Statue of Charlie Kirk restored after vandalized with 'blood' just days it was unveiled

A statue memorializing Charlie Kirk was vandalized days after it was unveiled, and then quickly restored.

Vandals defaced a statue commemorating Charlie Kirk on Sunday, just days after the memorial marking one year since his assassination was installed on the grounds of Turning Point USA's headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona. Turning Point USA moved quickly to have the statue cleaned and restored to pristine condition.

The face and neck of the statue was smeared with a red substance made to look like blood and a sad face was painted across the statue's midriff. The fake blood was made to look like it was dripping from the left side of the statue's neck, the very place where the lone bullet struck Kirk during last year's assassination on a college campus in Utah. 

The eight-foot-tall bronze statue's left hand, which is holding a hat, was also covered in fake blood, video and images from the scene showed. The vandals didn't stop at the statue. Accompanying the statue is a sign with a photo of Kirk alongside the words, "May Charlie be received into the merciful arms of Jesus, our loving Savior." The vandals painted a red X over Kirk's face, and painted over the word "Jesus."

A second sign placed near the statue, reading, "Jesus defeated death so you can live," was also defaced with the word "Jesus" crossed out and replaced in red paint with the word Satan. The vandalism drew a sharp reaction from Erika Kirk as well as Turning Point USA. 

"They thought a bullet would silence my husband’s voice but it only made it louder," Erila Kirk said in a post on X. "They think spray paint can obscure his legacy, but it will only spread it further. Every attempt to tear down what Charlie built makes us root deeper and work even harder. And if you think crossing out the name of Jesus Christ will silence Christians," she added, "history has already proved you wrong. We know what it costs to stand firm for Christ and we will stand anyway. God will not be mocked." 

Turning Point said the vandalism occurred during the overnight hours and vowed to have the damaged repaired, the statue restored and the defaced signs replaced -- and the perpetrators brought to justice. 

“We will restore the statue and replace the signs, but we are also reviewing the footage of the incident and are working with law enforcement to identify who did this and hold them accountable,” Turning Point USA said in a statement on X. By late Sunday, Andrew Kolvet, the chief spokesperson for Turning Point USA posted a photo on X showing that the bronze statue had been cleaned and restored, saying, "Evil may never sleep, but neither do we.