Charlie Kirk, who was killed in a shooting at a US university, was a right-wing US activist, commentator and ally of President Donald Trump.
The 31-year-old was seen as a spokesman for a younger generation of Mr Trump's right-wing Republican movement.
He boasted millions of followers on social media and when he was 18-years-old, founded Turning Point USA, an organisation dedicated to advancing conservative causes on college campuses and among young voters.
Mr Kirk's conservative ideology was closely aligned with Mr Trump: he has backed the US president's false claims of fraud when he lost the 2020 presidential election and has used his heavyweight influence to target migrants and transgender people.
In speaking gigs at American universities, he invited students to debate with him in quick-fire exchanges that often went viral online - especially those who opposed his views.
It was during one of these events in Utah that he was shot in a shocking moment of violence that was swiftly condemned on both sides of the political aisle.
When Mr Kirk addressed a university crowd in Nevada last October, some in the audience told AFP he was a breath of fresh air on campuses that the political right complains are dominated by liberal ideology.
"He brings different ideas to the table," said one student at the time. "Ideas that some of us believe in, but are sometimes afraid" to voice.
'Charismatic Christian nationalist'
However, some considered Mr Kirk as someone who promoted "extremist ideas".
"Charlie Kirk is a charismatic Christian nationalist, who essentially acts as a spokesperson for Trumpism and extremist ideas," said Kyle Spencer, author of a book that examines the birth of Turning Point USA.
In a little over a decade, it has become the largest group of young conservatives in the United States.
It nurtures enthusiastic activists, some of whom were transported to Washington on 6 January 2021 for a rally that turned into an invasion of the US Capitol with the goal of stopping certification of Mr Trump's election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.
In addition to Turning Point USA, Mr Kirk ran Turning Point Action, one of the main organisations that Mr Trump entrusted with his door-to-door voter drives for last year's presidential election.
Originally from the suburbs of Chicago, Mr Kirk did not graduate from university but began dedicating himself to activism as a teenager.
His strengths soon made him a go-to figure in Republican circles and by 2016 he was serving as a personal assistant to Mr Trump's son, Donald Trump Jr.
Charlie Kirk's 'truth'
His combative rhetoric led to regular spots on frequently right-wing Fox News, and later to the helm of "The Charlie Kirk Show," one of the most popular podcasts in the country.
There, he would broadcast items on the programme from boosting Mr Trump's "stolen election" claims and riffing on Covid-19 theories that have struck a chord with many on the right.
His conspiracy theories sometimes percolated right to the top. For example, in September 2024, Mr Kirk was among the first to share allegations that Haitian immigrants were eating cats and dogs in Ohio.
Days later Mr Trump repeated the claim - for which there was never any proof - during his televised presidential debate with Democrat Kamala Harris.
In an interview with AFP last year, Mr Kirk brushed aside questions about his veracity.
"I say we spread the truth," he said.
