By Josie Simpson
On Sept. 11, the University of Louisville became aware of flyers on its campus featuring a graphic illustration of Charlie Kirk.
Charlie Kirk, a conservative political commentator and Co-Founder of Turning Point USA, was assassinated on Sept. 10, 2025, at Utah Valley University. Kirk was at the university for his American Comeback Tour to debate college students and promote conservative politics.
Flyers illustrated Charlie Kirk being shot in the neck with the caption “Debate this” appeared across different buildings on the UofL Belknap Campus the day after his assassination.
According to a screenshot of UofL’s community chat on Yik Yak, someone posted the flyers on a bulletin board, shared with the caption “this school man lmaooo.” ULPD soon removed the flyers. The Yik Yak post was also deleted.
Despite the removal, the flyers at UofL sparked reactions on social media platforms like X.
Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life, is scheduled to host a tabling event at the university on Oct. 2. She shared a screenshot of the community chat with the caption, ‘May God have mercy on our nation.’ As of Sept. 12, her post had 3.1 million views, the most-viewed post about the situation.
Metro Council District 19 Councilman Anthony Piagentini also wrote on X that he planned to contact UofL’s president about the situation. He later noted UofL had removed the flyers, but added that if a student hung them, the university should expel that student.
In a Sept. 12 statement to The Louisville Cardinal, UofL interim Vice President of Communications and Marketing John Karman said, “ULPD removed the posters yesterday, and the situation remains under investigation.”
Photo by Jai’Michael Anderson / The Louisville Cardinal
