Erika Kirk Hid Under Table, Was Consoled by Kash Patel After White House Correspondents’ Dinner Shooting: Eyewitness Reports

Kirk’s husband, Charlie Kirk, was shot and killed during a political speaking event last September

Erika Kirk.Credit : 

JONATHAN ERNST/POOL/AFP via Getty

Erika Kirk was a guest at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday night when shots were fired at the Washington Hilton hotel.

According to eyewitness reports, Kirk was one of many in attendance who sheltered in place under the tables in the ballroom as the chaos erupted. She was later seen in tears, being consoled by FBI director Kash Patel.

Kirk has been the CEO of Turning Point USA since her husband, Charlie Kirk, was shot and killed at a political speaking event at Utah Valley University in September 2025.

She spoke out a few days after the assassination, saying, “Charlie loved his children, and he loved me with all of his heart. My husband laid down his life for me, for our nation, for our children.”

“I honestly have no idea what any of this means. I know that God does, but I don’t,” she continued. “All the evildoers responsible for my husband’s assassination have no idea what they have done.”

Kirk, 37, backed out of a Turning Point USA event in Athens, Ga., with Vice President JD Vance last week, saying she was “worried” about “some threats.”

The former beauty queen received “some very serious threats in her direction,” Turning Point USA spokesman Andrew Kolvet said, according to Fox News. Vance, 41, also said he was concerned the entire event would be canceled and spoke with the Secret Service about it.

“I know that she did get some threats, and about two hours ago I was a little worried we were going to have to cancel the event because Erika was not going to come,” the vice president said during his remarks to students at the University of Georgia, according to WSB-TV. “She was very worried about it.”

PEOPLE reached out to Turning Point USA and the Secret Service at the time, but did not immediately hear back.

Eyewitnesses at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday night reported hearing shots and smelling gunpowder amid the reported attack by a gunman.

President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance were rapidly escorted from the ballroom at the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C., as were other top members of the administration, including press secretary Karoline Leavitt, FBI Director Kash Patel, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and others.

Trump posted on Truth Social shortly after being escorted out, writing, “Quite an evening in D.C. Secret Service and Law Enforcement did a fantastic job. They acted quickly and bravely. The shooter has been apprehended, and I have recommended that we ‘LET THE SHOW GO ON’ but, will entirely be guided by Law Enforcement. They will make a decision shortly. Regardless of that decision, the evening will be much different than planned, and we’ll just, plain, have to do it again. President DONALD J. TRUMP.”

It was later announced that he would not return to the event, but instead address the press from the White House around 10 p.m. ET.

In a statement addressing the situation, Secret Service Chief of Communications Anthony Guglielmi confirmed that there was a “shooting incident near the main magnetometer screening area at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.” Guglielmi said that the “condition of those involved is not yet known” and confirmed that one individual is in custody.