In Honour of Our Brother in Christ, Charlie Kirk
- Melissa Deichler
- Sep 14
- 6 min read
In Honour of Our Brother in Christ, Charlie Kirk: His Legacy of Free Speech and Open Dialogue
A Tragic Loss
We are heartbroken and enraged by the assassination of Charlie Kirk in Utah on 10th September 2025. We share in the grief and the call for change and justice echoed by Christians around the world.
Charlie, a 31-year-old husband and father of two, was a man of faith who built something remarkable straight out of high school: Turning Point USA, one of the largest political organisations in the United States.
He was killed by a gunshot while holding an event at Utah Valley University, where he was taking questions from university students like he had done thousands of times before. The shooter, Tyler Robinson, is now in custody and has confessed to the killing.
His death is a tragedy of enormous magnitude, felt not only by those who knew him but by countless others who were inspired from afar—not just because of his political activism for a greater America, but because he stood so firmly on his faith and on the truth, no matter what.
A Voice for Conversation and Debate
Charlie Kirk’s work centred on engaging young people in politics and creating space for rational, constructive conversations—even between people who disagreed. He modelled how to listen, respond, and challenge ideas without silencing others, with love, patience, and compassion for all people.
At Lighthouse, we know firsthand the importance of open dialogue. When we were falsely accused and smeared across five hours of BBC content—without ever being contacted or given the chance to respond—we chose not to retaliate, but to extend an open invitation: bring your evidence, sit at the table, and let’s talk. We called this our “David vs Goliath” challenge—yet our accusers refused to face us. When we offered to present our evidence, they claimed it was against their policy to engage. We have consistently asked for the same platform, the same reach, and the same resources to respond to every false claim made against us—a fair and reasonable minimum by any standard.
Likewise, every time we protested outside the BBC, our purpose was not conflict but conversation: to explain who we are, expose what was done to us, and invite the public to weigh the truth for themselves.
This commitment to dialogue, even with opponents, is the foundation of a healthy society—and it is exactly the principle Charlie Kirk embodied. But while we have “only” faced smears and threats, Charlie was not only vilified but ultimately killed for standing on the truth.
His death is chilling for us all, because it shows that the spirit that seeks to destroy truth will not stop at words—and its consequences are far-reaching in ways none of us can afford to underestimate.
Targeted and Vilified
Just as we have been targeted by the media, Charlie too was vilified in appalling and defamatory ways for holding conservative Christian convictions. Though his arguments were consistently grounded in logic, reasoning, and statistics, critics twisted his words and branded him with slurs such as “homophobic,” “racist,” and “fascist.” Yet time and again, Charlie dismantled these accusations with clarity and confidence. His rebuttals—captured in countless videos—have been viewed hundreds of millions of times online, a testament to both his effectiveness in exposing smear tactics and his ability to connect truth to an entire generation.
Charlie, like us, was smeared and mocked as a supposed leader of a so-called misogynistic “death cult” because of his “hateful rhetoric”—labels meant not to describe but to dehumanize, isolate, and silence. Labels which we ourselves have also been smeared with for similar religious and political reasons.
We too have faced death threats—threats that, by God’s grace, have not yet led to the same tragedy that took Charlie’s life. But the source is the same: the insidious woke left and the media institutions that enable them. Outlets like the BBC have relentlessly put targets on our backs while refusing every invitation to genuine dialogue. All we have ever asked for is open conversation—even our brothers who peacefully knocked on the door of the BBC journalist who smeared us, Bible in hand, were met not with dialogue but with arrests on charges of “harassment.”
We have been subject to the same kind of one-sided reporting by the BBC, whose “journalist” Catrin Nye claimed to conduct an “18-month investigation” into Lighthouse in her docu-myth A Very British Cult. Yet at no point did she meet with or speak to any of us, instead only interviewing our critics and enemies from Reddit. This is the equivalent of someone investigating the conservative right by speaking exclusively to the radical far left. It is not only inflammatory and unbalanced—it is a morally reprehensible approach to media reporting, yet somehow this propaganda has become the norm among legacy outlets. It is chilling to the core that reports have emerged that former school mates of Tyler Robinson, Charlie’s murderer described him as a “Reddit kid”. Much like where our false accusers started before BBC reporters went trawling through Reddit for stories.
Even in death, the attacks against Charlie did not stop. Outlets such as The Guardian published pieces branding his views as “bigoted” and quoting him out of context—just two days after his assassination. Some of these same outlets are now attempting to backtrack, yet their role in fuelling the climate of hostility cannot be ignored. At the same time, radicals on the left openly celebrated his death, revealing the hypocrisy of those who claim to champion empathy for the marginalised while mocking the murder of a man of faith.
This, too, is chilling for us all—for Charlie’s assassination makes clear the lengths to which opponents of truth will go to silence and extinguish those who dare to live it out.
Carrying His Legacy Forward
Charlie’s legacy will not end here. His wife, Erika Kirk, has vowed to continue his mission, and so must we.
As Christians, we are called to live out our faith with courage—willing to have difficult conversations, willing to be challenged, and willing to prioritize truth above opinion or emotion.
The “spirit of Charlie Kirk” that we now carry forward is this: to engage, to debate, to listen, and to stand firm on the Word of God while refusing to be silenced by fear or intimidation.
Charlie Kirk has become a symbol of open, rational, and solution-oriented engagement. His death reminds us of the urgent need to demand integrity from the media, who have too often weaponised their influence against Christians like Charlie—and like us. That weaponisation has been so vicious that it cost Charlie his life.
May we honour him not only in words, but in action: by insisting on dialogue, defending truth, and carrying forward his mission of faith and free speech.
What’s Next?
In the wake of Charlie’s death, Donald Trump posted on Truth Social about the possibility of a “Charlie Kirk Act”—a revival of legislation like the Smith–Mundt Act—that would hold the media accountable for their lies and targeted defamation.
Such a reform is not only necessary in America, but desperately needed here in the UK. We at Lighthouse have lived through the reality of what happens when powerful media institutions, such as the BBC, are allowed to act without accountability: they smear, misrepresent, and place targets on the backs of innocent people.
When those defamed have no access to fair recourse or meaningful dialogue, the media becomes a weapon in the hands of the Kingdom of Darkness—used to intimidate Christians and silence anyone who stands against indoctrination, corruption, and the erosion of Western civilisation and its values.
A “Charlie Kirk Act” in the UK and other countries would be a vital step toward breaking this cycle and protecting those who live, speak, and stand in the truth.
If we fail to act, Charlie’s assassination will not be the last reminder of what happens when lies are left unchecked. But if we rise up, insist on accountability, and carry Charlie’s legacy forward, his witness on earth will continue to bear fruit. His death is not in vain—for he is now with Jesus, crowned with eternal life. Yet it is up to us to ensure that the impact of his life and testimony does not end here, but inspires a generation to stand boldly for truth.