Minnesota Republicans, some with connections to Charlie Kirk and the organization he founded, expressed shock and dismay upon learning the conservative activist was assassinated while speaking at a college campus in Utah on Wednesday.
Kirk, 31, a widely-known influencer and organizer for conservative college students across the country, was shot and killed while speaking at Utah Valley University during a stop for his “American Comeback Tour.”
President Donald Trump confirmed Kirk’s passing on Wednesday afternoon. FBI Director Kash Patel said Wednesday evening that “the subject for the horrific shooting today that took the life of Charlie Kirk is now in custody.”
“I don’t even have any words right now,” said Minnesota Sen. Julia Coleman, R-Waconia, who spent time working with Turning Point USA as a college student. “I wish I could unsee that video. Charlie Kirk gave me one of my very first jobs in politics, when he was still running the company out of his parents’ garage.
“The political violence has to stop,” Coleman continued. “Free speech has to be upheld in this nation or we cannot survive.”
Another Minnesota legislator, Rep. Elliott Engen, R-White Bear Township, who credits his start in politics to being a campus president for the Hamline University chapter of Turning Point USA, expressed his sorrow.
“Charlie Kirk inspired an entire generation of Americans to embrace the ideals and values that America was founded upon. His legacy will live on in all those who hold dear the blessings of God, Family, and Country. Please pray for his wife and two young children,” Engen wrote, inviting his followers to join him at the Minnesota Capitol at 8 p.m. for a vigil.
Charlie Kirk inspired an entire generation of Americans to embrace the ideals and values that America was founded upon.
His legacy will live on in all those who hold dear the blessings of God, Family, and Country.
Please pray for his wife and two young children. pic.twitter.com/o53GnjSqD4
— Elliott Engen (@elliottengenMN) September 10, 2025
Republican Party of Minnesota Chairman Alex Plechash called Kirk’s passing “a devastating loss for our movement and for our country.”
“America is stronger when we uphold our values without fear, and we honor Charlie’s legacy by continuing the work he so passionately carried forward,” he said.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, a Minnesota native, simply wrote: “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
Some of the state’s most prominent Democrats also condemned the shooting, including Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Gov. Tim Walz.
“An open forum for political dialogue and disagreement was upended by a horrific act of targeted violence,” Gov. Tim Walz said. “In America, we don’t settle our differences with violence or at gunpoint. I’m praying for Charlie, his family, and his young children.”
The shooting comes just 12 days before Kirk was scheduled to appear at the University of Minnesota. The school’s Turning Point USA chapter was set to host the event.
Hank Long
Hank Long is a journalism and communications professional whose writing career includes coverage of the Minnesota legislature, city and county governments and the commercial real estate industry. Hank received his undergraduate degree at the University of Minnesota, where he studied journalism, and his law degree at the University of St. Thomas. The Minnesota native lives in the Twin Cities with his wife and four children. His dream is to be around when the Vikings win the Super Bowl.
