Charlie Kirk event at University of Minnesota to go ahead with conservative Michael Knowles

Imani Cruzen, Pioneer Press on Sep 18, 2025

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An event on the University of Minnesota campus originally scheduled to include Charlie Kirk, who was fatally shot last week, is expected to continue with conservative political commentator Michael Knowles.

Kirk, a close ally of President Trump and CEO of the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA, and Knowles were scheduled to appear at Northrop Auditorium on Monday. Authorities have identified 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, of Washington, Utah, as the suspected shooter.

Knowles previously posted on social media that he would not be canceling any public appearances following the shooting.

“The event is on,” Knowles tweeted Wednesday when asked about the Sept. 22 event at Northrop. “What was going to be a conversation between me and Charlie will now be a tribute to Charlie and an open forum for Q&A. The enemies of civilization will not succeed at killing his mission. They will not even succeed at killing his tour.”

Student chapter Turning Point USA at UMN scheduled Kirk and Knowles to speak as part of Turning Point USA’s The American Comeback Tour. The event is scheduled on the Carlson Family Stage at Northrop Auditorium but is not sponsored by the university.

Kirk co-founded Turning Point USA, with an early focus on proselytizing on college campuses for low taxes and limited government. The political organization eventually grew to holding large rallies with thousands of attendees and featuring top conservative leaders, including Trump.

The tour’s next scheduled event was at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colo. on Thursday. Turning Point USA’s student chapter at Colorado State University has planned a Thursday vigil for Kirk, according to The Coloradoan.

Kirk previously appeared at the university in 2017, according to a social media post by the U’s Turning Point USA student chapter at that time. University officials last week said that the U’s Office of Student Affairs and Department of Public Safety have reached out to the student organizers to offer support.

“Recent events in our local community and across the country have been devastating,” officials said in a statement Sept. 12. “Political violence, and any form of violence, is never acceptable. Ensuring the safety of all at the University while also providing places for the robust exchange of ideas is our foremost commitment and central to our educational mission.”

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox has referred to Kirk’s killing at Utah Valley University as a political assassination carried out from a rooftop as Kirk spoke at a debate hosted by his nonprofit political organization.

Kirk had been outspoken on politics and events in Minnesota on his social media.

He previously made disparaging remarks about George Floyd, who was murdered by former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in 2020. Kirk also was condemned by Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey in July when Kirk retweeted a picture of mayoral candidate Omar Fateh and claimed “Muslims are commanded to take over the government in the land they live. The attempted Islamic takeover of America is made possible thanks to mass migration.”

Frey and Fateh, along with political leaders across the political spectrum, have condemned the attack on Kirk. Utah Gov. Cox also made an impassioned plea days after Kirk’s death for Americans to use Kirk’s death as a moment to turn away from political violence and division.

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