A year after Charlie Kirk's shooting death, membership in Turning Point USA, the group he founded to encourage civil debate, has surged. Yet some college students have said they feel the need to censor themselves on campus, according to a recently released study.
Shortly after Kirk's death, 44 percent of nearly 63,000 students surveyed nationwide said it was difficult to freely discuss it on campus, found the study, released Sept. 9 by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. The group also saw a spike in professors reporting retaliation from university administration and lawmakers over comments they made about Kirk.
“We documented roughly 90 attempts to get faculty sanctioned in some way for commenting about the assassination, with
20 or more resulting in a firing or resignation," said Sean Stevens, chief researcher at FIRE. "The number of politicians that are openly going after faculty or student groups, and trying to get events cancelled on campuses, has exploded in the past few years, and spiked (after Kirk's death).”
Kirk was fatally shot during an event at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10, 2025.
Tyler Robinson, 22,has been charged with aggravated murder and other felonies and faces the death penalty.
In the weeks after Kirk was shot, hundreds of people from across the country were fired or disciplined after posting about him online. In Tennessee, several people including professors were suspended, terminated or otherwise disciplined and one person was jailed.
In most cases the professors have since been reinstated, received settlements, or both. The briefly incarcerated man, a former police officer, was freed with charges dropped. Tennessee has since paid more than $3.2 million in settlements, backpay and other damages, more than any other state, while some lawsuits remain ongoing.
Turning Point reports growth
Data provided to The Tennessean by Turning Point USA, the organization Kirk founded in 2012, shows a 64 percent increase in TPUSA college chapters since last year.
"We’re so excited for another year on campus!" the Lipscomb University chapter said in a social media post ahead of the start of the fall semester.
"America Runs on Patriotism" read a sign held by a member in another post.
The Middle Tennessee State University chapter held a welcoming eventsoon after the semester started while the Belmont University chapter plans a memorial event Sept. 10.
The organization’s 2026 Chapter Leadership conference had more than 2,500 attendees — twice the 2024 attendance and with more than two-thirds of summit attendees reporting becoming involved with TPUSA after Kirk’s death.
In addition to college outreach, the group announced a partnership with the state of Tennessee in December, bringing their high school-level club, Club America, to all public high schools in the state.
The state joined Florida and Texas in the effort.
The organization stated that the data shows that “more Americans are turning to faith, joining Turning Point USA, and finding the purpose, community, and courage to lead.”
Kirk-related cases lead to settlements
In a case that generated national and international headlines, a Lexington, Tennessee man was arrested and charged with making threats of mass violence on school property and activities after posting a photo of a President Donald Trump quote on a Facebook post about Kirk.
Larry Bushart, a former Huntingdon Police Department officer, was held on $2 million bail for more than a month, causing him to lose his job in medical transportation due to his incarceration, and miss his anniversary and the birth of his grandchild, according to his lawyers.
After protests from community members and state officials, Bushart was releasedwith all charges dropped. The federal civil rights lawsuit accusing Perry County, the sheriff and sheriff's investigator of violating his First Amendment and Fourth Amendment rights settled for $835,000 in May.
The University of Tennessee System agreed to a $1.9 million settlement in late June with former assistant professor Tamar Shirinian, who was fired after writing about Kirk on a friend's private Facebook post. Some FIRE survey respondents referenced the case, Stevens said.
"Students said that kind of sent a clear message to them as to what can and can't be said on campus," he said.
FIRE ranks the University of Tennessee 47th in the nation when it comes to free speech protections on campus, a drop of 11 points.
Middle Tennessee State University rose two points and is now rated 13 by FIRE.
Former MTSU Dean of Students Laura Sosh-Lightsy is currently suing the university on First Amendment grounds.
She was fired on Sept. 10, 2025, an hour after U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, the GOP candidate for governor, tagged the college in a social media post about comments Sosh-Lightsy made the evening of Kirk's death.
In a statement at the time, MTSU President Sidney McPhee called the comments “inconsistent with our values and have undermined the university’s credibility and reputation with our students, faculty, staff and the community at large."
Sosh-Lightsy has since sued the school.
In January, an Austin Peay State University professorwas reinstated and awarded $500,000 after he was fired due to a news article he shared on social media about Kirk.
He has since sued Blackburn, accusing her of using her “governmental authority” to suppress his constitutionally protected speech.
A spokesperson for Blackburn called the lawsuit a “meritless attempt to punish Senator Blackburn and others for criticizing outrageous public statements concerning political violence and the murder of a husband, father, and patriot.”
What students are saying
Brandon Harvey, a chemistry major at Austin Peay State University, said he appreciated what he saw as an increase in campus police following Kirk’s death. He still feels strongly in protecting free speech on campus.
“I don't feel like things should be restricted on it,” Harvey said. “We have our country built on the whole idea of freedom of speech (and) the First Amendment, people should be allowed to talk about what they want."
“It does make sense how there's some like social taboo, and how it's kind of uneasy to talk about (Kirk),” Harvey said. “He was a man, he was human, he was very popular, and he did get assassinated.”
At Middle Tennessee State University, broadcast journalism major and self-described moderate conservative Alyssa Battaglia said that it’s been easier to talk about politics following Kirk's death.
“I know a lot of friends of mine, or people that share kind of the same values, (who) felt more open … to talk about their feelings or their opinions on certain things,” Battaglia said. “Almost to think of him as some sort of martyr, like he had to have some sort of sacrifice in order for us to be able to freely express our opinions … including a part of myself as well.”
State lawmakers in 2026 considered but did not pass bill that would have created plazas dedicated to Kirk's memory on the campuses of public universities.A bill that added rigidity to university policies regarding free speechpassed after revisions.
Another bill, dubbed the "Charlie Kirk American Heritage Act"and emphasizing the teaching of the “historical, positive impact of religion on American history,” passed, as did a bill that stripped some academic tenure protections for professors.
MTSU psychology major Snowy Lowhorn said she doesn’t think any subject, or person, should be barred from public discussion.
“I feel like nothing should be a taboo topic in our day and age," she said. "We should be able to speak freely on any topic and such, including Charlie Kirk.
“Maybe if you're posting something completely outrageous, they can have a say in firing you because of what you're posting about,” Lowhorn said. “But I really think that if it's your own personal account and you're not bringing harm to others, you should be allowed to express your opinion without risking your job over it.”
Angele Latham’s role covering First Amendment issues at The Tennessean is made possible by a collaboration among Freedom Forum, Journalism Funding Partners and the USA TODAY Network. Freedom Forum does not provide editorial input. Reach Latham at alatham@gannett.com, on X at @angele_latham and on TikTok at @angelelatham.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: A year after Charlie Kirk's death, Turning Point show growth
