Riley Gaines' Powerful Tribute To Charlie Kirk: 'I've Lost A Friend, A Mentor'

In the wake of the deadly shooting of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk on Wednesday in Utah, many prominent conservatives are voicing their concerns.

Chief among them is Outkick's very own Riley Gaines, who posted a heartfelt tribute to her fallen friend.

"Today, I feel the weight of it," Gaines explained. "I don't have words, I can't sleep."

Even for the people who never met him, Kirk's death shook them to their core, but for Gaines, it feels a lot more personal.

"I've lost a friend, a mentor, the person I go to."

Charlie Kirk was the best of all of us.

He used his platform at TPUSA not to talk down to people or speak from an ivory tower, but to sit at eye level and debate individuals he vehemently disagreed with, face-to-face.

Kirk was no stranger to hostile environments, as he routinely faced the kind of vitriol and hatred you would expect from deranged college leftists and angry activists alike.

It was never supposed to come to this, though.

This wasn't some high-level politician or policymaker, Kirk was just a citizen with a passion for political debate.

Gaines puts it perfectly, stating that the Trump assassination, while frightening, is totally different when compared to what happened in Utah.

"Of course, the events that took place in Butler, PA, shook me… Charlie, this was really different, and I'm afraid."

"It could've been any one of us, what happened to Charlie."

What does this mean for conservative pundits moving forward?

"We don't have to live like this," Gaines states, "we shouldn't have to live like this, in fear of speaking the truth, raw and unfiltered."

As Gaines explains in her video, Kirk wasn't calling for violence or the extermination of a group of people.

"I'm talking things like ‘men and women are different.’ I'm talking things like ‘… you can’t have a nation without secure borders…' Citing statistics."

Despite the fear and anger that we are all surely dealing with in the immediate aftermath of this tragedy, Gaines' message is simple.

"Live a life like Charlie Kirk did."

Kirk died doing what he loved, debating his passion among the people.

At the end of the day, he was one of us.

A father.

A husband.

A friend.

And because of a senseless act of violence, he's gone, leaving a hole in so many peoples' lives.

"I hope that Charlie, and his legacy, will not be overlooked," Gaines pleaded.

If the reaction to his death is any indicator, Kirk's legacy is secure, and he is surely looking down on the change he affected with great pride.