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Charlie Kirk transformed the American close done his nonprofit Turning Point USA earlier helium was assassinated astatine an on-campus lawsuit successful Utah 3 months ago. This week, his widow Erika, who present leads Turning Point, joined CBS News for a municipality hallway wherever she reflected connected grief, defended her husband's arguable comments and explained the "game-time decision" of publically forgiving the antheral accused successful her husband's murder.
The conversation, moderated by CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss, is the archetypal of galore planned CBS News municipality halls and debates. Invited guests who joined the speech included Utah Valley University pupil Hunter Kozak, who was the past idiosyncratic to talk to Charlie Kirk, and Robert Milgrim, the begetter of Israeli Embassy staffer Sarah Milgrim, who was changeable and killed successful May.
Here are the highlights:
Erika Kirk's connection to radical who sought to warrant assassination: "Tell that to my 3-year-old daughter"
Erika Kirk said anyone who sought to warrant her husband's assassination is "sick" and said the net has dehumanized people.
"He's a quality being. You deliberation helium deserved that? Tell that to my 3-year-old daughter."
She continued: "You privation to ticker successful high-res the video of my hubby being murdered, and laugh, and accidental helium deserves it? There's thing precise sick successful your soul, and I'm praying that God saves you."
Erika Kirk: Charlie ne'er incited violence
Charlie Kirk was known for his debates with assemblage students, inviting them to measurement up to a microphone and "prove maine wrong."
Erika Kirk said her hubby encouraged radical of antithetic governmental beliefs and backgrounds to travel to the beforehand of the line, saying, "'I'll enactment my mic down. Tell maine wherefore you judge that. That's interesting. I ne'er thought of that. But person you thought of this?'"
A recent poll by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression and College Pulse recovered that 91% of undergraduates judge "words tin beryllium violence." But Erika Kirk said her hubby ne'er incited violence: "He ne'er erstwhile said, 'Go aft them due to the fact that they're saying X, Y, Z and they merit to die.'He gave them a microphone. He didn't instrumentality distant a infinitesimal for them to talk back. He gave them a microphone. And what'd they do? They gave him a slug successful the neck. Totally different."
She says her hubby believed having conversations could prevention the world, referencing his caller book, "Stop, successful the Name of God: Why Honoring the Sabbath Will Transform Your Life," which emphasizes that you can't pass efficaciously with idiosyncratic if you're not astatine bid with yourself.
Erika Kirk: Charlie shouldn't beryllium "deteriorated" to "out-of-context" clips
Erika Kirk says immoderate of her precocious husband's arguable comments, shared wide successful the aftermath of his assassination, lacked discourse and that helium should not "be deteriorated" to a fewer sentences.
Weiss asked Erika Kirk astir immoderate of those much-shared comments: that immoderate weapon deaths are "worth it" to support the Second Amendment; that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a mistake; and that if helium sees a Black pilot, he's "going to beryllium like, boy, I anticipation he's qualified," portion acknowledging "that's not who I am, that's not what I believe."
Erika Kirk said she'd emotion for radical to ticker the afloat clips alternatively of taking comments retired of context.
"Charlie didn't attraction what tegument colour you were. He didn't attraction what religion you were. He loved excellence," she said, adding that "his favourite connection was 'earn'… He loved knowing that radical worked hard to gain what they got."
She said she didn't cognize the discourse of the "gun deaths" punctuation but said, "There's a batch much determination than conscionable that 1 small sentence."
"My hubby is not to beryllium deteriorated to 2 sentences," she said. "He's not. He is simply a thought leader, and helium was superb of a man. So that's good if you privation to instrumentality words retired of his rima oregon retired of discourse without the full happening successful perspective, but that's the problem."
The past pupil to speech to Charlie Kirk asks: Will you condemn President Trump's rhetoric?
Kozak was the past idiosyncratic to statement Charlie Kirk earlier helium was shot. Since that day, Kozak — a self-professed wide — has continued to telephone for civilian governmental discourse. "I deliberation that 1 of the fewer things that we tin hold connected is this necessity for a conversation. I deliberation that we request to retrieve that we inactive person to unrecorded with each other. That these are inactive our neighbors," helium told "60 Minutes" analogous Scott Pelley aft the shooting.
He attended the CBS News municipality hall, wherever helium again took the microphone — this time, to inquire Erika Kirk a question: "Will you condemn the convulsive rhetoric of Donald Trump, the astir almighty and influential idiosyncratic connected earth?"
Kozak specifically referenced President Trump accusing six Democratic lawmakers of "SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!" and past reposting, "HANG THEM, GEORGE WASHINGTON WOULD!" Top Democrats called for Mr. Trump to beryllium "condemned forcefully" implicit the societal media remarks.
Erika Kirk didn't notation Mr. Trump by sanction successful her response, saying the contented is "so overmuch deeper than 1 person" and that it "starts astatine the home."
She urged parents to "look successful the mirror" and bespeak connected however they're raising their children.
"You tin take to person evil successful your bosom oregon you tin take to person light," she said. "What you devour and what you sorb from the extracurricular satellite volition manifest itself."
Weiss asked: "Do you deliberation our governmental leaders person a work to crook the somesthesia down close now?"
"Well, I deliberation everyone has a work to bash that, and I'm doing my part," Erika Kirk replied. "I'm not successful power of different people."
Dad of Israeli Embassy staffer killed successful shooting asks: Will you condemn antisemitism?
Robert Milgrim, whose girl Sarah was 1 of 2 victims of the Capitol Jewish Museum shooting successful Washington, D.C., asked Erika Kirk: "Will you present condemn the individuals spreading that hatred and talk retired intelligibly capable against antisemitism truthful we tin forestall different tragedy?"
"Hate is hate. It's evil," said Erika Kirk, adding that she and Charlie Kirk person ever been "very wide connected our stance" connected Israel and the Jewish people.
She said: "What healing origin comes retired of hating Jewish people? What healing origin comes retired of hating Christians? What healing origin comes out? Hate successful general. Nothing. Nothing. Charlie ever would accidental precise clearly, Jew hatred was encephalon rot. He would ever accidental it."
Antisemitic incidents person accrued astir 900% successful the U.S. implicit the past 10 years, according to a caller Anti-Defamation League audit.
Erika Kirk's one-word connection for Candace Owens
Weiss asked Erika Kirk astir Candace Owens, a erstwhile Turning Point USA worker and onetime person of Charlie Kirk, who has precocious been peddling conspiracy theories astir his assassination. Owens has besides made unfounded fraud allegations astir the nonprofit — the Treasury Department past week confirmed that nary of the tax-exempt entities Erika Kirk runs are nether probe by the IRS.
What does Erika Kirk privation to accidental to Owens and others making these unfounded claims?
"Stop. That's it. That's each I person to say. Stop."
The "game-time decision" to forgive
Erika Kirk stunned millions erstwhile she proclaimed astatine her husband's memorial work that she forgave her husband's accused killer.
"I forgive him due to the fact that it's what Christ did and is what Charlie would do," she said successful her almighty eulogy.
She told Weiss that the infinitesimal was a "game-time decision" due to the fact that she'd ne'er accidental thing she didn't mean.
"But americium I gonna instrumentality that infinitesimal to say, 'Rally the troops, pain the metropolis down, march successful the streets?' Or americium I gonna instrumentality that infinitesimal and unleash thing similar we talked about, adjacent greater, much almighty and say, 'It's a revival.' And fto that unleash, and fto the Lord usage it successful ways that nary 1 other could've ever imagined."
Erika Kirk said she's not forgetting oregon condoning, but alternatively "releasing myself from the enemy's hands wherever helium could person a foothold successful me."
When asked if she had immoderate words for his accused killer, she said: "Nothing. I person thing to accidental to you. Nothing."
She added that there's a quality betwixt forgiving idiosyncratic and inactive wanting justice. "We service a conscionable God, and I remainder casual successful knowing that. He's sovereign, but he's just. And truthful fto the Lord grip that."
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