Claim: Erika Kirk, widow of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, recruited victims for convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and had her husband killed to keep him quiet about her ties to Epstein.

Rating:

Rating: False

In September 2025, a rumor circulated on social media alleging that Erika Kirk, the widow of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, helped recruit victims for convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and had her husband killed to stop him from speaking about it. The claims spread online after Charlie Kirk’s Sept. 10 assassination and Erika Kirk’s appointment as CEO of Turning Point USA, the nonprofit organization her husband co-founded.

For example, a post on X claimed Erika Kirk was in the Epstein files “as a recruiter” and that she “had Charlie killed to shut him up.” According to another X post:

Erika Kirk knew Donald Trump before she knew Charlie via pageants, was kicked out of Romania for possible sex trafficking, and Donald has ties to Epstein…Charlie Kirk wanted to release the Epstein files. His wife has gained the most in his death. That means…?

(X user @kyabechatting)

However, there was no evidence linking Erika Kirk to Epstein, particularly because she was in high school when law enforcement investigated Epstein’s alleged sex trafficking. Furthermore, our previous reporting uncovered how there was no evidence Kirk was kicked out of Romania for sex trafficking. Ongoing investigations into the motivations behind Charlie Kirk’s shooting also have no connection to his wife. As such, we rate this claim as false.

Erika Kirk’s alleged ties to Epstein

There is no evidence Erika Kirk was part of any purported sex trafficking ring tied to Epstein.

Unsealed in July 2019, the federal indictment against Epstein “alleges that, between 2002 through 2005, EPSTEIN sexually exploited and abused dozens of underage girls by enticing them to engage in sex acts with him in exchange for money.” In August 2019, Epstein was found dead by suicide in the detention facility where he was held.

Kirk graduated from high school in Arizona in 2007, according to the school’s Facebook page (archived) and local media. At the time of Epstein’s alleged activities, she would have been in her early teens. There is no evidence that she was an associate of his and recruiting other victims in that time period. We also have no evidence that she herself was a victim.

Erika Kirk’s early ties to Donald Trump

In 2012, Kirk won Miss Arizona USA. The competition falls under Miss USA and Miss Teen USA’s pageants, according to their websites. U.S. President Donald Trump owned Miss USA and Miss Teen USA at that time and knew Kirk, according to The New York Times.

However, Trump has said he fell out with Epstein years earlier. After Epstein was arrested in 2019, Trump said they had not spoken in 15 years, which would make their last contact in 2004. In November 2004, the men sparred over a property in Florida.

A White House spokesperson told the media in July 2025 that Trump had kicked Epstein out of his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida for “being a creep.” According to an August 2025 report by the Miami Herald, Trump barred Epstein from Mar-a-Lago in October 2007. A club member told the Herald that Trump had “kicked Epstein out after Epstein harassed the daughter of a member.”

There is no public record of the two men interacting since then. And given that Kirk’s known interactions with Trump occurred in 2012 and after, there is no evidence she was connected to Epstein through Trump.

Erika Kirk was not involved in Romanian sex trafficking

We have previously reported on Erika Kirk’s connections with a charity in Romania. Her “Romanian Angels” initiative was run through her nonprofit organization Everyday Heroes Like You, with the stated goal of supporting children in Romanian orphanages by sending them letters and gifts and by arranging visits from members of the U.S. military.

Snopes found no evidence the trafficking allegation was true. Newspaper articles about child trafficking in Romania that internet users shared as alleged evidence did not contain any mention of Kirk or her organization. Likewise, materials from the Romanian Angels initiative that circulated online as alleged evidence did not contain any indication that the initiative was involved in trafficking or relocating any children.

Fact-checking organization Lead Stories also reported that local media and court records had “only positive mentions of [Kirk’s] charities’ work.” Snopes also searched for Erika Kirk’s maiden name in the Romanian courts’ portal, which returned no results.

Erika Kirk did not have her husband killed

The ongoing investigation into the motiviations of the man suspected of killing Charlie Kirk, Tyler Robinson, and his ties to other groups have found no connection to Erika Kirk. Rather, investigators have not confirmed whether the suspect had any particular political ideology or how he was radicalized.

Charlie Kirk did often speak out about the Epstein scandal and criticized the Trump administration for opposing the release of the Epstein files. Given that Erika Kirk had no ties to Epstein, her purportedly killing her husband to “shut him up” makes no sense.

This is not the first rumor about Erika Kirk we’ve investigated. We also looked into a claim that she had raised millions of dollars from an online fundraiser in the wake of her husband’s death despite already being a multimillionaire.