Erika Kirk expected to appear at Utah Capitol on Monday

Erika Kirk, the widow of conservative podcaster Charlie Kirk, is expected to appear at the Utah Capitol on Monday for a ceremonial citation.

Sources tell Utah Political Watch she plans to make an appearance on Monday. Spokespersons for both the Utah Senate and House did not respond to a request for comment.

Kirk was shot and killed during a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University in September. Eight days after Kirk was killed, Turning Point USA named Erika Kirk the organization’s new CEO.

Since Kirk’s assassination, Republican lawmakers around the country have floated ways to honor him posthumously.

Lawmakers in Missouri, South Carolina, and West Virginia have proposed creating an official “Charlie Kirk Day.”
Arizona, Idaho, and South Carolina have bills to rename highways after him.

In Utah, the only legislative action honoring Kirk proposed so far is HB196 from Rep. Trevor Lee, R‑Layton, to rename Harvey Milk Blvd. in Salt Lake City after Kirk.

Some Republican lawmakers have launched a fundraising campaign to build a memorial for Kirk on the Utah Valley University campus.

If Erika Kirk does appear Monday, she would join other national figures who have come to Utah to either be honored or to press a cause.

In 1986, Coretta Scott King, Dr. Martin Luther King’s widow, came to Utah to lobby the Legislature to create a holiday honoring her husband. Lawmakers instead named the holiday “Human Rights Day,” and Utah didn’t officially recognize MLK Day until 2000. Dr. King visited Utah and spoke at the University of Utah in 1961.
In 2001, comedian Bill Cosby appeared before a joint session of the House and Senate as part of a resolution recognizing Jell-O as Utah’s official snack. Lawmakers made him an honorary citizen as part of his visit.
In 2017, actor Jon Heder, star of Napoleon Dynamite, spoke to Utah lawmakers about the importance of tax incentives for movie productions that are filmed in the state.
Paris Hilton testified before a legislative committee in 2021 in favor of legislation to reform youth residential treatment centers.
Earlier this year, actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt visited the Utah Capitol to speak in favor of legislation dealing with artificial intelligence.