White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt shared a social media post on Tuesday that tied the recent death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk to an earthquake in Utah and a passage from the Bible.
Leavitt re-shared a screenshot from an X post on her personal account that suggested that the earthquake was a sign of God’s anger at the shooting of Kirk.
Highlights
- White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt linked Charlie Kirk’s shooting to a Utah earthquake and biblical scripture as a sign of God’s anger.
- The 4.1 magnitude earthquake struck Utah at 5:57 p.m. local time, just hours after conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot.
- Leavitt has a history of connecting violent events to spiritual warfare, citing divine intervention in past political incidents.
Karoline Leavitt suggested the Utah earthquake was a sign of God's anger at Kirk's shooting
Image credits: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
The post read: “On the night Charlie was shot, a 4.1 earthquake struck Utah. In scripture, 40 represents trials; 41 signifies a shift. It hit at 5:57 local time, 7:57 Eastern.”
“Acts 7:57 describes Stephen, the first martyr, stoned as the crowd silenced his truth. The Bible says the earth trembles when God is angry. That night, as a voice was silenced, the ground groaned.”
Leavitt shared the post on her Instagram story, commenting, “Wow.”
The 4.1 magnitude quake was recorded by a University of Utah seismograph station at 5:57 p.m. local time, just hours after Kirk was shot and killed while speaking at Utah Valley University.
Image credits: Instagram
The 31-year-old activist was hit in the neck by a single bullet.
Kirk’s death has shocked the White House and conservative circles across the country. He was a close ally of U.S. President Donald Trump and played a key role in promoting the then-Ohio senator J.D. Vance as Trump’s running mate.
Vance, now vice president, guest-hosted Kirk’s podcast, The Charlie Kirk Show, this week from his office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.
He described Kirk as “the smartest political operative I ever met” and a “joyful warrior for our country.”
Image credits: Doug Mills-Pool/Getty Images
Vance also suggested that left-wing extremism contributed to Kirk’s death. “It is a statistical fact that most of the lunatics in American politics today are proud members of the far left,” Vance said on the show.
However, a 2023 study by The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) reported that 96% of incidents in which extremists killed someone have been committed by people motivated by right-wing ideologies.
Vance continued praising Kirk, “So much of our success over the last seven months is due to his efforts, his staffing, his support and his friendship,” he said.
Leavitt also joined Vance on the podcast and recalled her own connection to Kirk. She said she first met him during her 2022 campaign for a congressional seat in New Hampshire.
He was “so inspiring to me as a young conservative woman,” Leavitt said. “I got to know him personally when I decided to run for Congress, and he was a tremendous supporter and friend.”
Leavitt said Kirk was inspiring to her when she met him
Image credits: Trent Nelson/Getty Images
The press secretary, a devout Christian, has often linked other violent events to spiritual assertions.
In March, Leavitt spoke about a “spiritual warfare” that manifested when Trump was grazed by a bullet at a campaign rally in 2024.
“I think there were certainly evil forces, and I think that the president was saved by the grace of God on July 13 in Butler, Pennsylvania, and he’s in this moment for a reason,” Leavitt told The Christian Broadcasting Network.
In August, she reposted a claim that a church shooting in Minneapolis was the result of a “demonic force.”
“There is a demonic force moving when a transgender maniac sprays bullets at pews of Catholic school children,” a conservative lifestyle magazine wrote.
“Shame on the progressive leaders and lawmakers who make this about the man in the White House, the second amendment or so-called trans bigotry.”