A US$100,000 statue of conservative activist Charlie Kirk has been unveiled in New York’s Times Square on the first anniversary of his assassination — with the tribute quickly becoming the centre of clashes between supporters and protesters.
The 6ft 5in bronze-painted sculpture shows the late Turning Point USA founder seated with a microphone and wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the word “FREEDOM”.
Italian-born artist Sergio Furnari funded the work himself and said he intended it as both a memorial to Kirk and a statement about freedom of expression.
But almost immediately, the unveiling demonstrated just how divisive Kirk’s legacy remains.
Supporters And Protesters Clash
Kirk was shot and killed on 10 September 2025 while speaking at an outdoor event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah.
One year later, supporters gathered around the Times Square memorial while counter-protesters arrived to challenge both Kirk’s politics and the celebration of his legacy.
The groups exchanged chants and insults before several confrontations broke out.
Footage from the scene showed police stepping between demonstrators, while reports said at least one Kirk supporter was struck during the disorder.
No arrests were reported.
One supporter said he had travelled to the event to help preserve Kirk’s legacy, arguing that political violence was unacceptable regardless of ideological differences.
That point is worth separating from Kirk’s politics.
His assassination was an act of political violence and should not be celebrated or justified.
At the same time, condemning his killing does not require ignoring the views he promoted during his lifetime.
Kirk’s LGBTQ+ Record Remains Part Of His Legacy
Kirk built Turning Point USA into one of the most influential conservative youth organisations in the United States and became a prominent ally of Donald Trump.
He also repeatedly used LGBTQ+ people — particularly trans people — as targets in his political commentary.
In 2022, Kirk claimed that gay couples were no longer satisfied with marriage equality and instead wanted to “corrupt” children.
He also once argued there was a “direct connection” between inflation and transgender issues, suggesting both reflected a willingness to reject what he considered objective reality.
Kirk opposed same-sex marriage, regularly attacked gender-affirming healthcare and LGBTQ+ education, and supported legal protections for people who destroyed or burned Pride flags as political expression.
Those views made him deeply unpopular with many LGBTQ+ Americans long before his death.
For queer communities, remembering Kirk therefore involves two truths at once: his assassination was wrong, and the rhetoric he promoted often targeted LGBTQ+ people in ways that caused genuine harm and fear.
Artist Says Statue Is About Free Speech
Furnari has insisted that the sculpture is intended to encourage dialogue rather than political division.
He described the work as a monument not only to Kirk but to freedom of speech and said he hoped people with opposing viewpoints would engage with one another rather than respond with violence.
The artist reportedly spent around US$100,000 of his own money creating the statue over several months.
Its Times Square appearance was timed to coincide with the first anniversary of Kirk’s death.
The sculpture is not understood to be a permanent Times Square installation.
A Divisive Anniversary
Elsewhere, Turning Point USA marked the anniversary with a memorial event at Utah Valley University, where Kirk was killed.
The university also closed much of its campus for the day as supporters, students and protesters reflected on the events of the previous year.
Kirk remains a hero to large parts of the American conservative movement.
To many LGBTQ+ people, however, his political record cannot be separated from repeated attacks on queer and trans rights.
That tension was visible in Times Square.
A statue intended to celebrate freedom of speech instead became a gathering point for two groups with sharply different ideas about what Kirk stood for — and about how his legacy should be remembered.
