Charlie Kirk statue defaced with red paint; 'Jesus' crossed out, 'Satan' spray-painted over it
'God will not be mocked,' Kirk's widow warns
Prosecutors say the vandalism and defacing of a Charlie Kirk statue “will not be tolerated,” even as police say there are no updates or arrests in the investigation.
An 8-foot-tall bronze statue that was unveiled at Turning Point USA’s headquarters last week to mark the one-year anniversary of Kirk’s assassination was vandalized sometime before 8 a.m. on Sunday, according to Phoenix police.
Images and video shared on social media showed red paint covering the statue’s face and neck, the same area where the 31-year-old Kirk was shot on Sept. 10, 2025, at Utah Valley University. Red paint was also spattered across the statue’s chest.
On a nearby memorial sign, a red “X” covered Kirk’s face as well as the name of Jesus in a message which formerly read “May Charlie be received in the merciful arms of Jesus, our loving Savior.” The word “Satan” also appeared to be spray-painted across the sign.
A TPUSA post Sunday afternoon called the vandalism “diabolical” and cited one of Jesus’ most famous sayings from the New Testament: “Beyond spray painting on the neck and face, they made the intentional decision to cross out the name of Jesus on a nearby sign. ‘If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.’ John 15:18”
This morning we woke up to radical criminals vandalizing our Headquarters.
— Tyler Bowyer (@tylerbowyer) September 13, 2026
Crossing over Charlie’s face, scratching out Jesus and the Cross & spraying red paint on his neck.
This isn’t the country we want to live in.
Arizona is not Gotham. pic.twitter.com/bwCxMdnCGY
TPUSA spokesman Andrew Kolvet announced the statue was restored and the signs were replaced by Sunday evening. He later said TPUSA was “working with law enforcement and pulling video from neighboring buildings.”
Kolvet added, “We want these people arrested.”
Police are investigating the incident but as of Monday afternoon, a Phoenix PD spokeswoman told CP, “there are no updates and no arrests have been made.”
In a X post Sunday afternoon, Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said “these acts of vandalism will not be tolerated.”
Kirk’s widow and current TPUSA CEO Erika Kirk also condemned the act in a Sunday post on X in which she doubled down on her late husband’s pledge to build “two statues for every statue that they tear down.”
Kirk wrote: “They thought a bullet would silence my husband’s voice but it only made it louder. They think spray paint can obscure his legacy, but it will only spread it further. Every attempt to tear down what Charlie built makes us root deeper and work even harder.”
She also called out the vandals who crossed out the name of Jesus and warned “God will not be mocked.”
“If you think crossing out the name of Jesus Christ will silence Christians, history has already proved you wrong,” Kirk wrote. “We know what it costs to stand firm for Christ and we will stand anyway. God will not be mocked.”
Nearly one year ago, tens of thousands gathered at the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, to honor Kirk, including President Donald Trump, White House cabinet officials, Turning Point USA and TPUSA Faith employees and conservative media influencers, as well as musical performances by prominent Christian artists.
At that event, Kirk publicly forgave her husband's alleged killer, Tyler Robinson.
"That young man, I forgive him," she said. "I forgive him because it was what Christ did, and is what Charlie would do. The answer to hate is not hate. The answer we know from the Gospel is love, is always love. Love for our enemies and love for those who persecute us."
Earlier this month, a Utah judge ruled that prosecutors presented enough evidence for 23-year-old Robinson to stand trial for Kirk’s murder. Robinson will stand trial on aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury, obstruction of justice, tampering with a witness and violent offense committed in the presence of a child.
If convicted, Robinson could face the death penalty or life in prison.
