Erika Kirk reveals she wears blood-stained pendant of husband Charlie Kirk who was fatally shot at Turning Point USA rally

Erika Kirk, the widow of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, said she continues to wear the blood-stained St. Michael pendant he wore when he was fatally shot at a Turning Point USA rally in Utah on Sept. 10. She told The New York Times that medics tore the pendant from his neck as they attempted to stop the bleeding, and she keeps the relic as a keepsake.

She described the hours around the hospital, noting that the sheriff advised against seeing the body after the neck wound. She said she kissed her husband goodbye at the hospital and has since adjusted her routine, moving between rooms and sleeping spaces to cope with the loss. She described the pendant as a personal symbol that carries the memory of her husband and the events of that night.

Charlie Kirk died at a Turning Point USA rally in Utah on Sept. 10, a development that has drawn national attention to the safety of political events and the conduct of rallies associated with the conservative movement.

A memorial banner for Kirk appeared on the exterior of the Heritage Foundation building in Washington, D.C., in the days after his death, reflecting the scale of tributes in political circles.

Erika Kirk is a mother of two and has described the personal toll of the loss, including her continued routines and how she has not washed towels used during her husband’s last shower and has rotated her sleeping arrangements to cope with the absence of her partner.

The broader debate over security at political events has intensified in the weeks since the incident as lawmakers, activists, and observers seek to understand how to prevent similar tragedies in the future.