Charlie Kirk’s Wife Forgives Husband’s Alleged Killer, Tyler Robinson

Erika Kirk, the widow of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, said Sunday that she forgives Tyler Robinson, the man accused of killing her husband.

“On the cross, our savior said, ‘Father, forgive them. For they not know what they do.’ That man. That young man. I forgive him,” Erika Kirk said at her husband’s memorial on Sunday.

Robinson has been charged with first-degree aggravated murder in the Sept. 10 fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk.

According to The Hill, Utah County Attorney General Jeff Gray said at a recent press conference that the state will seek the death penalty for Robinson.

Despite that, Erika Kirk told The New York Times that she wants Robinson’s punishment to be decided by the legal system rather than her own wishes.

“I’ve had so many people ask, ‘Do you feel anger toward this man? Like, do you want to seek the death penalty?’” Kirk said. “I’ll be honest. I told our lawyer, I want the government to decide this. I do not want that man’s blood on my ledger.”

She repeated that message during her eulogy Sunday. The 36-year-old received a lengthy standing ovation when she was called to the stage, remaining emotional throughout her remarks.

“The answer to hate is not hate,” she said. “The answer we know from the Gospel is love, and always love.”

During her speech, Kirk reflected on her relationship with her husband and the grief she experienced on the day of his murder.

She recalled seeing his body in the hospital, describing shock, horror and “a level of heartache that I didn’t even know existed.”

Even in that moment, she said she “could see the man that I love,” pointing to “one, single gray hair on the side of his head” and a faint smile on his face.

“That told me something important,” she reflected. “It revealed to me a great mercy from God in this tragedy. When I saw that, it told me, Charlie didn’t suffer.”