald Trump were more likely to blame the left while those who voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris were more likely to blame the right.
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Other Americans also pointed to social media (22%), media outlets (25%) and activist groups (22%) as the factor behind political violence, according to the poll.
The Morning Consult poll surveyed 2,239 adults across the country between Sept. 12-14. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.
TEMPE, Ariz. — Students at Arizona State University, the birthplace of Turning Point USA, honored the late Charlie Kirk in a memorial ceremony on Monday evening.
Kirk was fatally shot on Sept. 10 at Utah Valley University. Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old accused of killing Kirk, made his first court appearance on Tuesday.
People across the world are grieving, holding vigils in cities and countries Kirk had never even visited.
The service at Desert Financial Arena, which attracted about 9,000 people, became “the largest student organized vigil in the country,” Troy Holderby, the president of ASU College Republicans, told the Deseret News the next morning. He credited Turning Point USA for logistical help.
Dan Beazley, of Northville, Mich., stood outside the stadium with his 10-foot cross ahead of the vigil, offering attendees prayers, as he had the day before, outside the TPUSA headquarters. He leaned on the cross, guarding his sunburnt face.
Scenes from vigil at the ASU
Inside, after the national anthem and prayers led by a pastor, a group of students brought candles and placed them under Kirk’s photograph on stage. Holderby offered his remarks onstage Monday evening.
“If you are mad about Charlie Kirk’s assassination, good. Share the Gospel of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,” said Holderby said on stage.
“We can forgive his shooter, which is a difficult thing to do. We can forgive the people who celebrate his death, which is equally difficult, but forevermore, we must work with this week in mind. Work,” Holderby concluded before offering a prayer.
The students in the sea of ‘Make America Great Again’ hats that bore the Turning Point logo on the side cheered, cried and prayed alongside more than a dozen speakers, including many TPUSA employees. The most notable of them was Tyler Bowyer, the chief operating officer of TPUSA Action.
“If this crazy, left-wing radicalization is happening in Utah, it’s happening everywhere,” said Bowyer. “This isn’t a both sides problem. This is very clearly a one-sided problem.”
He spoke about TPUSA’s early days, when Kirk and Bowyer met and Bowyer agreed to take “a subminimum minimum wage job” at TPUSA. Bowyer served as the chairman of the Maricopa County Republican Committee at the time.
They would sit at a table on the ASU campus and face off against the harassers passing by. He recalled the university mascot, Sparky, posing with a TPUSA sign, “Big Government Sucks More Than Wildcats,” in 2018, while pointing to another version of the signage placed between two photos of Kirk on stage.
The picture of Sparky went viral. University President Michael Crow called TPUSA to get the photo taken down.
“We said no,” Bowyer said, earning loud cheers.
TPUSA wants students to turn action into activism.
He reminisced about hosting the first ever Trump rally a few blocks away from the arena, campaigning for President Donald Trump, hosting conversations about faith and conferences for conservatives and helping Trump win the swing state of Arizona by 5.5% last year.
“I would trade in everything, everything that we spent all those years building at Turning Point just to have Charlie back,” Bowyer confessed.
“But you know what? Charlie Kirk wouldn’t do that,” Bowyer said, again urging students to convert their pain into activism.
Carson Carpenter, a former president of the College Republicans, attended the vigil to pay his respects.
“It was refreshing to see the revitalized faith in action, wearing your heart on your sleeve and coming together peacefully,” he added.
In a post on X, Bowyer said that since Kirk’s passing, TPUSA and TP Action received about 27,000 leads from college students interested in joining or starting a chapter and a similar number from high schoolers.
The organizations also sold 15,000 tickets for the upcoming AmericaFest in Phoenix and half a million items of merchandise.
Sierra Place, a sign language teacher at a high school in the valley and a recent graduate of ASU, said she believes “It’s a great revival.”
She wasn’t sure what to expect from the evening but felt inspired and looked forward to attending church a lot more.
“A lot of churches forget about the deaf community,” she said. “I’m hoping to support Turning Point in that area.”
“We know that Jesus is king,” said Place, “and if we all can come together to talk about that, then there’s nothing we can’t do.”
A mix-up with ASU
Last Friday, ASU’s Turning Point Chapter and College Republicans group alleged the university refused to work with students to host the memorial service.
The students requested a “place on campus to hold a peaceful prayer service,” according to the statement from Holderby, the president of ASU College Republicans.
“Unfortunately, senior administration at ASU has been thus far totally unworkable,” Holderby said, accusing the university of forcing students to use a venue 15 times larger than requested and saddling the volunteer-led student club with the bill for security.
Republican state Sen. Jake Hoffman accused ASU of sabotaging the event and other conservatives echoed these concerns. Hoffman’s remarks came at a time when political tensions were running high. News headlines showed people losing their employment or educational placements over inappropriate comments related to Kirk’s death.
But by Saturday, the student group announced it reached the desired terms with the university. The venue was changed from the outdoor Hayden Lawn to the multipurpose arena, which holds up to 15,000 people.
According to one report, the misunderstanding was resolved after the university clarified that the student groups will not incur any administrative or security expenses.
Charlie Kirk’s funeral in Phoenix
Other speakers included Philosophy professor Dr. Owen Anderson, who serves as a faculty adviser for TPUSA at ASU, Jack Posobiec, conservative internet personality, and Anthony Watson, former Olympian and Turning Point contributor.
Last week, Vice President JD Vance traveled from Utah to Arizona to bring Kirk’s remains home. He and his wife Usha Vance escorted the casket along with Kirk’s wife Erika Kirk.
Kirk’s funeral will be held at State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Ariz., on Sunday. The stadium, home to NFL’s Arizona Cardinals, is one of the largest venues in the state.
President Donald Trump is expected to attend as are Vance and other high-level federal officials.
“We lost a great person,” Trump said. “I’ll be going on early Sunday morning, going to Arizona, taking some people with us on Air Force One.”
Prosecutors say they will seek the death penalty in the case against the man accused of killing conservative political activist Charlie Kirk.
Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray called the murder of Kirk “an American tragedy” Tuesday in a press conference announcing aggravated murder and other charges against 22-year-old Tyler James Robinson.
In Utah, aggravated murder is the only crime subject to the death penalty. The law contains a list of circumstances under which prosecutors could charge a person with that offense including, “the murderer knowingly created a great risk of death to a person other than the victim and the murderer.”
The aggravated murder charge against Robinson reads he “intentionally or knowingly caused the death of Charlie Kirk under the following circumstance: The defendant knowingly created a great risk of death to another individual other than Charlie Kirk and the defendant,” according to court documents.
Charlie Kirk hands out hats before he was shot during Turning Point USA’s visit to Utah Valley University in Orem on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News
Robinson allegedly fatally shot Kirk with a high-powered rifle from a rooftop as he spoke at an outdoor event at Utah Valley University last Wednesday.
Gray filed a notice of intent to seek the death penalty Tuesday after Robinson made his first court appearance.
“I do not take this decision lightly and it is a decision I have made independently as county attorney based solely on the available evidence and circumstances and nature of the crime,” he said.
Gray said he was not pressured by either the Trump administration or Utah Gov. Spencer Cox’s office to seek the death penalty.
Utah capital punishment law
Tyler Robinson, 22, the suspect in the shooting death of Charlie Kirk, appears by camera before Judge Tony Graf in Utah’s 4th District Court on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025, for his initial appearance in Provo, Utah. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
Lethal injection is the primary method of execution in Utah but firing squad is an alternative method. Executions are carried out at the Utah State Correctional Facility in Salt Lake City.
In 2004, Utah removed the right of the condemned to choose the method of execution and left lethal injection as the only option. But in 2015, the state restored the firing squad as a legal means of execution if it’s unable to obtain the necessary lethal injection drugs within 30 days of a scheduled execution.
Because the law was not retroactive, death-row inmates who chose the firing squad before February 2004 are still to be executed in that manner.
In 2022, two Republican state lawmakers sought to abolish the death penalty in Utah, but the bill failed to advance out of a House committee.
Utah prosecutors are pursuing the death penalty less frequently. There are only two active capital cases in the state, both involving men accused of killing police officers.
Executions in Utah
Convicted killer Ralph Menzies, who has dementia, was scheduled to die by firing squad on Sept. 5. But the Utah Supreme Court vacated his death warrant, ruling that the district court erred by not allowing him a new competency hearing.
Utah was the first state to execute someone after the United States reinstated capital punishment in 1976. A firing squad shot convicted killer Gary Gilmore on Jan. 17, 1977 at the Utah State Prison.
Since then, the state has executed seven men; the last one was Taberon Honie on Aug. 8, 2024. There are currently four men on death row in the state. The average length of stay on death row is about 34 years.
Utah is one of only three states to have ever carried out executions by firing squad and one of only two to do so after the moratorium on capital punishment ended, the other being South Carolina.
If you squint, the Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective, strategically located on the 900 South bike corridor in Salt Lake City, looks like any other successful bike shop: sales floor packed with a large variety of bikes and plenty of customers milling about; repair shop full of techs working on derailleurs and cranks; parts section with everything from pedals to forks to chains to wheels.
But look closer and you realize this is no ordinary bike shop. Because nothing in here is new.
Everything is donated. The bikes and the gear, every bit of it, used to belong to someone else. Last year, the Bicycle Collective collected 5,379 donated bikes. That’s over 100 bikes on average a week. Once the bikes are refurbished, they go on sale for a significantly reduced price, or they’re given away — to refugees, homeless people, inmates just getting out of jail, people coming out of substance abuse treatment, families with less than moderate income, anyone in genuine need where a bicycle could help improve their circumstances.
This entire operation is a tribute to what can happen when you mix good-hearted people with a good cause and good leadership.
“It’s a very satisfying and gratifying place to work,” says Donna McAleer, the collective’s executive director. “None of this happens without contributions from many, many people. That is the ecosystem here.”
Donna McAleer, executive director of the Bike Collective, poses for photos outside the business in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
Donna doesn’t say so, but the Bicycle Collective’s exponential growth has come in the 6½ years since she arrived as executive director.
For years, the collective was just getting by in a rented space on State Street. Then the board of directors did two things that paved the way for a brighter future:
First, they bought some land on 900 South so they could own their own building and better control their circumstances.
Second, they hired Donna. It was her responsibility to raise the money to construct the building and get the organization in a financially stable position.
Donna McAleer, executive director of the Bike Collective, talks with mechanic Thomas Kennedy McDonagh in the pro shop at the business in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
It was a big ask, but Donna has never been one to shy away from a challenge. This is a person who, shortly after moving to Utah, decided to try out for the Olympic women’s bobsled team after one run down the track; and who, even though a Democrat hadn’t come close to winning in 32 years, ran against former nine-time Rep. Rob Bishop in the heavily-Republican 1st Congressional District — twice.
She nearly made the Olympic team, finishing fourth in the U.S. trials for the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Games, and she won the Democratic Party’s congressional primaries in both 2012 and 2014 before losing to Bishop in the general election.
Haley Fries works on fixing her tire in the workshop at the Bicycle Collective in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News
“Like Wayne Gretzky said, ‘You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take,’” says Donna. “Both those experiences reinforced my desire of wanting to have an impact in the community.”
She was working as an executive for another company in 2018 when she saw the posting for a new director at the Bicycle Collective.
Being involved in a nonprofit again — she’d earlier headed a health care charity in Park City — appealed to her. She decided to apply.
Bike forks sit on the sales floor at the Bike Collective in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
You can imagine the look on the board members’ faces when they saw Donna’s resume: graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, where she was on the tennis and ski teams and graduated in organizational dynamics and leadership; first lieutenant in the U.S. Army; MBA from the University of Virginia; previous experience as CEO of a health care nonprofit … and former bobsled athlete and two-time major party congressional candidate.
Anyway, she got the job.
A patron returns a bicycle after taking it for a test drive at the Bicycle Collective in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News
It took five years to secure the funding to complete what is officially the “Kahlert Community Bicycle Resource Center” (thanks to a generous $1 million donation from the Kahlert Foundation) located at 325 W. 900 South in Salt Lake City. The grand opening was held in May 2024. That same year, Donna was named CEO of the Year by Utah Business Magazine.
Donna’s affection for the 19,000-square-foot facility is obvious when she conducts an impromptu tour. She shows off the showroom floor, where ready-to-ride commuter specials are priced at around $350. She shows off the vintage section, where collectors can purchase classic bicycles that have been donated to the cause. She shows off the community bike shop, where do-it-yourselfers can rent bench time and work on their own bikes. She shows off the room where volunteers conduct free bike repair classes in the evening.
A tool bench sits in the pro shop at the Bike Collective in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
She stops to make a point when she gets to the bin where they sell used bicycle tubes.
“Used tubes are our most frequently purchased product,” she says. “We sell them for a dollar. And when you see somebody literally taking out every penny they have to buy a tube, it’s very reflective — you realize there’s a really high need in this community.”
Every day, as bicycles roll in and roll right back out, the Bicycle Collective is helping fill part of that need by giving people the mobility to go places. To donate, shop or volunteer, go to bicyclecollective.org.
Xander Knecht purchases a refurbished bicycle at the Bicycle Collective in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News
WASHINGTON CITY, Utah — Charlie Kirk’s suspected killer, Tyler James Robinson, is currently being held in the Utah County Jail, but he grew up here, in the southwest corner of the state.
A town of just over 37,000 people a four-hour drive south of Salt Lake City, Washington City is situated in the middle of the dramatic red rocks of southern Utah, about 30 minutes away from Zion National Park. It’s full of well laid-out stucco homes, many of them recently built, with American flags blowing gently from their porches.
The family home of Tyler Robinson, who is the suspect in the Utah Valley University killing of Charlie Kirk, is pictured in Washington, Utah, on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025. Kirk was a conservative activist and the founder and president of Turning Point USA. The house is blue and in the lower left of the photo. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
People in Robinson’s neighborhood and those he grew up with expressed shock and grief to the Deseret News, reacting to the news just hours after Robinson was identified by authorities on Friday morning.
Outside his parents’ home in Washington City, law enforcement officers blocked off the street with vehicles.
Siblings Victoria and Colby Cannon live in the area and came to see the house, after seeing police cars and hordes of journalists in the area. Both Victoria and Colby were big fans of Charlie Kirk and were shocked when they realized the suspected shooter was from nearby.
Another woman standing on her front lawn only a few doors down from the Robinsons’ had a reporter park in front of her driveway. She expressed sympathy for the family and wished they were given more space.
Members of the media work near the family home of Tyler Robinson, who is the suspect in the Utah Valley University killing of Charlie Kirk, in Washington, Utah, on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025. Kirk was a conservative activist and the founder and president of Turning Point USA. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
A prominent conservative activist and organizer, Kirk was shot and killed during a “Prove Me Wrong” debate at Utah Valley University on Wednesday around noon. Just a few hours later he was pronounced dead at Timpanogos Regional Hospital.
Robinson was apprehended at 10 p.m. on Thursday night, after a statewide manhunt was carried out. Local, state and federal law enforcement officers combed through video, tips and forensic evidence as they searched for Kirk’s killer.
Robinson is believed to have climbed to the roof of the Losee Center, a building next to the grassy amphitheater at UVU where Kirk was interacting with 3,000 students and visitors.
Video and images released of the shooter were recognized by members of his family, who were praised by Utah Gov. Spencer Cox for being willing to turn him in.
These two mugshots released by the FBI show Tyler Robinson. | FBI
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Investigators also spoke to Robinson’s roommate, who lived with him at an apartment in St. George and has not been identified.
According to Cox, the roommate said Robinson communicated with him on Discord, a social media platform that is popular with young gamers.
Cox said the roommate told investigators Robinson said he had left a gun wrapped in a towel in a wooded area next to the college campus.
The bullet casings and bullets in the gun were engraved with anti-fascist messages, Cox said, including, “Hey, Fascist! Catch!” and another that said “If you read this, you are gay, lmao,” among others.
Department of Public Safety forensics workers work at the apartment of Tyler Robinson, who is the suspect in the Utah Valley University killing of Charlie Kirk, in St. George on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025. Kirk was a conservative activist and the founder and president of Turning Point USA. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
A fellow Boy Scout
Tate Conrad, also from Washington City, grew up with Robinson, and is enrolled in the same college program at Dixie Technical College in St. George. He is worried about Robinson’s family and the hate they are getting online.
Conrad is a year younger than Robinson; they met in the same Boy Scout troop in middle school.
Conrad started an electrical apprenticeship program at Dixie Tech this fall, where Robinson is in his third year.
As a kid, Conrad said Robinson was “quiet, obviously, but he was a really nice kid. He was always genuine. He wasn’t a loner — he’d be by himself, but if you reached out to him, he’d just be there, and he’d join the conversation.”
Conrad said Robinson fit in with the other Boy Scouts in their troop. “He was friends with all of us. Nobody disliked him. Nobody hated him. He was a good kid,” he said.
They both also attended Pine View High School in St. George.
When Conrad saw Robinson at Dixie Tech last week, he said, “He looked totally the same. Same old Tyler.”
Robinson attended Utah State University for one semester in 2021, after receiving the presidential scholarship, worth $32,000.
He was also exceptionally bright, scoring a 34 out of 36 on the ACT college aptitude test, according to a post from his mom on Facebook.
It isn’t clear why he left USU.
During a press conference Friday morning, Cox said a family member told law enforcement about a conversation at a family gathering prior to Sept. 10, where Robinson mentioned Kirk was coming to UVU.
The family member said that Robinson had become more political in recent years, Cox said.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox speaks during a press conference while joined by FBI Director Kash Patel and other local and federal law enforcement and government officials in the Pope Science Building on the campus of Utah Valley University in Orem on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
During a conversation at the gathering, Robinson mentioned Kirk’s viewpoints, and said Kirk “was full of hate and spreading hate,” Cox said.
The Guardian reported that a high school friend of Robinson’s, who asked to remain anonymous, said Robinson was “pretty left on everything” and was “the only member of his family that was really leftist.” The friend said the other members of Robinson’s family were Republicans.
The friend told the Guardian, “I knew he (Robinson) had strong political views, but I never thought it would even go near that far.”
According to state records, Robinson is a registered voter in the state of Utah but is not affiliated with a political party and apparently hasn’t voted in the last two election cycles.
What was it like to find out that Tyler Robinson is Kirk’s suspected killer?
Tate Conrad, who grew up going to Boy Scouts with Tyler Robinson, the suspected killer of Charlie Kirk, poses for a portrait outside of his home in Washington on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025. Kirk was a conservative activist and the founder and president of Turning Point USA. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
“It was shocking, honestly,” Conrad said, when asked how he reacted to the news of Robinson’s arrest. “I didn’t know he was a person capable of something so violent. And it’s hard to digest, because I love Charlie Kirk, and he was an awesome figure.”
Kirk was one of Conrad’s idols, he’s been listening to him for a year. “Charlie Kirk was somebody who stood for what he believed in. He loved God. And he was just trying to have peaceful interactions with the world,” Conrad said.
Though Conrad has lost family members and friends close to him before, losing Kirk was different. It felt “like a piece of me was gone,” Conrad said. “It feels like we lost a light, a beacon for hope, because he helped a lot of people my age who were confused and wanted somebody they could talk to.”
Kirk displayed patience, Conrad said. “That man was a saint. You could see people yelling and screaming at him, and he’d just be sitting there with a smile on his face, having the best time of his life.”
Robinson’s 11-year-old neighbor reacts to news
Standing next to his father Cory and little brother Beckham near Robinson’s apartment in St. George, Aiden Bartley, 11, recalled talking to Robinson and being surprised and confused after finding out that a man he had met is Charlie Kirk’s suspected killer.
Aiden Bartley, 11, takes in the scene around him and continues to react to the news that his neighbor Tyler Robinson is the suspected killer of Charlie Kirk, in St. George on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025. Robinson bought chocolates from Bartley for Bartley’s school fundraiser in the past. Kirk was a conservative activist and the founder and president of Turning Point USA. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
In March, Aiden knocked on every single door in his neighborhood, selling chocolate bars for a school fundraiser.
“He was really nice,” Aiden said, adding, “He bought, like, three chocolate bars. One was wafer.”
Aiden said the other kids in his class are really sad about Kirk’s death as well.
Cory Bartley had been following Charlie Kirk for the past five or six years. He was shocked to find out that Robinson lived just a couple doors away. “Small world,” he said. “It’s so crazy.”
The Bartleys live near Robinson’s apartment in St. George, where he had at least one roommate.
In Washington City, Robinson’s father recognized him from the images released by law enforcement officials and told his son to turn himself in. At first he resisted, according to the Associated Press, but then he changed his mind.
Robinson was arrested for aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury and obstruction of justice.
The apartment of Tyler Robinson, who is the suspect in the Utah Valley University killing of Charlie Kirk, is pictured in St. George on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025. Kirk was a conservative activist and the founder and president of Turning Point USA. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
The nation’s spotlight shined on Utah this week when it became the site of one of the most public political assassinations in U.S. history.
On Wednesday, Charlie Kirk, a well-known conservative youth organizer, was shot to death in front of a crowd of 3,000 at Utah Valley University, with videos quickly circulating across the country and around the globe.
The horrific murder of Kirk, who left behind his wife, Erika, and two children under 4, embodied the spiraling political polarization that Utah Gov. Spencer Cox has used his platform to call out and condemn for the past four years.
“My whole hope is that this is a catalyst to help us find that off-ramp that we desperately need,” Cox said in an interview with the Deseret News on Friday. “And I think Utah is showing the way.”
What did Gov. Cox say about Charlie Kirk?
As chair of the National Governors Association from 2023 to 2024, Cox led a “Disagree Better” initiative modeling healthy dialogue between members of opposing political parties. If the nation did not turn down the rhetorical temperature, Cox warned, political violence would increase.
With the eyes and ears of the nation focused on him at multiple press conferences this week where he took center stage, Cox highlighted Kirk’s focus on the free exchange of ideas and forgiving enemies, while also urging Americans to avoid the “cancer” of social media, to engage in debates with respect and to “stop hating our fellow Americans.”
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox speaks during a press conference while joined by FBI Director Kash Patel and other local and federal law enforcement and government officials in the Pope Science Building on the campus of UVU in Orem on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
The 2nd-term governor, whoreceivedpraisefromacrossthepoliticalspectrum for his messages, framed the tragic episode as a “watershed” moment for the country’s political system that would determine whether the U.S. would reach “the end of a dark chapter” or start “the beginning of a darker” one.
“All eyes are on Utah. This is also an opportunity to show the country a way through this,” Cox told the Deseret News. “And that way is through kindness and service to our neighbors and building our communities, and I think honoring the things that (Kirk) stood for — which are passionate debate, free speech, a competition of ideas — that go back to the very founding of our nation.”
What is Disagree Better doing now?
On Friday, the newly formed Disagree Better nonprofit group, with Cox as its chair, made its debut by directing an event at the Utah Capitol Building to show that Utah’s response to the assassination of Kirk has the potential to help prevent future political violence.
Disagree Better executive director Marianne Viray gathered with representatives from Brigham Young University’s Wheatley Institute, and other national bridge-building initiatives like Braver Angels, the Dignity Index and Living Room Conversations, whose leadership reside in Utah.
Marianne Viray, of Disagree Better, speaks at a Utah Bridge Builders press conference where local and national leaders respond to the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, at the Utah Capitol in Salt Lake City on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News
At the press conference, which was sponsored by Mormon Women for Ethical Government, Viray announced the launch of a new website, TurnToward.us, that Disagree Better’s coalition of partners put together in response to the assassination of Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA.
“Disagree better was absolutely made to be able to respond to this moment,” Viray told the Deseret News. “This tragic event of this week in Utah has elevated this message and reaching more people than it had previously.”
The new website features one dozen resources intended to help people navigate the vitriolic political environment, including lessons on building relationships with those with whom they disagree and workshops on how to find common ground with others.
Rising acceptance of political violence
Much of the reaction to Kirk’s death on social media does not point to decreasing partisan animosity. Hundreds of posts from apparently left-leaning accounts have been found celebrating the assassination of Kirk as a perceived political enemy.
Others from the right have declared that what happened to Kirk should lead to greater aggression against their ideological foes. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump, who considered Kirk a close political ally, said on Thursday “we just have to beat the hell” out of “radical left lunatics.”
In his interview with the Deseret News, Cox called Trump’s response “very normal” and “how most people are feeling.” The alleged assassin, Tyler Robinson, a 22-year-old from Washington County, did, in fact, appear to have been motivated by “a radical left ideology” that had “engulfed” him, Cox said.
These two mugshots released by the FBI show Tyler Robinson. | FBI
But the president has also indicated his desire to deescalate the nation’s recent streak of political violence, Cox said. Cox pointed out that Trump was the first person to call him after his Friday press conference to thank him for his words and to reemphasize Kirk’s message of nonviolence
However, at least portions of the country appear to becoming less interested in the message Cox has to offer.
A FIRE poll released on Tuesday found that a record one-third of college students now say that resorting to violence to stop a campus speech is acceptable — even if only rarely.
On Thursday, a YouGov poll found an astonishing partisan disparity in response to whether individuals thought it was acceptable for a person “to be happy about the death of a public figure they oppose.”
Of the nearly 4,000 respondents, 77% of Republicans said it is “always unacceptable” to be happy about the death of a public figure they oppose, compared to just 38% of Democrats who felt the same way.
At Friday’s event, the former leader of Utah Young Republicans, Zac Wilson, and current leader of Utah Young Democrats, Jack Davis, led by example in showing their peers how to cross partisan divides.
Jack Davis, of Young Democrats, center, looks at Zac Wilson, of Young Republicans, right, at a Utah Bridge Builders press conference where local and national leaders respond to the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, at the Utah Capitol in Salt Lake City on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News
The duo, who met as BYU students, committed to get lunch together and invest in a real friendship, despite disagreeing on almost all issues, because they agreed on one important issue: ensuring that political violence does not “take root here” and erode the “fundamental right” of free expression in Utah.
A UVU student, who was a member of Braver Angels, and two BYU students, who started the “Peacemaker Project,” joined other college students at the event, saying that Wednesday’s assassination had convinced them to redouble their efforts to make campuses a place where peaceful debate can thrive.
Is Utah prepared to respond?
Each speaker at the event, including Governing Group PAC founder Becky Edwards, and Dignity Index co-founder Tami Pyfer, said Utah was uniquely position to lead the nation after tragedy struck the Beehive State.
Marianne Viray, of Disagree Better, right, embraces Byron Russell, a founding investor and board member of Redemption Bank, left, at a Utah Bridge Builders press conference where local and national leaders respond to the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, at the Utah Capitol in Salt Lake City on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News
In his remarks on Friday, Cox said he had prayed that Kirk’s murderer was not a member of the Utah community, known for its unparalleled levels of social capital, charitable giving, volunteer service and religious attendance.
“I thought it would make it easier on us, if we could just say, hey, we don’t do that here,” Cox told the nation. “But it did happen here, and it was one of us.”
The fact that Kirk’s murder at the hands of a fellow Utahn felt so personal for so many Utahns is actually evidence of how strong the perception of Utah community is, according to Paul Edwards, the director of BYU’s Wheatley Institute.
Utah is unique in preserving its sense of community into the 21st century, Edwards said, and now is a time for introspection into how the state can encourage young people to see political opponents as “a person to be engaged” instead of “an object to be eradicated.”
Patrick Mason, who holds the Leonard J. Arrington Chair of Mormon History and Culture at Utah State University, also attended the event, after joining other attendees in penning a Deseret News op-ed.
He said Utah’s unique heritage as a place settled by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints bound together by their love of faith, family and freedom is well-suited to respond to the events of Wednesday that rocked Utah communities.
People listen as Jason Preston, of We Are The People Utah, speaks at a vigil for Charlie Kirk, the CEO and co-founder of the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA who was fatally shot during Turning Point’s visit to Utah Valley University in Orem on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025, at City Center Park in Orem on Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News
“No community anywhere in the United States is immune from the forces of polarization,” Mason told the Deseret News. “The question is not immunity, but resilience. Can we actually respond to when the virus of hate … comes in to our community? Can we produce enough antibodies in order to overtake it?”
The political assassination that occurred in Orem, Utah is the sad fulfillment of what experts said was coming if the nation’s political discourse continued to worsen, Cox told the Deseret News.
According to Cox, polarization must be addressed at the individual level. It will take more than one group, or one leader to initiate a lasting shift, and concerned citizens should not wait for an indication from a certain elected official to change their behavior, Cox said.
“As we’re celebrating 250 years, I think there really is this opportunity to remind us who we are,” Cox said. “It’s certainly an opportunity for all peacemakers in this country.”
People leave candles beneath a photo of Charlie Kirk at a vigil for Charlie Kirk, the CEO and co-founder of the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA who was fatally shot during Turning Point’s visit to Utah Valley University in Orem on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025, at City Center Park in Orem on Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News
Utah Rep. Burgess Owens and fellow Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Mich., joined with a number of local stakeholders Friday to discuss how Utahns will benefit from the Working Families Tax Cut Act.
Part of the discussion, held at MACU offices in Sandy, focused on ways the legislation will benefit Utahns, including no tax on tips and no tax on overtime provisions, as well as a boost in support for school choice. Stakeholders involved in the roundtable included think tank members, members of business associations and leaders of private school systems.
According to Owens, who is Higher Education and Workforce Development Subcommittee chairman, the legislation is the largest tax cut in the history of the U.S.
“The real benefit of this bill is that it impacts everyone,” said Melva Sine, the CEO and president of the Utah Restaurant Association.
“It gives us all more discretionary income so that we can enjoy the services, whether it’s a private school, whether it’s going out and enjoying your favorite restaurant more often, whatever that might be, this provides discretionary income for us all to enjoy using the services and the things that are available in our communities,” she added.
Rep. Burgess Owens, R-Utah, visits the Utah State Correctional Facility in Salt Lake City on Monday, Aug. 4, 2025. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
What Rep. Burgess Owens said about the Working Families Tax Cut Act
“This act, which was passed recently, is a true miracle,” Owens said. “We’re recognizing the folks who made our country what it is. It’s our working class, middle class. It’s those who go out every single day, and they dream big, and all they want is just an opportunity to not only work hard, but hold on to what they have.”
Pointing out that this is the largest tax cut in the country’s history, Owens said it will amount to $5 trillion over the next 10 years and is equal to an average of 15% tax cuts for Americans.
The congressman also highlighted the new investment accounts for newborns included in the legislation, sharing how this will help contribute to fiscal responsibility education.
Owens also said that this legislation is Congress recognizing that what they do is “truly at the front edge of our country’s freedom, our culture, our ability to educate our kids, ability to let them go out and have a good career, build their families, dream big, and a place of safety.”
How no tax on tips will impact Utahns
During the roundtable, Owens asked Sine to share how the no tax on tips provision will affect Utahns, specifically restaurant workers.
Server Brennan Feller prepares curbside pickup orders at Market Street Grill in Cottonwood Heights on Tuesday, April 28, 2020. | Steve Griffin, Deseret News
Sine shared that during the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of restaurant workers in Utah dropped from 111,000 to 63,000. There are now 123,000 restaurant employees in Utah, but they are still working on building that number.
“Anything that can come along that can help incentivize these people to want to work, because our industry is an industry of work, you have to love work, you have to love hard work, you have to love people, and so this bill has helped us to entertain and create more job opportunities,” Sine said.
She added that not only will this help incentivize people to join the industry, it will also help tipped employees to make more money.
Walberg, who is Education and Workforce Committee chairman, said that when he goes to restaurants, he will write on the receipt, “I love no tax on tips,” which will lead to a discussion with the waiter or waitress about the provision.
“It was more than just the money for them, it was the fact that they were appreciated to be tipped, but also they could make more. They could choose how to make more, and they wouldn’t be just the hourly employee in some of their minds. They were entrepreneurs. They were independent workers,” the congressman said.
How no tax on overtime will impact Utahns
Casey Hill, state director for the National Federation of Independent Businesses in Utah, was asked to share how the no tax on overtime provision of the bill will impact Utah’s businesses and employees.
“If you think about the individuals who are typically earning or working overtime, those are typically some of your highest-producing, hardest-working individuals, and to further incentivize them to work and to engage more, take more of their hard-earned dollars home is significant for our employers,” Hill said.
He said that 99% of the state’s employers have less than 500 employees, making Utah a “small business driven state,” meaning that “anything that impacts in a positive way small businesses will impact Utah in a significantly positive way.”
This tax relief will go directly to individuals, allowing them to reinvest that into the economy in a number of ways.
Hill also pointed out that many people talked about how giving tax dollars back to citizens is a loss of revenue for the state or federal government. He said that in most cases that revenue actually goes up because spending and investing increases.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox called for an end to political violence while sharing news about an apprehended suspect in the murder of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk.
“I don’t want to get too preachy, but I think it’s important that we, with eyes wide open, understand what’s happening in our country today,” Cox said Friday morning at a press conference.
“I’ve heard people say, ‘Well, why are we so invested in this?’” he said of Kirk’s assassination. “There’s political violence happening all across our country, and violence is tragic everywhere, and every life taken is a child of God who deserves our love and respect and dignity.”
Cox announced Friday that the suspect accused of killing Kirk had been apprehended and booked into Utah County Jail. He was named as 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, a resident of Washington County.
Kirk’s death and the fallout in the days since has reignited a conversation about the increase of political violence across the country. Many have pointed to the June murder of Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hoffman, a Democrat, and her husband, as well as the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump while on the campaign trail last year.
While the investigation is still in its early stages and the suspect’s motive remains largely unknown to the public, discourse online has highlighted partisan differences in the reaction to Kirk’s death.
FBI Director Kash Patel, center, arrives at the scene of the shooting death of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University in Orem on Sept. 11, 2025. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
Cox’s message to end political violence, change the course of history
“This is certainly about the tragic death … political assassination of Charlie Kirk, but it is also much bigger than an attack on an individual. It is an attack on all of us. It is an attack on the American experiment. It is an attack on our ideals,” Cox said. “This cuts to the very foundation of who we are, of who we have been and who we could be in better times.”
Cox noted that Kirk often championed freedom of expression, debating people who disagreed with him. By Kirk being killed, freedom of expression across the country will become more difficult and others will feel discouraged about sharing their ideas and speaking freely, he said.
“We will never be able to solve all the other problems, including the violence problems that people are worried about, if we can’t have a clash of ideas safely and securely … especially those ideas with which you disagree,” Cox said. “That is why this matters so much.”
Cox had a message for the young people of Utah and across the country, particularly because Kirk had amassed such a following among the younger generation and spent his career and organization focused on young voters.
Andrew Parry, left, and his fiancee, Anja Albrecht, right, hold candles at a vigil for Charlie Kirk, the CEO and co-founder of the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA who was fatally shot during Turning Point’s visit to Utah Valley University in Orem on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025, at City Center Park in Orem on Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News
“To my young friends out there, you are inheriting a country where politics feels like rage. It feels like rage is the only option,” he said, highlighting Kirk’s message of human connection. “But through those words, we have a reminder that we can choose a different path.”
“Your generation has an opportunity to build a culture that is very different than what we are suffering through right now. Not by pretending differences don’t matter, but by embracing our differences and having those hard conversations,” Cox continued.
Cox said there is one person responsible for what happened to Kirk and that person is in custody and soon will be charged and held accountable.
“And yet, all of us have an opportunity right now to do something different,” he said.
The governor highlighted the vigils and community togetherness that Utahns showed in the days since the shooting.
“We can return hate with hate. And that’s the problem with political violence, is it metastasizes, because we can always point the finger at the other side,” he said. “And at some point, we have to find an off-ramp or it’s going to get much, much worse.”
Cox called on Americans, no matter their political beliefs or partisan divide, to choose to change the course of history and the rise of political violence in the United States.
“These are choices that we can make. History will dictate if this is a turning point for our country, but every single one of us gets to choose right now if this is a turning point for us,” Cox said.
Law enforcement vehicles are posted at the entrance of Utah Valley University in Orem following the shooting of conservative activist and Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News
Other leaders weigh in
Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, one of the largest youth conservative activist organizations in the country, was a staunch supporter of Trump’s. He became a controversial figure when touring the college campuses to debate ideas with students, which could sometimes become heated and have often gone viral online. Kirk was at Utah Valley University on Wednesday to kick off his “American Comeback Tour,” where he hosted his “Prove Me Wrong” debate session.
In a video message on Wednesday evening after confirming Kirk’s death, Trump called on the American public and the media to “confront the fact that violence and murder” over political disagreements is wrong. He said that the “radical left” compared Kirk to a Nazi and claimed that rhetoric was “directly responsible” for the “terrorism” the country sees today.
Other political leaders, like former President Joe Biden, former President Barack Obama and former Vice President Kamala Harris, condemned the political violence and said it has no place in the United States.
People hold lights up to grieve at a vigil for Charlie Kirk, the CEO and co-founder of the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA who was fatally shot during Turning Point’s visit to Utah Valley University in Orem on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025, at City Center Park in Orem on Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News
Charlie Kirk asked me the first question when we sat down for an interview three weeks ago: “How are you doing today?”
The strange thing was, he actually seemed to want to know the answer.
I expected the confidence he radiated as one of the country’s most visible conservative activists. What surprised me was the warmth.
Speaking on the set of his show at Turning Point USA’s Phoenix headquarters, Kirk took breaks to joke with his Gen Z employees and laughed about having to ride a horse as a co-host of “Fox & Friends.”
The interview revealed that his career as a viral sensation on social media had not severed his ties to the spiritual foundations he aimed to promote among the next generation of Republican voters.
Charlie Kirk, Turning Point USA founder and president, answers interview questions on the set of The Charlie Kirk Show at Turning Point headquarters in Phoenix, Ariz., on Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
Behind the no-apologies approach to political debates, I found a healthy dose of introspection. Beneath the bold beliefs on hot-button issues, a humble commitment to daily religious practice.
On Wednesday, an assassin’s bullet cut Kirk’s life short at the age of 31. He was midway through his response to a student’s question at a campus event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah.
The horrific murder took Kirk from his wife, Erika, and their two children — a 3-year-old daughter and a 1-year-old son.
Law enforcement sets up a barricade after Charlie Kirk was shot during Turning Point USA’s visit to Utah Valley University in Orem on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News
As of Wednesday night, the shooter had not been apprehended.
Immediately, the tragedy prompted statements of horror and grief from politicians and pundits across the political spectrum.
Prominent personalities decried the increase of political violence and condemned the use of demonizing rhetoric of political opponents.
But Kirk’s death, and much of the reaction to it, represented a fundamental misunderstanding.
His mission, he said, was not to provoke the other side for internet attention. It was to persuade young people to give “traditional” views a moment of their time.
If he could, Kirk would have chosen to discuss faith and family for our entire interaction. “I could talk about religion all day long,” he said.
On his wall hung a nearly 300-year-old sermon that had sparked America’s First Great Awakening. On his desk sat a recently played-with stuffed animal and action figure beside his white and gold Trump “47” hat.
Charlie Kirk, Turning Point USA founder and president, shows a painting from the early 1800s of the signing of the Declaration of Independence that is hanging on the set of “The Charlie Kirk Show” at Turning Point headquarters in Phoenix, Ariz., on Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025. The painting was gifted to him. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
What animated Kirk more than my questions about his vision for Turning Point and the future of MAGA, were his digressions about his worship routine as an evangelical Christian.
Kirk prioritized daily scripture study, a 10-minute “examination of the conscience” before bed and a phone-free Sabbath from nightfall on Friday to sunset on Saturday.
After penning “The MAGA Doctrine,” “The College Scam” and “Right Wing Revolution,” Kirk told me his next book was going to focus on how his followers could set aside one day out of every seven to honor God.
Kirk was clear: These kinds of “anchoring tools” are essential for students and celebrities alike to stay moored in a rapidly changing world and degrading political environment.
“The struggle is that when you’re involved in this kind of warfare and this kind of combat, do you have the spiritual technology to be able to withhold that?” Kirk said.
For many of Kirk’s admirers, including the 850,000 members of Turning Point’s 2,000 college and high school chapters, his legacy won’t be “owning the libs.”
Noah Druecker, Turning Point USA College Field Program data analytics administrator, works at Turning Point headquarters in Phoenix, Ariz., on Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
It will be making conservatism cool again — not just by winning elections, but by influencing behaviors.
Whole sections of his most recent book are devoted to helping young men and women make decisions in their 20s that lead to healthy and happy lifestyles and family relationships.
As someone who believed politics was downstream from culture, Kirk said a political movement was detrimental if it didn’t create and sustain a community based on the values that enable “human flourishing for all people.”
The antithesis to this, Kirk insisted, were calls for ideological radicalism and violent uprisings, which he feared were becoming more common themes among his target demographic.
“My job every single day is actively trying to stop a revolution,” Kirk told me. “This is where you have to try to point them towards ultimate purposes and towards getting back to the church, getting back to faith, getting married, having children.”
“That is the type of conservatism that I represent, and I’m trying to paint a picture of virtue of lifting people up, not just staying angry.”
Charlie Kirk, Turning Point USA founder and president, answers interview questions on the set of The Charlie Kirk Show at Turning Point headquarters in Phoenix, Ariz., on Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
The metrics that mattered most to Kirk’s sense of success weren’t online — though his content was viewed 15 billion times in 2024 alone.
His objective was harder to measure: helping young people “towards a more virtuous, deeper existence, or better life, more meaningful life.”
If this occurred, Kirk said America’s youth would spend less time on social media, his videos would get fewer views, politics would become less extreme, and the country would turn to point in a better direction.
Kirk was open about his shortcomings. He told me that “almost every day” he fell short of the Christian standard of declaring truth without fear, but with love and grace.
When asked about his impact, Kirk redirected me to his unique opportunity to listen to students for 100 hours a semester at “Prove Me Wrong Events” and to read every single listener email.
As he got older, Kirk said his future role as founder of Turning Point USA could change. But one thing would not: his legacy of reaching out directly to America’s youth, he told me, “will never stop.”
Members of the community gather at the Capitol in Salt Lake City to honor Charlie Kirk after he was shot at an event at Utah Valley University and later died at a local hospital on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
On a typical early Friday afternoon, Highland High School senior Carmen LeCluyse would still be in class — wrapping up her academic week and maybe thinking about some weekend R&R.
But for LeCluyse and scores of her Highland classmates — along with legions of youth across the nation — these are not typical days.
LeCluyse and approximately 150 other Highland High students staged a walkout Friday to call for increased gun safety at schools.
Students participate in a nationwide “walkout” to demand stronger gun laws at Highland High School in Salt Lake City on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News
After gathering outside the school entrance, the teen activists marched to neighboring Sugar House Park to stage their rally. More than a dozen students seized opportunities to climb atop a park bench and, with bullhorn in hand, demand increased protection from gun violence in their schools.
Several others carried signs reading: “We deserve more than thoughts & prayers,” “Will I be next?” and “Stop gun violence.”
Friday’s Highland High student rally was one of many student walkouts happening simultaneously across the country as part of a nationwide effort organized by the gun violence prevention movement Students Demand Action.
Friday’s actions were prompted, in part, by last week’s Minnesota school shooting.
The attention-grabbing school walkouts are vital because gun violence in schools affects “literally everyone,” said LeCluyse, who helped organize the Highland High rally.
“I don’t know a single person who hasn’t been in a lockdown during their life,” she told the Deseret News while leading the student march to the park.
Students participate in a nationwide “walkout” to demand stronger gun laws at Highland High School in Salt Lake City on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News
“It’s something that affects every aspect of our daily lives. And I think following the school shooting last week, it’s just really important to tell people that we’ve had enough of this.
“This isn’t the future that we want to grow up in. We deserve better.”
LeCluyse added she learned about the nationwide Students Demand Action effort just a few days ago. So organizing Friday’s rally “has been hectic” — spreading the word via word of mouth and social media and posting flyers.
“So it’s great to see these people here — especially with how quickly we put it all together.”
While school shootings such as the recent one in Minnesota often leave people flummoxed as they search for solutions, LeCluyse countered that other countries have more aggressively regulated access to firearms, particularly assault-style weapons.
Highland High School students participate in a nationwide “walkout” to demand stronger gun laws at Sugar House Park in Salt Lake City on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News
“I think we see those solutions in other countries … but do we actually have the commitment to put them in place here and protect our kids?”
After congregating on the north end of Sugar House Park, a long line of student protesters took turns standing atop a park bench, issuing their own personal calls to action.
“We need more mental health (resources) in our schools, but we’re being ignored,” said one student. “We need to use our voices and stand up for what is right. We do not deserve to die in a place where we’re supposed to be protected.”
Said another female student: “We should not be threatened with death every day in school.”
“Every day I worry that I will go to school and not come back,” added another teen. “I worry that I’m not going to see my friends again.
“I should be stressed about tests — so why do I have to worry about dying?”
A young man spoke of recent policies in Wyoming loosening gun regulations on school grounds.
“Politicians,” he said, “are not doing anything to stop this.”
Highland High senior Macie Robbins said she joined Friday’s walkout out of concern for her younger friends and relatives who will be attending school for several more years.
“They don’t deserve to have to fear going to class.”
The threat of school gun violence has been Robbins’ reality throughout her K-12 school years. “Even when I was in kindergarten, we were doing drills on active shooters entering the school,” she said.
“Even though they were drills, we were still taught, at a young age, that we need to hide in cubbies or hide under our desks or hide in corners and lock all the doors in the schools.”
Robbins added she hopes more can be done to acknowledge and address mental health issues, especially for young people — even while lessening access to firearms.
Nationwide school walkouts
Highland High School junior Shila Sudbury speaks to a group of her classmates as students nationwide participated in a “walkout” to demand stronger gun laws in Salt Lake City on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News
Highland High School students participate in a nationwide “walkout” to demand stronger gun laws at Sugar House Park in Salt Lake City on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News
Highland High School student Scarlet Van Slooten participates in a nationwide “walkout” to demand stronger gun laws in Salt Lake City on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News
Highland High School students participate in a nationwide “walkout” to demand stronger gun laws in Salt Lake City on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News
Students participate in a nationwide “walkout” to demand stronger gun laws at Highland High School in Salt Lake City on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News
Students participate in a nationwide “walkout” to demand stronger gun laws at Highland High School in Salt Lake City on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News
The Highland High School rally was one of more than 250 coordinated school walkouts Friday across the country, according to Students Demand Action.
“We shouldn’t have to stage national protests just to be heard, but that’s exactly what we did — more than 250 times over — across the country today,” said Timberlyn Mazeikis, a gun violence survivor from the school shooting at Michigan State University in 2023 and Students Demand Action volunteer from Minnesota.
“Thoughts and prayers won’t save us. Our generation deserves to grow up and live without the fear of bullets flying through our hallways. We’re demanding state and federal lawmakers ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines now.”
Angela Ferrell-Zabala, executive director of Moms Demand Action, said Friday’s walkouts across the country are youth exercises in courage.
Roadblock sat in the entryway of the store, basking in the early afternoon sun streaming in through the glass door, perking his head up each time a new person walked in through the door.
The 95-pound Sulcata tortoise has been a staple of Rockstar Pets in Tooele for over a decade, and this week, the store and the community will be celebrating his 25th birthday.
Rockstar Pets is a local pet store owned by Sarah and Jed Jones, who bought the establishment in November 2024.
On Wednesday, the owners are holding a birthday party for Roadblock, who has had a hard life and hasn’t always been treated well or cared for in the past.
Tina Bettinson, center, feeds Roadblock the tortoise as her husband Mike, right, and Rockstar Pets owner Jed Jones, left, look on at Rockstar Pets in Tooele on Monday, Aug. 25, 2025. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
Roadblock was surrendered to the store around 18 years ago, and he has become an iconic part of the store.
“Then everyone just fell in love with Roadblock,” Sarah said. “He’s just become part of the store and part of the community.”
Jed shared that some people who are frequent customers will go to find Roadblock as soon as they walk into the store, and new customers always have varying reactions to seeing the tortoise moseying around the store — some of them are excited and others are a little scared.
Roadblock the tortoise lays on the floor near the entrance at Rockstar Pets in Tooele on Monday, Aug. 25, 2025. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
“I would say that the majority of people outside of a zoo have never seen a tortoise that large. So it’s very strange for people,” Sarah said.
Roadblock’s 25th birthday party
This is not the first time Roadblock has had a birthday party. Jed shared that the previous owners threw parties for him in the past — sometimes small ones, but sometimes they were bigger.
“But we figured 25 is a big, a quarter-century milestone,” Jed said when talking about why they decided to throw the party.
“25 years in the slow lane,” Sarah said.
As new owners who don’t live in Tooele, Sarah and Jed shared that they hope the party can help them build trust with the community.
“We’re just trying to get the community to know that we’re here, and trying to establish more of a family-friendly environment,” Sarah said.
Roadblock wanders through the aisles of Rockstar Pets in Tooele on Monday, Aug. 25, 2025. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
The party on Wednesday will take place inside Rockstar Pets, from 4:30 to 7 p.m. MDT. During the party, everything in the store will be 25% off.
There will also be a variety of activities, such as a lettuce toss, a scavenger hunt, coloring pages and face painting.
Rockstar Pets is asking the community to donate to Switchpoint Tooele, the local homeless shelter, in lieu of bringing gifts for Roadblock.
“We know that people love Roadblock, and he doesn’t need anything, he’s a pretty simple guy, and he hasn’t had his best life. So it’d be nice to help other people. We want to get the community involved with helping more,” Sarah said.
Roadblock is well known in the community
Sarah and Jed said they believe having Roadblock in the store makes the place more of a destination.
“There’s a lot of people that have come in, and bring kids in, just to see Roadblock,” Sarah said.
Roadblock poses for a photo after snacking on some carrots for lunch at Rockstar Pets in Tooele on Monday, Aug. 25, 2025. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
When the previous owner first decided to sell, they told customers that Roadblock was going to stay at the store “because Roadblock belongs to the community,” Sarah added.
The Joneses said that when they first started looking into buying Roadblock, they thought the tortoise made the store more fun and would help bring people in. There were a lot of new things they had to learn when they bought the store, and how to take care of Roadblock was one of those things.
One customer recently came into the store with her young daughter and told Sarah that she remembers coming in and seeing Roadblock when she was young.
Roadblock has his own personality and enjoys being around people, even recognizing and remembering some customers and store employees. Those working at the store shared that they often hear the sound of something falling over and know that Roadblock had once again knocked down a wet floor sign.
“There’s a few store employees that like really get frustrated with him being in the way, and it’s like he knows that, and so he is like a sibling that just purposely torments them,” Sarah said.
The Joneses admitted that they never dreamed of owning a pet store, but Jed had always wanted to be a business owner and Sarah had always liked animals and had wanted to be a veterinarian when she was younger.
Roadblock isn’t the store’s only pet
Roadblock isn’t the only animal that wanders freely around the store — they also have a cat named Lestat, who has also been around since before the Joneses acquired the store.
Store cat Lestat lays on a pile of boxes as he watches the fish swim in their aquariums at Rockstar Pets in Tooele on Monday, Aug. 25, 2025. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
The Joneses said that Lestat and Roadblock tend to annoy one another, with Sarah describing them as “frenemies.”
Another staple of Rockstar Pets is Beastie, an iguana who once was burned by lamps in her enclosure and still has scarring across her back.
Beastie snacks on some berries and kale in her enclosure at Rockstar Pets in Tooele on Monday, Aug. 25, 2025. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
Building Roadblock’s new habitat
Roadblock lives at the store and currently has a large kennel placed at the back of the store.
Jed said that when they first saw the kennel, they thought, “Oh, that’s not a good way to live.”
They are now working on making a new habitat for Roadblock in one of the store’s backrooms. They were hoping to have it done sooner, but in April, Roadblock had to have surgery, so that set them back in their plans for putting together the habitat.
Rockstar Pets owner Jed Jones works on Roadblock’s new enclosure at Rockstar Pets in Tooele on Monday, Aug. 25, 2025. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
“This back room is going to have plants and lighting and substrate on the floor for him to be able to dig, but he’ll also be able to get out when he wants to, and because he does love to roam the store,” Sarah said.
The store’s owners are also planning on making a new habitat for Beastie the iguana that will be placed near Roadblock’s new home.
Rockstar Pets employee Stephen Little brushes Roadblock’s shell as Roadblock wanders around the store at Rockstar Pets in Tooele on Monday, Aug. 25, 2025. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
Roadblock wanders through the aisles of Rockstar Pets in Tooele on Monday, Aug. 25, 2025. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
Rockstar Pets owner Jed Jones measures the store’s pet iguana, Beastie, as employee Stephen Little holds her at Rockstar Pets in Tooele on Monday, Aug. 25, 2025. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
Beastie snacks on some berries and kale in her enclosure at Rockstar Pets in Tooele on Monday, Aug. 25, 2025. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
Rockstar Pets employee Stephen Little holds Beastie the iguana at Rockstar Pets in Tooele on Monday, Aug. 25, 2025. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
Roadblock snacks on a slice of carrot as he wanders around Rockstar Pets in Tooele on Monday, Aug. 25, 2025. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
Rockstar Pets owner Jed Jones works on Roadblock’s new enclosure as his wife and Rockstar Pets co-owner Sarah Jones props open the door for Roadblock at Rockstar Pets in Tooele on Monday, Aug. 25, 2025. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
Rockstar Pets owner Sarah Jones gestures as she talks about renovation plans for the room in the back of the store that is being turned into a tortoise habitat for Roadblock at Rockstar Pets in Tooele on Monday, Aug. 25, 2025. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
Rockstar Pets owner Jed Jones works on Roadblock’s new enclosure at Rockstar Pets in Tooele on Monday, Aug. 25, 2025. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
Roadblock the tortoise is fed a carrot by Tina Bettinson at Rockstar Pets in Tooele on Monday, Aug. 25, 2025. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
Bits of carrot stick to Roadblock’s face as he rests after having a snack at Rockstar Pets in Tooele on Monday, Aug. 25, 2025. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News
