On September 10, Charlie Kirk was assassinated while sitting in a small tent at Utah Valley University. Months later, a replica of that same tent was turned into a photo booth.
Charlie Kirk’s co-founded organization, Turning Point USA, which advocates for conservative politics, held its annual convention over the weekend.
It marked the first edition of AmericaFest since Kirk’s assassination.
Highlights
- Turning Point USA recreated the exact tent where Charlie Kirk was assassinated as a photo booth at their AmericaFest convention.
- The replica tent featured Kirk’s photos and a ring light, allowing attendees to take selfies at the assassination site.
- The photo booth drew widespread backlash on social media, with users calling it morbid, satanic, and unsettling.
- Critics accused Turning Point USA and Erika Kirk, the new CEO and widow, of strange and tone-deaf behavior with the installation.
A replica of the tent where Charlie Kirk was assassinated was turned into a photo booth for AmericaFest
Image credits: Trent Nelson/Getty Images
Kirk was widely known for his public debates with liberals, particularly college students. He was shot and killed while hosting one of these debate events in Utah.
Throughout the convention, Kirk’s memorabilia was prominently displayed, including his microphone, which was encased and presented on stage.
AmericaFest also had a “Prove Me Wrong” tent, a replica of the booth where Kirk was shot. Inside the tent were two framed photographs of Kirk, along with a large ring light where attendees could pose for photos.
In a viral video, a reporter pointed to the tent behind her, saying, “You can see from behind me this is a recreation of the tent where Charlie Kirk lost his life at Utah University in September. People are taking selfies with it…”
The video garnered over 5 million views and a lot of backlash. “This is so f*****g dark,” one user commented.
Image credits: TruthZone/X
“They doing s**t not even his biggest haters would think of,” another X user wrote. “THIS IS NOT NORMAL,” a third added.
“TP has done a mock up ‘kill booth’ at Am Fest where people are taking selfies. This has gone into some kind [of] grooming exercise for the mentally ill,” a third user said.
Image credits: TruthZone/X
One user on X called the booth “truly morbid and satanic,” adding that it was “more offensive than the memes mocking Charlie Kirk.”
Social media users called the booth ‘morbid,’ ‘satanic’ and ‘unsettling’
Image credits: TruthZone/X
In the words of another user, the installation was “not only strange,” but “also fucking weird. Like, genuinely unsettling in a way that sticks with you.”
“The entire nation got lectured and tone policed following Charlie Kirk’s murder only for his supporters to go out and do this. This is bizarre,” writer Jemele Hill wrote, bringing attention to the cancel culture and real-life consequences that followed people who celebrated the conservative commentator’s death.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth had called for an investigation into members of the U.S. armed forces found to be critical of Kirk.
Many users also questioned Erika Kirk, Kirk’s widow and the newly appointed CEO of Turning Point USA.
“So @MrsErikaKirk , who has now become the CEO of @TPUSA , had a tent set up at the convention designed to be a replica of the one in which her husband was murdered, so that @charliekirk11 fans could take selfies in it??????” one user wrote.
Image credits: Trent Nelson/Getty Images
“Everything about this is strange,” another post read. “From Erika Kirk in her glitter suit and pyrotechnics suddenly inserting herself into politics, to the recreation of the site of Kirk’s murder.
“Why anyone would want a photo in the location someone was brutally killed is beyond me.”