Washington [US], November 6 (HBTV): Erika Kirk, widow of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, revealed in an interview with Fox News that she has never watched the footage of her husband’s assassination and does not intend to in the future, saying that certain images, once seen, stay with a person forever. She added that she also never wants her children to see it.
‘I never saw the video; I never will see it,’ Erika said. ‘I never want to see it. There are certain things you see in your life that you can never unsee. There are certain things you see in your life that mark your soul forever. I don’t want my husband’s public assassination to be something I ever see. I don’t want my kids to ever see that.’
The night before the assassination, Erika and their daughter slept in their bed while Charlie stayed in their daughter’s room to ensure he got a good night’s sleep before his speaking engagement. ‘That night, he was so excited. I mean, he was like, “I can’t wait, it’s going to be the best,”’ she recalled.
Before leaving that morning, Charlie collected his wedding ring and necklace. ‘He came in, and he grabbed that, and then he left. I didn’t even get to give him a kiss goodbye,’ Erika said. She remained in Arizona that day to attend to her mother’s medical issue. ‘[Charlie] was like, “Home needs you. Home needs you; be home. Come with me on Thursday to the next event we have.”’ Moments later, she watched a video of Charlie tossing hats into a crowd at Utah Valley University before receiving a call about the shooting.
‘Mikey [McCoy] called me,’ she said. ‘I’ll never forget, him just being like, “Charlie’s been shot. He’s been shot, get the kids. Get security, get the kids, get the kids, he’s been shot.” I sprinted out of her treatment centre and just collapsed in the middle of the parking lot.’
Charlie Kirk was fatally struck in the neck by a single round from a bolt-action rifle just past noon local time. Erika described the moment as an ‘unbelievable nightmare.’
‘The way the bullet hit him, he died instantaneously,’ she said. ‘He died on the scene. But I’m so glad he didn’t suffer; I’m so glad he didn’t suffer. No one deserves to suffer, but a handful of people. He literally blinked and probably thought he was raptured and looked around and was like, “Where’s everybody else?” He blinked, and he was with the Lord.’
Erika revealed that she had previously voiced safety concerns to her husband, who frequently engaged in contentious debates on college campuses, but he remained fearless. ‘I used to say, “Charlie, have you ever thought about wearing a vest?”’ she recalled. ‘He would nod to that and be like, “You know, I’ve looked into it,” but he would always say, “If they’re going to get me, they’re gonna get me.” He wasn’t afraid. Wouldn’t have mattered anyway if you wore a vest.’
Upon arriving in Utah, Erika wanted to see her husband immediately, despite police advising her to wait for the mortuary. ‘I responded back to him and I said, with all due respect, sir, I want to see what they did to my husband and I want to give him a kiss because I didn’t get to give him a kiss this morning,’ she said.
She described her husband’s body as looking ‘so alive.’ ‘I’m just so glad I saw him because... when you see someone at the mortuary, they never look the same,’ she said. ‘They have awful makeup and they’re cold. He was still warm, and his eyes were slightly open. It was so powerful. He had this smirk on his face.’
That final image, Erika said, represents Charlie’s undying spirit and mission. ‘That smirk to me is that look of “you thought you could stop what I’ve built,”’ she said. ‘This vision, this movement, this revival — you thought you could do that by murdering me. You got my body. You didn’t get my soul.’
Erika Kirk is set to receive the first-ever Charlie Kirk Legacy Award at the seventh annual Fox Nation Patriot Awards in New York on Thursday.
(ANI)