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Riley Gaines grieved over the murder of Charlie Kirk, Who she called “a friend and mentor” in a long, emotional video in which she condemned the act of political violence against the popular conservative activist.
Gaines, the host of Outkick’s “Gaines for girls” Podcast and a 12-time NCAA All-American Swimmer, shared his thoughts in a video sent by Outkick on Thursday. The video came after the killing of Kirk, who was mortally hit by a single bullet during a talking event at Campus at Utah Valley University on Wednesday.
Charlie Kirk speaks at Utah Valley University on September 10, 2025 in Orem, Utah, before the murder. (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune/Getty Images)
“I have lost a friend, a mentor, the person I go to,” Gaines began. “The intellectual mind and the genius that is Charlie Kirk, the generational talent, I think that his influence alone as a person and what he has been able to do through the turning point, which I am a very proud contributor of, I talk about it on this show all the time what he has been able to do is to transform a nation, revive a culture. A culture of young people, people like me.”
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Gaines sitting with Kirk for the “American Comback Tour” event at San Francisco State University In May, Kirk’s wife and two young children mourned.
“I lost a friend and a mentor, Erika lost her husband. I can’t help but think of her. This is one of the most friendly and compassionate women you might imagine. This was her greatest fear, I think we had talked about it. This is her greatest fear, I will not go into the details there, two children lost their father.
As many who have spoken on social media after the murder, Gaines called the lack of tolerance of open discourse in the US
Allison Hemingway-Witty Creies after Charlie Kirk is shot during the turning point’s visit to Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, Wednesday 10 September 2025. (Tess Crowley/The Deset News via AP)
Timeline for Charlie Kirk Murder
“This nation has lost the best and most effective, most influential activist it has ever had, and I don’t even just talk about a conservative activist. I’m talking about on both sides,” she said, adding later, “we don’t have to live like that. We shouldn’t have to live like that in fear of talking the truth – raw and unpreceded.”
Gaines said that despite the tragedy of Kirk’s killing, her shared credits with Kirk have kept her “ground”.
“I’M So Grateful, That’s Really Like The Thing Keeping Me Is – Any Amount of Grounded – Is Knowing That Charlie Knew Jesus. Knowing That He Was A Man Who Fough For The Hope and the Promise of Eternal Life, Nothing of This World Mattered To Charlie. Of Course He Loved His Family He Loved This Nation, He Loved The Truth, But He Was Fighting For Eternal Life and So My Message to Everyone Listening Is This: Is to Take Up The Cross, Is to Live A Life Like Charlie Kirk did to live a Christ -like life.
Riley Gaines hold a speech in Penn State. (Riley Gaines)
Gaines continued to praise Kirk for his will “to enter the animal’s stomach” and talk about the values he was interested in.
Police confirmed Friday That a suspect in Kirk’s killing was arrested. He was identified as Tyler Robinson, a 22-year-old resident of Utah. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox declared that a family member in Robinsons contacted a family friend who then reached the Washington County Sheriff’s Office “with information that Robinson had confessed to them or suggested that he had committed the incident.”
