Charlie Kirk Statue Defaced With Red Paint After Unveiling

A newly installed bronze statue of Charlie Kirk outside Turning Point USA’s Phoenix headquarters was vandalized with red paint just three days after its unveiling, Tyler Bowyer posted on X.

The eight-foot statue, sculpted by artist Quintin McCann, was unveiled Thursday, September 10, to coincide with the one-year anniversary of Kirk’s assassination at Utah Valley University. It depicts the late TPUSA founder tossing baseball caps into a crowd, wearing his signature “FREEDOM” T-shirt along with a cross necklace. The statue sits alongside a memorial that had grown since the unveiling with flowers, flags and handwritten tributes.

Phoenix police said they received reports of vandalism around 8 a.m. Sunday. Officers taped off the area and confirmed an investigation was underway, though no suspects had been identified as of Sunday afternoon.

I hope you are awake. pic.twitter.com/7pblK0qy3W

— Tyler Bowyer (@tylerbowyer) September 13, 2026

Photos and videos posted by Bowyer, TPUSA’s COO, show red paint sprayed across the statue’s face, along with a frowning expression drawn on its torso. A nearby memorial poster bearing Kirk’s photo was also defaced, with a red X drawn over his face. Bowyer noted that the phrase “May Charlie be received into the merciful arms of Jesus, our loving Savior” had been altered, with “Jesus” crossed out and replaced with “Satan.”

“I hope you’re awake,” Bowyer captioned the images.

It appears they wrote “Satan” after crossing out Jesus. pic.twitter.com/tJENYb9u7D

— Tyler Bowyer (@tylerbowyer) September 13, 2026

Bowyer separately tagged Democratic Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs and suggesting her campaign would either stay silent or issue a statement condemning the act.

Rep. Abe Hamadeh (R-AZ) called the vandalism “truly abhorrent” in an X post, adding that “the left is intolerant and militant” and that “evil exists and must be confronted continuously.”

The incident follows a separate act of vandalism at the same site in September 2025, when a man was arrested after trampling a makeshift memorial to Kirk in the days following his death. Turning Point USA has been led by Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, as CEO and board chair since his killing.