What is Turning Point USA? Charlie Kirk’s nonprofit
BREAKING: Charlie Kirk shot at Utah campus
Charlie Kirk, a conservative commentator and organizer, was apparently shot at an event at Utah Valley University. He is currently hospitalized. The suspect is reportedly in custody.
Turning Point USA is in the news following the shooting of its CEO and co-founder Charlie Kirk at an event at a Utah college on Wednesday.
The nonprofit organization’s mission is to build a conservative grassroots activist network on high school and college campuses nationwide, per their website.
What is Turning Point USA?
FILE – Founder and executive director of Turning Point USA Charlie Kirk speaks at the opening of the Turning Point Action conference on July 15, 2023 in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
The backstory:
Turning Point USA was founded in suburban Chicago in 2012 by Charlie Kirk, then 18, with a mission to identify, educate, train, and organize students to promote the principles of fiscal responsibility, free markets and limited government, according to its website.
Kirk was speaking at a debate hosted by the organization when he was shot.
RELATED: Live Updates: Charlie Kirk shot at Utah college event
Dig deeper:
Kirk and four other members run Turning Point USA, with local chapters nationwide for people interested in joining. The organization also accepts donations.
The organization says on its website that it’s the largest and fastest-growing youth organization in the U.S.
Turning Point USA also has programs on its website, including a national field program, innovative grassroots messaging, and activist conferences.
Kirk’s zeal for confronting liberals in academia eventually won over an influential set of conservative financiers.
Despite early misgivings, Turning Point enthusiastically backed Donald Trump after he clinched the GOP nomination in 2016. Kirk served as a personal aide to Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son, during the general election campaign.
Soon, Kirk was a regular presence on cable TV, where he leaned into the culture wars and heaped praise on the then-president. Trump and his son were equally effusive and often spoke at Turning Point conferences.
The Source: Information for this story was provided by Turning Point USA’s website, with background information from The Associated Press. This story was reported from Washington, D.C.