German far-right activist and nationalist influencer Vincenzo Richter was travelling with his wife when he learned that American right-wing activist Charlie Kirk had been shot dead while speaking at a university in Utah on 10 September.
“I was paralysed,” Richter told The Parliament. “I looked more and saw the video from the live stream of where he actually got shot and that was absolutely surreal. It was terrifying to see, especially from such a great man who always was open for debate.” Richter, a student, who has nearly 900 followers on Instagram, calls himself an “identitarian activist” — a pan-European movement dedicated to preserving the continent’s white identity, including through so-called remigration.
Richter was far from alone. Tens of thousands attended Kirk’s memorial in Glendale, Arizona, this past Sunday, including President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance. The service was steeped in religious imagery, with Trump declaring: “We want God back.”
Across the Atlantic, in Paris, hundreds rallied with placards bearing Kirk’s face and the “Je suis Charlie” slogan from the 2015 Charlie Hebdo attacks, which became a flashpoint in the debate over free speech. In London the weekend prior, a nationalist rally led by far-right, anti-islam activist Tommy Robinson — ostensibly devoted to the celebration of free speech — featured a prominent image of Kirk in the background.
Kirk’s assassination comes as much of Europe’s political landscape continues to shift right — with the far right successfully harnessing social media to court big swathes of the continent’s youth vote. And Kirk’s death has galvanised their cause.
“What’s interesting is that Kirk didn’t have deep personal traction in Europe before, but the event itself has elevated him into a symbolic figure,” Ioana Literat, a professor at Columbia University who specialises in youth digital practices, told The Parliament. “He’s now serving as shorthand for broader grievances — about censorship, free speech, Christian identity, and the supposed hostility of the left. That symbolic role matters more than his actual following ever did.”
Campus activism to mainstream conservative politics
Kirk, 31, started the advocacy group Turning Point USA in 2012, initially founded to promote conservative ideas on university campuses. Over time, it grew in influence — holding mass rallies with tens of thousands of young voters — to become a vocal proponent of Trump’s Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement. The combative Kirk often appeared at US academic institutions to openly debate liberal students.
Kirk — unapologetic about his Christian faith and commitment to traditional gender roles — was critical of LGBTQ+ rights, dismissive of the threat posed by climate change, believed the US Civil Rights Act of 1964 was an “anti-white weapon,” and, as a proponent of so-called replacement theory, was regularly accused of antisemitism.
His hard-right youth movement ultimately played a key role in mobilising young voters to turn out for Trump in last year’s presidential election.
Above all, though, Kirk saw himself as a champion of free speech. “Hate speech does not exist legally in America,” Kirk wrote on X last year. “There’s ugly speech. There’s gross speech. There’s evil speech. And ALL of it is protected by the First Amendment.”
That rhetoric has resonated with droves of young voters across the US and Europe who are disenchanted by mainstream politicians and the perceived dominance of a ‘woke,’ politically correct culture.
Social media amplification
Kirk’s messaging has been turbocharged by social media — both before and after his death.
The day before his assassination, the activist had nearly 4 million subscribers on YouTube and more than 7 million on TikTok.
“The far right figured out how to use new media in what they themselves call a cultural battle,” Romain Fargier, a researcher at the University of Montpellier, told The Parliament. “They used this idea of cultural struggle to spread their ideology. They use irony, sarcasm, and humour as an entry point — so a viewer sees far-right content that’s funny or ironic and ends up unconsciously absorbing some of the message.”
Since Kirk’s death, his social following has surged by 1.5 million on YouTube, 2 million on TikTok, and 3.5 million on Instagram.
When footage of the shooting went viral, “European far-right actors were able to seize on that momentum,” said Literat.
Right-wing influencers and activists across the continent took to their platform to speak to their followers.
Alice Cordier, a French far-right influencer who founded the self-described feminist and identitarian organisation Collectif Némésis wrote on Instagram to her 140,000 followers: “They could never win a debate against you, so they killed you instead. Thanks for everything Charlie. Rest in peace.”
Beyond the influencer sphere, right-wing European politicians including Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and France’s Marine Le Pen framed his murder as further evidence of persecution of the far right. The far-right Patriots for Europe group in the European Parliament memorialised Kirk on Instagram, citing his “dedication and conviction,” while the nationalist Europe of Sovereign Nations (ESN) group nominated Kirk for the Sakharov Prize, awarded for the first time in 1988 to Nelson Mandela and Anatoly Marchenko.
“There is also an important feedback loop: US conservative influencers frame Kirk as a martyr, those clips circulate globally, and then European parties repurpose the same narrative for their audiences,” added Literat.
Promoting traditional values
Kirk’s ideas have tapped into a wider revival of traditionalist politics in Europe, particularly around gender roles and religion — resonating with young Europeans active in online spaces like the loosely aligned ‘manosphere’ and ‘tradwife’ communities.
And his youthful charisma has made those ideas more palatable to many young Europeans who might not have been receptive to right-wing politics, argued Fargier.
“Charlie Kirk’s profile made him more acceptable to the public than someone like Steve Bannon or the alt-right, who are considered too radical,” Fargier told The Parliament. “Kirk was much less radical, so part of his message may resonate more broadly in Europe, especially his emphasis on Christian values.”
Kirk’s Christian-infused rhetoric has spoken to a slice of the European electorate that would like to see religion play a larger role in public life. Italy’s right-wing prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, has often invoked Christianity and motherhood as central to her political identity. And Christianity is central to the political rhetoric and natalist policies of Hungary’s Orbán.
The focus on religion in the political discourse “resonates with conservative parts of the population, especially on issues like abortion, same-sex marriage [and] surrogacy,” said Fargier. “Christian values can serve as counter-arguments to progressive reforms.”
Sign up to The Parliament's weekly newsletter
Every Friday our editorial team goes behind the headlines to offer insight and analysis on the key stories driving the EU agenda. Subscribe for free here.