Charlie Kirk Died 5 Weeks Ago, But His Presence In Texas Schools Has Doubled

Although Charlie Kirk was shot and killed at a speaking event hosted by his conservative nonprofit, Turning Point USA (TPUSA), his presence across the country is perhaps more undeniable now. High school chapters in Texas, for example, have doubled, and Texas college campuses are tracking at the same numbers. 

A rough estimate on the TPUSA website counts more than 3,500 school chapters and more than 2,000 student groups, but Paige Rasmussen, a representative for the college field program overseeing all of North Texas, says the organization has received more than 130,000 national inquiries in the last four and a half weeks.

“It’s just been amazing to see how dark times lead to good things sometimes,” Rasmussen said. “We’re seeing students at the high school level, college level, and even some middle schoolers wanting to get involved, just wanting to make a difference, wanting their voice to be heard and wanting to honor Charlie’s legacy.”

Kirk built his fame by engaging in social and political debates across college campuses, usually facing opponents on the opposite side of the political spectrum. TPUSA, in their words, “exists to educate young people about the importance of limited government, free markets, and freedom.”

A close ally of President Donald Trump, Kirk attracted internet virality for the rage-inducing opinions he regularly expressed on his debate tours and on his podcast.

“I refuse to lie,” Kirk said at a 2024 appearance at a Frisco gala. “I will not call a man a woman or a woman a man, like I refuse to do that. And in fact, I reject the entire premise of transgenderism. I don’t think it really exists. I think it’s a mental disease, and we’ve allowed it to all of a sudden become an identity. I think that there are two sexes, zero genders and unlimited personalities, and what we used to call a personality disorder, we now call a gender disorder that we treat with body treatment when it should be brain treatment.” 

Kirk was a staunch supporter of the pro-life movement and once said gun violence was an incurable side-effect of preserving the Second Amendment. However, since his death, the Republican Party has remembered Kirk as a talented debater who fought a growing political divide through his outreach program. 

For news addicts and political pundits, Kirk and TPUSA were familiar, but for much of the rest of the world, he became a household name posthumously. Now, Kirk’s mission and TPUSA are present on more campuses than ever before. 

Exponential Growth Amid Teacher Investigations

Before Kirk’s death, Rasmussen oversaw 12 TPUSA chapters across North Texas college campuses. Now she oversees 32, with more to come. 

“We have had a lot of great responses in the North Texas area,” she said. “ …It’s been really just cool to see how these clubs are getting started and how the support is so big that it’s really hard to ignore, and it’s really hard to push away. We are going to keep up the momentum.”

Rasmussen says the perceived martyrdom of Kirk catapulted the TPUSA movement. 

“The movement was growing and moving quickly before,” she said. “But I think after the assassination, we just saw the necessity to be bold and carry on Charlie’s legacy. That’s what it’s all about now, just honoring him and honoring his legacy and carrying the torch. I think the movement is bigger than ever.”

Hannah Cunningham is the regional representative for the Western Texas region of Club America, the high school branch of TPUSA. Her region runs from Fort Worth all the way west to El Paso. Since Kirk’s death, the high schools with chapters in her region have tripled, and she has the fastest-growing region of the six in Texas. She says across the state, Club America chapters have doubled. 

Cunningham says there haven’t been too many roadblocks to opening new chapters in her region despite the divisiveness that followed the shooting. She said some school districts in larger cities have pushed back, but not in her zone. For the most part, she’s only seeing green lights. 

“It’s been very encouraging because frequently, we see parties as polar opposites,” said Cunningham. “Turning Point USA and Club America have been able to bring people together in that really dark time, and I’ve been very impressed by that.”

Since Kirk’s death, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) launched a probe into more than 100 schools across the state after receiving over 350 reports of inappropriate social media behaviors from teachers about the shooting. A handful of students were suspended or expelled from public Texas universities, and reports of firings were sprinkled across the nation for similar offenses. Fort Worth and Keller Independent School Districts, both within Cunningham’s region, were named in a list of probes published by the TEA. 

“What Would Charlie Do?”

One of the newest chapters in North Texas, Club America Flower Mound, held its first meeting on September 16, five days after Kirk’s death. In June, TPUSA’s high school program was rebranded as “Club America.”

Club America Flower Mound began the paperwork to open their chapter in the summer. They anticipated 20 or so attendees and the inaugural meeting. There were 78. 

“Then, after the events of that weekend, our attendance skyrocketed for people just wanting to see,” Trey Haupt, vice president of the new chapter, said. “My best guess would be people wanted to come and see what people who’ve been connected to his organization are feeling and how they’re connecting with that, dealing with it.” 

Attendance has since dropped to a consistent pool of 50, he estimates. They considered canceling the first meeting, but decided “educating people on what their rights are, what the Constitution says, what our founding documents are is what Charlie would have wanted.” 

“We’re super sad seeing this [political] divide grow bigger and bigger,” he said. “We wish to see it draw closer and see a lot more conversations, which is what Charlie strove for. He strove for conversation, dialogue.”