Christian author and communicator Dr. Frank Turek was only a few feet away from Charlie Kirk when he was assassinated on September 10. Turek was a mentor to Kirk, calling him "his friend and brother in Christ." He recently opened up about the conservative leader's final moments as they raced to save his life. 

He began his podcast "Cross Examined" by saying, "My goal is to honor Jesus, Charlie, and Erika and her family, which means there are things I won't share because Erika doesn't need more pain. I want to honor Charlie by revealing what a Christ-like person he was, publicly and privately." 

"By the way, Charlie is still a wonderful person. He's just with Jesus right now," he continued. 

Turek was just a few feet away from Kirk at Utah Valley University on that tragic day. During his online tribute, he explained why the loss was deeply personal. 

"He was like a fourth son to me," Turek said. "I have three sons. Charlie was my fourth. That's what made this so hard." 

The Christian author reflected on their brotherhood, noting that it was founded on the tenets of their faith and conservative values. He also shared about Kirk's impact on the younger generation and his bold faith in Christ. 

"He was all about Jesus. I love the fact that he was a 24-7, 365 Christian in every area of his life. I mean, I've been waiting for a leader in the political world to be sold out to Jesus and the Gospel...Someone who wouldn't just refer to some sort of generic God up there, but to Jesus, the true God. Someone who knew that politics, while it's not our most important calling, affects our most important calling," he said. 

"He said recently, 'Politics is peanuts compared to Jesus.' It's important, but it's peanuts compared to Jesus," Turek added. 

Turek pointed out that the Turning Point USA founder never separated faith and politics, even when he was encouraged to do so for more money for the organization. Kirk continued to press forward with the Gospel message and spread the love of Jesus. 

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"Charlie didn't really like the word 'safe.' He knew that ministry required you to take risks, just like love requires you to take risks. Sure, you can protect your heart if you don't give it away to anyone else, but if you give it away to someone else, you're risking it being broken. Charlie knew that if he wanted to do ministry, he had to risk himself. So, safety was not his top priority. Loving people by highlighting Jesus was his top priority," Turek explained. 

A False Narrative About Kirk

Turek took a moment to address claims that have tried to create what the author points out is a false narrative about Kirk.

"Of course, Charlie wasn't perfect because none of us are," he explained. "Only Jesus was. And that's why only Jesus can be the Savior that each of us needs. But Charlie had enormous virtues and very few faults."

Later in the podcast, he added, "Isn't it just incredibly absurd how people label somebody like Charlie a fascist? That this killer really honestly thought he was a fascist. Ladies and gentlemen, news flash. Fascists don't give the microphone to their opponents. They kill their opponents. It's madness how deceived people have become, how demonic forces are at work."

Debunking the 'White Hat' Conspiracy

Turek also addressed a circulating conspiracy theory about the "guy in white."

"Now, this is where you may have seen an internet conspiracy. 'The man in the white hat was giving signals to the shooter.' Yeah, the man in the white hat was me," Kirk's mentor said bluntly. 

The 63-year-old dispels claims that he was signaling to the now identified shooter, Tyler Robinson. He expressed how "stupid" that theory is, adding, "They thought Dan, his main security guy, was given signals, too. Signals for what? You don't need signals. There's a sniper up there."

"Don't believe in these crazy conspiracy theories. You need evidence," Turek added. "It's ridiculous."

Charlie Kirk's Final Moments on Earth

The TPUSA Faith contributor then reflected on the harrowing moments that took place after Kirk was shot. 

"And out of the corner of my eye, I see Charlie go back," he described.

"If your son got hit, what would you do?" Turek asked. "What would you do? I got in the car because if there was any way I could save him, I had to do something."

He went on to describe that Kirk's team put him into an SUV and raced to the hospital. 

"Charlie is laid out in front just right in front of me. And Charlie is so tall we can't, we can't close the door. We drove four miles...all the way to the hospital with the door open. To this day, I don't know how Brian stayed in the car because we're just go, go, go," he recounted. 

"You know what we're trying to do," he pointed out. "We're trying to stop the bleeding. You saw it. And I'm yelling, "Come on, Charlie. Come on. Come on." 

Turek and those with him in the vehicle decided to start CPR, but he knew in his heart that "Charlie wasn't there."

"His eyes were fixed. He wasn't looking at me. He was looking past me, right into eternity. He was with Jesus already," he said during the podcast. 

"He was killed instantly and felt absolutely no pain. That's what I was told later. But of course, we had to try," Turek added.

Kirk's mentor shot down the idea that if they had "better first aid" or "better medical facilities" or gotten to the hospital faster, that Charlie would have lived. 

"We couldn't. So if that's any comfort at all, Charlie didn't suffer," he said. "He was gone. He was with Jesus, absent from the body, present with the Lord. That's where he was."

Turek said he held onto the hope that physicians would be able to revive Kirk, but even though they briefly managed to get his heart beating again, the medical professionals said the "shot was catastrophic."

He ended the tribute by sharing the Gospel message. 

"We're all fallen. The only person who is innocent is God himself. So Jesus adds humanity to His deity. He comes to this earth and He allows the creatures that rebelled against Him to torture and kill Him so He could take their punishment upon Himself; and He offers that forgiveness as a gift to you," he began. 

"Have you taken that forgiveness? Have you taken that gift? If not, why wouldn't you take it? It's free. It's grace and it's true. That's what Charlie was all about to let people know of the freedom," he continued. "The freedom that comes by trusting in Jesus. You're free from the penalty of your sin because Christ has taken it upon himself. Yeah. Another man died for you. An innocent man died 1,992 years ago."

He concluded, "Charlie devoted his life to making heaven crowded. And that's what we're going to do now."