Erika Kirk, CEO of Turning Point USA and widow of its founder Charlie Kirk, was escorted from the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday night after reports of gunfire disrupted the event, according to video and eyewitness accounts.
Footage shared on Instagram by Sara Sidner shows Kirk visibly shaken as security personnel guided her out of the venue. In the clip, she can be heard saying, “I just want to go home.”
Sidner wrote alongside the video: “Police say gun shots were fired. Erica Kirk was there in the room. She rushed by in [tears].”
Erika Kirk was seen crying after shots were fired at the White House Correspondents Dinner 😬
“I just want to go home” pic.twitter.com/oUA7I26OJK
— kira 👾 (@kirawontmiss) April 26, 2026
The incident occurred at the Washington Hilton during the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner, which was attended by President Donald Trump in his first appearance at the event since returning to office, wrote The Daily Caller. Secret Service agents quickly evacuated Trump, first lady Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and other senior officials from the ballroom after the reported shots.
The disruption comes months after the killing of Charlie Kirk, who was fatally shot on September 10, 2025, during a Turning Point USA “Prove Me Wrong” event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. Tyler Robinson has been charged with capital murder in connection with the incident.
Kirk had previously cited security concerns when canceling a scheduled April 14 appearance at a Turning Point USA event in Georgia alongside Vance. A spokesperson for the organization said the decision followed “some very serious threats in her direction.”
In a post on Twitter at the time, Kirk wrote: “I was so looking forward to tonight’s event at the @universityofga with our Vice President @JDVance, but after all our family has been through, I take my security team’s recommendations extremely seriously. Thank you to our amazing Georgia chapter for your support. God bless you all!”
I was so looking forward to tonight’s event at the @universityofga with our Vice President @JDVance, but after all our family has been through, I take my security team’s recommendations extremely seriously. Thank you to our amazing Georgia chapter for your support. God bless you… https://t.co/f2rBre9ArJ
— Erika Kirk (@MrsErikaKirk) April 14, 2026
Trump has survived multiple assassination attempts, including one at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, and another while golfing in West Palm Beach, Florida, during the 2024 campaign.
Liberals have become increasingly violent over the past few years. Just earlier in the week, The New York Times pushed a story featuring three wealthy liberals who valorized shoplifting as “microlooting.” One of them, Hasan Piker, who has said that America deserved 9-11 and called for the assassination of Republicans, has become a mainstay at Democratic campaign rallies.
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