20 Minutes ago in Washington, Erika Kirk was confirmed as…See more
Teens Revolt Over Erika Kirk’s Visit To Their High School
Erika is turning her attention to high school students after hardly anyone at a state university bothered to show up to her event.
Students at a Phoenix high school are revolting against a planned visit from right-wing personality Erika Kirk.
After a sparsely attended Turning Point USA campus event, Erika is now turning her attention to high schoolers, with a planned event at Pinnacle High School in north Phoenix next week.But she is already not being met with open arms by students and parents.
“I don’t know why she’s coming here, to be honest,” Francisco Sanchez, a senior at Pinnacle High School, told 12 News Phoenix. “I think the topics that she talks about are too extremist for a school. I think there are better representatives we can have.”
Erika pictured at Charlie's funeral, which was held in Arizona at the Arizona Cardinals stadium.Daniel Cole/REUTERS
“It’s a little crazy because I would never have expected someone like her to show up at a high school,” high school senior Kasandra Acosta told the outlet.
“I’m pretty shocked. Honestly, I’m surprised it’s even happening,” she added.
Parents of students enrolled at the school told The Arizona Republic they were concerned about security--especially after earlier this week, Erika, who became CEO of her late husband Charlie Kirk’s TPUSA organization after his September killing, skipped an event at the University of Georgia over safety concerns.
“It’s not just your average citizen coming over to speak to the club. She brings politics with her, she brings division with her, just because everybody in America is divided,” Bobbe Noland, a parent of a Pinnacle student, told the Republic.
Vance, the second in line to the presidency, still attended the event earlier this week, despite security concerns with Erika.Jonathan Ernst/REUTERS
School officials told parents this week that students would see an increased security presence on campus during the event, prompting some parents to also demand that the school move her visit to after-school hours.
Phoenix Police told 12 News that since Erika’s visit was a private event, the responsibility for securing it rests with the event organizers and must be coordinated with the school district.
“We regularly work with community partners to support public safety during gatherings. As with any event, our officers will continue to monitor activity, review available information, and adjust deployment strategies as needed to help ensure a safe environment for students, staff, and the surrounding community,” a police spokesperson said in a statement.
Her speaking appearance has been organized with the school’s Club America chapter, a TPUSA-affiliated organization. The right-wing nonprofit is headquartered in Phoenix, and she and Charlie lived in the nearby affluent suburb of Scottsdale for many years.
The Daily Beast reached out to TPUSA for comment on the controversy.
Students at Pinnacle High School are not too enthused by Erika's visit to campus next week.Daniel Cole/REUTERS
It’s not the first time she and her late husband stirred up controversy in Arizona’s public schools.
In 2021, Erika and Charlie raged against the Scottsdale Unified School District’s mask policy during the COVID-19 pandemic at a school board meeting. At the time, the couple did not have any children yet.
During the meeting, Charlie called the mask policy a “self-righteous measure” enacted to “abuse the children.”
“There is zero evidence to show that children are at a significant risk of catching or dying from the Chinese coronavirus,” he claimed, adding, “You have awoke a sleeping giant. I hope you enjoy your masked, short-term future here while it still lasts.”
The Kirks had welcomed their first child in August 2022, a year after they complained to a school board about its COVID policies.Samuel Corum/Getty Images
Erika, who grew up in Scottsdale but attended private Catholic school, went as far as to demand a moment of silence at the board meeting for “the kids who will end up committing suicide this upcoming school year in 2021 and 2022 because of your reckless and ego-centered leadership and lack thereof.”
“As Christians, we are told to pray for our leaders and that is what I will do every day,” she said. “May God have mercy on your souls for everything you guys are doing in this leadership position.”One Scottsdale parent called them out, pointing out that they didn’t even have children who were enrolled in the city’s public schools.
“While the agitators from outside our district would have you think that masks mandates are only in place at liberal public schools, the list of private and parochial schools also enacting mask mandates is far from short,” the parent said. “I applaud SUSD’s governing board.”
At 20, Barron Trump finally CONFIRMS what everyone had long suspected…👇👇👇.
MY HUSBAND LEFT ME AND MY DISABLED BROTHER TO DROWN. THEN MY BROTHER STOOD UP.
THE LAST THING MY HUSBAND SAID BEFORE ABANDONING US
“The more you fight that door, Valerie, the faster you’ll drown.”
Julian said it almost casually.
Then he climbed through the driver’s window and disappeared into the freezing river.
I froze.
Water rushed into the SUV.
My brother Mason was trapped in the back seat.
“Julian!”
I slammed against the passenger door.
“Come back! Mason is still inside!”
He never looked back.
Minutes earlier, we had been driving toward Sterling Shipyard when Julian suddenly jerked the wheel.
The SUV smashed through the guardrail and plunged into the river.
It wasn’t an accident.
I reached for my seat belt.
It wouldn’t release.
I felt underneath the seat.
Wire.
Someone had deliberately locked the mechanism.
My blood ran cold.
Then I saw Julian on the riverbank.
And he wasn’t alone.
Chloe.
My half-sister.
She stood beneath a black umbrella, one hand resting on her pregnant stomach.
Julian walked straight into her arms.
They looked at the sinking SUV.
At us.
Then Julian smiled.
Three years of marriage shattered in one second.
The secret phone calls.
The endless business trips.
The lies.
Chloe appearing at every family gathering.
They had been together all along.
And now they had left us to die.
“Mason…”
My voice broke.
“I’m sorry. I brought him into our family.”
The water reached my chest.
Then something hit the back of my seat.
Once.
Twice.
I turned.
And stopped breathing.
Mason was standing.
Standing on both legs.
The legs I had believed were useless for fifteen years.
He reached inside his coat and pulled out a compact rescue cutter.
“Not now, Val.”
He sliced through the wire holding my seat belt.
“What happened to your legs?”
“Later.”
He pulled me free.
The SUV was almost completely submerged.
Mason forced open the rear door and dragged me into the freezing water.
I swam toward the surface.
He grabbed my arm.
“Not there.”
He pointed toward the riverbank.
Julian and Chloe were still watching.
Mason pulled me beneath an abandoned pier.
We surfaced in the darkness between two concrete supports.
I gasped for air.
Mason pressed a finger to his lips.
“Julian can’t know we survived.”
I stared at him.
“You’re walking.”
“I know.”
“For fifteen years…”
“I know.”
“You let me believe you were crippled.”
His face hardened.
Then I saw the pain in his eyes.
“Valerie…”
He looked toward the distant riverbank.
“Mom and Dad’s crash wasn’t an accident.”
My entire body went cold.
“What did you just say?”
Mason tightened his grip on my arm.
“Julian didn’t just try to kill us tonight.”
He leaned closer.
“He finished what he started fifteen years ago.”
I stared at him.
“Come with me.”
And for the first time that night, I realized the sinking SUV was only the beginning.
