A proposal is circulating in Congress to install a statue of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk in the United States Capitol, following his death in Utah on Wednesday.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R‑Fla.) has drafted a letter urging Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and congressional leadership to direct that a statue of Kirk be placed in the Capitol.
Luna has said the move is intended “to honor this legacy.”
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In a post on the social platform X Thursday, Luna wrote, "I owe my entire political career to Charlie Kirk. I would quite literally not be in office today if it weren’t for him. Even when my own party was working against me, Charlie endorsed me and campaigned to help me win election."
She added: "Today, I am urging @SpeakerJohnson to place a statue of Charlie in the US Capitol to honor his legacy and to serve as a permanent testament to his life, work, and sacrifice."
When asked by a reporter whether the idea made sense, Rep. Andrew Clyde (R‑Ga.) replied, “because we have a statue of MLK in the Capitol, don’t we?”
Clyde’s comparison invokes Martin Luther King Jr., the civil rights leader whose memory is enshrined in multiple works in the Capitol — including a bronze bust in the Capitol Rotunda.
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However, Kirk in 2024 called MLK “awful,” “not a good person,” and said that MLK “said one good thing he actually didn't believe."
Kirk argued that the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a mistake, saying that instead of solely being a triumph, it led to what he sees as a “DEI [diversity, equity, and inclusion]‑type bureaucracy” and traits in government and society that he believes have departed from meritocracy.
Kirk, the co-founder of Turning Point USA, was shot and killed Wednesday during a live event at Utah Valley University. Authorities say the shooting appeared targeted, and the FBI has recovered the rifle believed to have been used.
In a video message from the White House released that evening, President Donald Trump condemned the killing of Kirk as “a dark moment for America,” calling him a "martyr."
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Trump also called Kirk “a patriot who devoted his life to the cause of open debate and the country that he loves so much, the United States of America.”
Meanwhile, Luna's proposal sparked backlash on social media.
Journalist Pete Jukes wrote on the social platform X: "Could see this coming a mile off. The hard right want their Martin Luther King. Ashley[sic] Babbitt didn’t quite fit the score."
Journalist Mike Rothschild wrote: "MAGA wants to turn Charlie Kirk into Horst Wessel 2.0, but the longer the shooter stays in the wind, the harder it will be. Outrage dissipates and attention spans are short. They'll scream THIS IS WAR until some fast casual chain woke-izes its logo, then they'll move on."
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