The widow of the Wyoming businessman who kick-started Turning Point USA announced a $1 million donation to the organization Sunday in the wake of group leader Charlie Kirk’s shooting death and his wife’s tearful response.
Lynn Friess, wife of the late Foster Friess, said in a Facebook post Sunday that Erika Kirk’s “powerful and heartfelt address deeply moved me.”
Erika Kirk on Friday delivered an emotional public address — her first since her husband was fatally shot in the neck at Utah Valley University in Orem two days prior.
“Our world is filled with evil but our God — you guys — our God is so incredibly good,” said Erika Kirk in the widely-publicized speech. “The evildoers responsible for my husband’s assassination have no idea what they’ve done.
"They killed Charlie because he preached a message of patriotism, faith, and God’s merciful love. If you thought my husband’s mission was powerful before, you have no idea.”
The alleged shooter is in custody.
'In Loving Memory...'
Charlie Kirk’s killing shook the public sphere, in part because of graphic video of the gunshot wound, and in part because he was an ardent driver of open discourse.
The Wyoming Republican and Democratic parties both condemned the apparent political violence and voiced grief over the fatal shooting.
When at age 18 Charlie Kirk co-founded Turning Point USA, Wyoming philanthropist Foster Friess wrote an early check to the organization for $10,000.
Lynn Friess’ contribution announced Sunday is 100 times larger than that.
“Foster always believed in Charlie’s vision and often said that helping Charlie build TPUSA was the best investment he ever made,” wrote Lynn in a Sunday morning post through the charitable group established to honor her husband’s legacy, Foster’s Outriders. “I know he would be grateful to see how Charlie’s legacy is inspiring young Americans to stand up for faith and freedom.”
Lynn said that “in loving memory of Charlie,” she’s donating $1 million to the thousands of new TPUSA chapters springing up across the country.
She invited others to join her “by helping this incredible movement grow even stronger” and attached the group’s donation link.
And There Are A Lot Of Them
Charlie Kirk’s podcast producer Andrew Kolvet on Sunday announced that TPUSA received more than 32,000 inquiries over the weekend to start new campus chapters.
“To put that in perspective,” wrote Kolvet, “TPUSA currently has 900 official college chapters and around 1,200 high school chapters, with a precense on 2,500 total.”
Charlie Kirk’s vision to have a Club America (the high school version of TPUSA) chapter in every high school in America “will come true much faster than he could have ever possibly imagined,” added Kolvet.
Lynn Friess did not respond by publication time to a request for comment.
The University of Wyoming has a Turning Point USA chapter of its own, led by Gabe Saint.
Saint did not immediately return a voicemail request for comment.
Jessie Rubino, Wyoming director for the State Freedom Caucus, who co-authored a Saturday guest column with Saint in Cowboy State Daily, cast Lynn Friess’ gift as a testament to the might of Charlie Kirk’s legacy.
“Charlie’s assassin and those disturbingly cheering (him) thought that Wednesday’s bullet silenced him,” wrote Rubino in a Monday text message. “By the grace of God, these people are being proven wrong every hour.”
Rubino said she believes the $1 million donation “will go to good use.”
The new chapter requests, Rubino said, are because Charlie Kirk’s “message of grace, unity, and open discourse is an objectively good one.
“Charlie Kirk isn’t going anywhere, and neither is the movement he mobilized.”
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
