Erika Kirk backs out of Georgia event over ‘serious threats’

Security concerns caused Erika Kirk to cancel her appearance at a Turning Point USA event in Georgia on Tuesday. A TPUSA spokesman said very serious threats were levied against Kirk, who was named the CEO of the organization after her husband’s assassination in September. The spokesman didn’t specify what the threats were, but said that some people have made it their part-time job to attack Kirk.

Kirk, 37, had planned to interview Vice President J.D. Vance for the event at the University of Georgia in Athens, Ga. She said in a social media post that she had looked forward to the occasion but took her security team’s recommendations extremely seriously. Andrew Kolvet, a spokesman for the conservative student activist group, interviewed Vance in her place.

Was it safe for the vice president to attend the event? Vance told the crowd during the event that he consulted with the Secret Service before deciding to move forward. He wanted Kirk to do what was best for her and her family, but was glad that the event didn’t have to be fully cancelled.

Vance added that Kirk has endured two different living hells since her husband’s assassination. She had first experienced the death of her husband, and then been subject to intense criticism for everything in her public life, he said. 

Dig deeper: Read Christina Grube’s report on a Turning Point USA event that primed Vance for a potential 2028 presidential run.