WASHINGTON — U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in an interview that Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk texted her the day before his death, warning that illegal immigration posed a threat in large American cities. Noem, speaking on the New York Post's Pod Force One with Miranda Devine, said she missed the message while traveling in a different time zone but believes she would have responded that she was on it.
Kirk, 31, a father of two and founder of Turning Point USA, was shot in the neck as he spoke to a crowd under a white pop-up tent at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, on Sept. 10. He was rushed to a hospital and pronounced dead that afternoon.
Noem described her reaction to missing the text, saying she was traveling and did not see it in time. She said she would have told Kirk she was on it, and she believes he understood the administration’s readiness to act.
Devine pressed Noem on Democrats’ calls for media figures and politicians to condemn political violence from both sides. Noem replied that political violence had been carried out by the left on conservatives almost entirely and that DHS would be bold in describing what she sees happening across the country. She argued that the American public is waking up in the wake of Kirk’s death, and she said DHS would continue to speak the truth about threats to public safety and constitutional rights posed by what she described as attacks from liberal, leftist, extremist, and radicalized individuals against conservatives seeking to express their views.
The remarks come amid a broader national discussion about political violence, rhetoric, and accountability in American public life. Observers have urged a careful, fact-based approach to assessing threats and the role of political discourse in fueling or dampening violence as investigations continue to unfold locally.
As the weeklong dialogue surrounding Kirk’s death and the surrounding political climate continues, analysts say the incident has intensified debates over safety, free speech, and the boundaries of advocacy in American politics. Officials and commentators alike have called for calm, a commitment to due process, and a focus on credible information as the country processes the tragedy.
