Conservative youth organizer Charlie Kirk, assassinated last month while engaging in a public debate over politics, is being honored with the Media Research Center’s annual Free Speech Award, the right-leaning media watchdog said Wednesday.
In championing the Turning Point USA founder, Kirk will be the only recipient of the award that last year was given to 35 defenders of the First Amendment, including House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA).
MRC President David Bozell paid tribute to Kirk, stating, “There are no awards or recognitions that could fully capture the impact Charlie Kirk had on this generation of leaders, but it is our duty to continue honoring his work and keeping his legacy alive.”
Turning Point welcomed the award. Spokesman Andrew Kolvet said, “Charlie was completely devoted to open dialogue, debate, and free speech. He believed in the battle of ideas, not bullets. His life and legacy will be an eternal testament to his unwavering faith in the logos of God, the Word, and our ability to emulate our Creator with this uniquely American ideal enshrined as our very First Amendment. We must press forward and insist on one nation under God that follows Charlie’s example and picks up a microphone to make our case, not a gun.”
The Media Research Center exclusively honors Charlie Kirk with its 2025 Free Speech Award.
— Media Research Center (@theMRC) October 22, 2025
No one sacrificed more for the First Amendment than Charlie. May @MrsErikaKirk and @TPUSA continue his legacy.https://t.co/kn3Dbqt4vQ
The Media Research Center has a history of highlighting champions of the First Amendment, especially those who call out left-wing media efforts to silence and ignore conservative voices.
In his appearances for Turning Point, Kirk, 31, went out of his way to engage with those who disagreed with him. At his last event on Sept. 10, 2025, while on an outdoor stage at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, he was holding an open mic discussion with those challenging the conservative.
Critic Tyler James Robinson, 22, was later arrested and charged with killing Kirk with one rifle shot to the neck.
President Donald Trump held a White House event to present Kirk’s widow, Erika, with the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Kirk’s 32nd birthday.
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Kirk was a founding member of the MRC Free Speech America Advisory Board.
Washington Secrets teams up with MRC every Monday to select the Liberal Media Scream, the weekly example of media bias.
