Charlie Kirk’s heartbroken widow Erika last night waved to supporters as her husband’s casket was transported to a chapel.
Erika Kirk, formerly Frantzve, arrived in Arizona on Thursday evening dressed in all black and wearing sunglasses after her husband’s body was flown back from Utah on Air Force Two.
The 36-year-old was greeted by a crowd of mourners waving American flags as a motorcade escorted her to the chapel.
The mother-of-two waved to the her supporters through an open window, fighting back tears as she held a rosary in her hand.
Erika is a devout Christian and has leaned into her faith after Charlie’s assassination.
On Wednesday, Charlie, at 31, suffered a fatal wound to the neck in Utah, leaving behind his wife and their two children, a three-year-old daughter and a 16-month-old son.
Erika was accompanied by Vice President JD Vance and his wife Usha as her husband’s remains were transported back from Utah.
A funeral is planned for next week, which Donald Trump said he will attend.
Erika Kirk, holding back tears and clasping a rosary, waved to supporters from an SUV on Thursday evening as her husband’s body was transported to a chapel in Arizona.
The remains of Charlie Kirk were brought to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport aboard Air Force Two, accompanied by Vice President JD Vance, his wife Usha, and Erika.
Erika (pictured with her husband) is a devout Christian and has leaned into her faith after Charlie’s assassination
Usha held hands with Erika in a heartfelt gesture as they deplaned Air Force Two.
The women were dressed in all black and wearing sunglasses as they somberly walked off the aircraft with JD behind them.
Erika kept her gaze down as she stepped off the aircraft, as Usha put her arm around her, seemingly to guide her down the stairs.
The Second Lady then pointed into the distance before moving her hand to meet Erika’s.
Hand-in-hand, the two slowly descended marking the conclusion of Charlie’s final plane ride back to his home state of Arizona.
His two young children and parents, who witnessed the activist’s murder, were also on board.
National Guard members were seen carrying Charlie’s mahogany coffin on and off the plane.
The President said that he has spoken with Kirk’s wife, Erika, and said she is ‘devastated, absolutely devastated’.
JD Vance expressed a heartfelt tribute, calling Charlie a ‘true friend’ and someone ‘you could confide in, with the assurance it would remain with him.’
A crowd of mourners waving US flags greeted Erika as a motorcade escorted her to the chapel
A supporter waves a flag as a crowd pays their respects to Kirk
Erika rides in the passenger seat of a hearse containing the body of her husband
Erika and Usha Vance arrive at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport on Thursday
Trump revealed today that the suspect in the killing has been captured.
Sources told Daily Mail the individual has been identified as Tyler Robinson, a 22-year-old Utah resident.
The President announced the arrest in an appearance on Fox News, where he said that ‘someone very close’ to the suspect turned him in.
‘I think with a high degree of certainty we have him in custody,’ Trump told Fox & Friends this morning.
According to law enforcement sources quoted by the Daily Mail, the shooter admitted his actions to his father, who alerted the authorities and restrained his son until the officers arrived.
Robinson was still being questioned as of this morning.
While Trump said he didn’t want to get ahead of his Justice Department and FBI, he shared a few details that he knows about how they tracked down the suspected shooter.
‘It was a minister who was involved with law enforcement… his good friend is a top US Marshal – and they took it from there,’ Trump said, suggesting that the suspect’s father told him it was time to turn themselves in.
The New York Times reported that the suspect was taken into custody around 11pm local time in Utah last night.
Little is known of Robinson at this time, and officials have not yet released a motive to the shooting.
Usha and Erika were dressed in all black and wearing sunglasses as they somberly walked off the aircraft with JD Vance trailing behind
National Guard members were seen carrying Kirk’s mahogany coffin on and off the plane
Erika, 36, kept her gaze down as she stepped off the aircraft, as Usha put her arm around the grieving mother-of-two
Hand-in-hand, the two slowly trekked to the ground, marking the conclusion of Kirk’s final plane ride back to his home state of Arizona
Officials unload Charlie’s casket off Air Force Two at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport yesterday
Authorities said at a press conference last night that Robinson will face the death penalty if convicted of the assassination.
Investigators previously revealed that ammunition found in a weapon discovered near to the scene had been engraved with transgender and antifascist ideology.
Robinson’s arrest comes after a manhunt for the suspect stretched to over a day and a half, with officials previously offering a reward of $100,000 for information leading to his capture.
Surveillance footage had been released showing a figure on top of a roof leaping from a building and sprinting into a nearby neighborhood after Kirk was shot from around 200 yards away.
Charlie was killed when a single bullet struck his neck as he addressed the more than 3,000 people in the crowd at a UVU rally on Wednesday afternoon.
Gunfire rang through the crowd as he was mid-sentence, responding to a prompt about mass shootings.
Authorities suspect the fatal shot came from the top of the Losee Center of the Orem campus, about 200 feet away from where Charlie was sitting under a tent.
Blood poured from his neck as terror ensued among the audience members, who were seen frantically fleeing the gory scene.
Father-of-two Kirk was killed by a single gunshot wound to the neck on Wednesday afternoon at Utah Valley University
Charlie leaves behind his wife and their two kids, (pictured together) a three-year-old daughter and a 16-month-old son
The attack, carried out in broad daylight, was captured on grisly videos that spread on social media.
The shooter, who investigators believe blended into the campus crowd because of a college-age appearance, fired one shot from the rooftop, according to authorities.
Video released yesterday showed the person then walking through the grass and across the street before disappearing.
‘I can tell you this was a targeted event,’ said Robert Bohls, the top FBI agent in Salt Lake City.
