Turning Point USA To Hold First Campus Event Since Kirk’s Assassination

Turning Point USA will move forward with its first major campus event since the tragic assassination of co-founder Charlie Kirk, showing that the conservative movement he built cannot be silenced.

The group confirmed to Minneapolis’ KMSP-TV that Monday evening’s sold-out stop of “The American Comeback Tour” at the University of Minnesota will go on as planned.

Conservative commentator Michael Knowles told Fox & Friends First the event would serve as a moving tribute:

“There will be an empty chair on stage. I will give a tribute to Charlie, and then we will open up the floor to an open conversation.”

Knowles added that attempts to destroy Kirk’s legacy would fail:

“The event will go on. I think that Charlie’s enemies thought that they could not only silence him, but in fact, silence his whole movement. That will not happen.”

He emphasized that TPUSA will continue Kirk’s tradition of open debate, saying:

“People who disagree can — like at all of his events — cut to the front of the line, and we will continue to have a healthy debate.”

The event begins at 6:30 p.m. local time, with preregistration and ID required for attendees. A smaller “Prove Me Wrong” forum slated for earlier in the day was canceled. The university said additional security would be in place, with school President Rebecca Cunningham telling students last week:

“Violence has no place at the University or in the communities where we live and work.”

A separate vigil for Charlie Kirk is scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday at the Minnesota State Capitol, KMSP reported.

On Sunday, tens of thousands gathered at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, where President Donald Trump delivered an emotional tribute alongside Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk. In her remarks, Erika said she forgave her husband’s killer and pledged to continue the mission of Turning Point USA.

🔎 FBI’s “Arctic Frost” Probe Targeted Conservatives

The event comes as revelations continue to surface about the FBI’s politicized targeting of conservative groups under the Biden administration. Newly released information shows that Kirk’s own organization, Turning Point USA, was one of dozens of Republican groups swept into a sweeping FBI probe known as “Arctic Frost.”

According to Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), whistleblowers revealed that the operation—originally opened in 2020 to scrutinize election integrity efforts—quickly metastasized into a broad campaign against conservative organizations, including the Republican National Committee and the Republican Attorneys General Association.

Grassley said the case was initiated by anti-Trump FBI official Timothy Thibault and later became part of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s elector case against then-citizen Trump:

“Arctic Frost was the FBI case opened and approved by anti-Trump FBI agent [Timothy] Thibault. Arctic Frost then became Jack Smith’s elector case against citizen Trump, and now President Trump. These new records show that Arctic Frost was much broader than just an electoral matter.”

Grassley revealed the scope was staggering:

“In total, 92 Republican targets, including Republican groups and Republican-linked individuals, were placed under investigative scope of Arctic Frost. On that political list was one of Charlie Kirk’s groups, Turning Point USA. In other words, Arctic Frost wasn’t just a case to politically investigate Trump.”

The news underscores what conservatives have long argued—that federal law enforcement under Biden was weaponized against political opponents, including Kirk and the very movement he championed.

Now, with President Trump back in the White House, Republicans are demanding accountability and full transparency into the operation.