PHOENIX (AZFamily) — A statue of Charlie Kirk unveiled earlier this week at Turning Point USA’s Phoenix headquarters was vandalized overnight Sunday.
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Phoenix police say two suspects vandalized the statue just before 1 a.m. Around 8:30 a.m., security notified officers and reported the vandalism.
The statue was spray-painted in red, and a nearby memorial poster in front of the statue was also vandalized with red paint.
Phoenix police say the suspects also attempted to set the memorial poster on fire before fleeing the area.
The eight-foot statue, located at Turning Point USA’s headquarters near 48th Street and Baseline Road in Phoenix, was installed Thursday to mark the one-year anniversary of Kirk’s killing.
“Charlie once said we should be building two statues for every statue that they tear down,” Charlie Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, said in response. “His instinct was always to build, not to destroy.”
No arrests have been made, and no description of the suspects is available.
Anyone with information is asked to call Phoenix Police or Silent Witness at 480-WITNESS or 480-TESTIGO for Spanish speakers.
Erika Kirk pushed back on efforts to deface her husband’s memory, insisting it will only backfire.
“They thought a bullet would silence my husband’s voice but it only made it louder. They think spray paint can obscure his legacy, but it will only spread it further. Every attempt to tear down what Charlie built makes us root deeper and work even harder,” Erika Kirk said.
Charlie once said we should be building two statues for every statue that they tear down. His instinct was always to build, not to destroy.
They thought a bullet would silence my husband’s voice but it only made it louder. They think spray paint can obscure his legacy, but it… https://t.co/nfMlpsSwKd
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— Erika Kirk (@MrsErikaKirk) September 13, 2026
Turning Point USA Chief Operating Officer Tyler Bowyer posted on X that he believes the text left on a sign reads “Satan.”
“This morning we woke up to radical criminals vandalizing our Headquarters,” Bowyer wrote in another post. “Crossing over Charlie’s face, scratching out Jesus and the Cross & spraying red paint on his neck. This isn’t the country we want to live in. Arizona is not Gotham.”
In a separate post, Turning Point USA said it plans to repair the damage and is cooperating with law enforcement.
“We will restore the statue and replace the signs, but we are also reviewing the footage of the incident and are working with law enforcement to identify who did this and hold them accountable,” the organization wrote. “But vandalism like this is not funny, it’s diabolical. The incident happened in the middle of the night because evil never sleeps. Beyond spray painting on the neck and face, they made the intentional decision to cross out the name of Jesus on a nearby sign.”
Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell condemned the vandalism in a post on X. “These acts of vandalism will not be tolerated,” she said.
Kirk, a conservative activist, was shot and killed a year ago at a Turning Point USA event in Utah.
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