Updated September 12, 2025 at 5:03 AM EDT
Conservative content creator Isabel Brown, 28, held back tears as she recorded a video for her followers about the death of Charlie Kirk. Staring into the camera, she called the assassination of the far-right activist and organizer on Wednesday "the hardest day of my life."
"Over the coming hours, days, weeks, months and years, we all will face the insurmountable, painful question that I'm asking myself repeatedly today," she said in the Thursday video. "What the hell do we do now? Where do we go from here?"
Brown is one of countless young conservatives around the country who have expressed their shock and grief following Kirk's murder on the campus of Utah Valley University at the age of 31.
In her video, Brown described Kirk as both a mentor and friend for the past eight years. Now, as she and other supporters mourn his loss, they are also beginning to confront the question of how to sustain the movement that he built.
"I can't think of anything that would fill his heart and make him prouder than the generation that he inspired to pick up the torch and to carry it forward in whatever way we could," Brown said.
For young conservatives like Brown, Kirk was more than just a far-right activist and online personality who repeatedly caught the ire of the left. He was the creator of a massive youth movement, amassing a generation of followers who came to political consciousness alongside the rise of President Trump.
Kirk co-founded Turning Point USA in 2012 at the age of 18 as a space to counter the liberal-leaning organizations that dominated many university campuses. Since its launch, the organization has become a force in GOP politics, boasting more than 800 college chapters. The group has also since created a slew of connected political groups and reported an annual revenue of roughly $100 million in 2024.
A split legacy
For his critics on the left — of which there were many — Kirk's brand of MAGA conservatism was often decried as deeply offensive. He spread falsehoods and conspiracy theories about vaccines and the results of the 2020 presidential election. He's on record arguing that there should be no exceptions for abortion -- even in cases of rape -- and recently, he said he was uncomfortable with Muslim mayors leading big cities like London and New York.
His supporters see a different legacy, with some arguing that Democratic criticism of Kirk's past comments fueled the violence that claimed his life. Many Gen Z and millennial Republicans have highlighted Kirk's role in not only bringing young people into the GOP but also encouraging emerging leaders to run for office.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., 36, proudly puts herself in that category. The two-term congresswoman credits Kirk for helping her get her start in politics. They met in 2018 when Luna was an activist. At the time, Luna had been planning to head off to medical school, but Kirk instead offered her a job working with Turning Point.
"I am in office and owe my political career to Charlie Kirk," she said in an interview on Thursday. "I wish that he was around so that he could help rise up others like me."
She urged "heartbroken" supporters to see Kirk's murder as a call to action to get more involved in political organizing. But it was a call that came amid deep grief as she recalled the horror of seeing videos of the shooting online.
"I'm just asking people to just show a little humanity," she said, while holding back tears. "I saw a lot of videos online, after I had to watch my friend bleed out, of people celebrating his death, and that should be condemned and removed from polite society.
'If Charlie could get killed, could we?'
While authorities have not yet identified a motive, some Republican leaders worry the shooting may stoke fear among young conservatives and make them wary of speaking out. That includes 33-year-old Hayden Padgett, the chairman of the Young Republican National Federation.
"It makes us wonder, well, if Charlie could get killed, could we?" he said. "We have to resist that fear."
Kirk's death is one of several recent acts of violence directed towards political figures across both parties. Roughly three months ago, a Minnesota state lawmaker and her husband were shot and killed in their home by a gunman, who authorities said had been targeting a list of 45 elected officials who were all Democrats.
Now, as Padgett looks ahead, he says he wants to use his leadership role to help rally young conservatives in the wake of Kirk's death.
"This is the time to actually push forward even stronger to come out and not get angry and lash out and do the kind of things that led to this madman killing Charlie," he added.
Some students are already trying to answer that call.
It's part of what fueled Alex Shepherd, 22, to drive five hours from his home in Boise, Idaho, to Orem, Utah.
"He was someone I looked up to because I couldn't do what he did. I don't have the patience to go and talk to so many people that I disagree with on that scale," Shepherd said. "I just loved what he did, and I love him for it."
Saige Miller contributed reporting from Orem, Utah.
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