Overview
- The Media Research Center announced on Oct. 22 that Charlie Kirk will be the only recipient of its annual Free Speech Award in 2025, a shift from 35 honorees in 2024.
- MRC President David Bozell said no recognition can capture Kirk’s impact and emphasized a duty to keep his legacy alive.
- Turning Point USA spokesman Andrew Kolvet praised Kirk’s devotion to open dialogue, saying he believed in the battle of ideas, not bullets.
- During Free Speech Week, MRC is also highlighting other officials and advocates for First Amendment efforts, though the award itself goes solely to Kirk.
- Kirk was shot and killed during a Sept. 10 open debate at Utah Valley University; police arrested Tyler James Robinson, 22, who has been charged in the killing, and President Donald Trump later presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Kirk’s widow.