Vandalism Incident at Turning Point USA Headquarters
Turning Point USA reported on Sunday that a statue honoring their late founder, Charlie Kirk, located outside their headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona, was defaced with red paint.
In a post on X, Tyler Bowyer, COO of Turning Point Action, shared images of the damaged statue alongside a sign that also bore signs of vandalism. Notably, the sign had a red “X” marked over Kirk’s face, and red paint was smeared over the word “Jesus” in the caption: “May Charlie be received into the merciful arms of Jesus, our loving Savior.”
The statue showed red paint sprayed across Kirk’s neck, face, and one of his hands, which held a baseball cap. Additionally, an upside-down smiley face was painted in red on the bottom of Kirk’s shirt.
Bowyer expressed his dismay, stating, “This morning we woke up to radical criminals vandalizing our Headquarters. Crossing over Charlie’s face, scratching out Jesus and the Cross & spraying red paint on his neck.”
This act of vandalism occurred shortly after the first anniversary of Kirk’s tragic assassination while addressing students at Utah Valley University on September 10, 2025.
Mikey McCoy, who was Kirk’s chief-of-staff, shared his thoughts on X, reflecting on the ability to forgive. He highlighted that if Jesus could pray for forgiveness while on the cross, and if Kirk was unrelenting in facing adversity with courage and dialogue, then perhaps he could find a way to set aside his anger towards the perpetrators of this act.
McCoy noted, “If Charlie could return again and again to the campuses where he was hated and mocked and continue to meet hostility with courage and an invitation to dialogue… if Stephen could be stoned to death and, with his final breaths, cry out to God, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them.’”
He concluded by stating, “If Christ could hang on the cross and pray, ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do’ … Then I can surrender all the anger, and pure disgust that I feel at seeing this to a just and holy God and pray instead for the repentance and salvation of the people who carry out, mock, and celebrate these evil acts.”
In response to the vandalism, Turning Point USA announced plans to repair the statue and replace the damaged signs. They also stated that they are reviewing footage of the incident and are collaborating with law enforcement to identify the responsible individuals. “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,” the organization remarked in a post on X.
