Hunter Kozak stood before a crowd at a CBS News event, the last person to speak with Charlie Kirk before the conservative activist was fatally shot at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10.
This time, Kozak directed his questions not to Kirk, but to his widow, Erika Kirk.
CBS News head Bari Weiss introduced Kozak during the interview with Mrs. Kirk.
Weiss informed the widow that the student who had been speaking with her husband in his final moments wanted to pose a question.
Kozak began by acknowledging Erika Kirk’s appeals for peace and unity following her husband’s death.
He stated he was horrified by individuals in his political camp who celebrated the killing.
The student, who identifies as a leftist, then shifted focus to President Donald Trump.
Kozak claimed Trump bore responsibility as the most powerful person on earth to reduce tensions.
Kozak referenced Trump calling for six Democratic lawmakers to be tried for sedition, which the president said carried the death penalty.
He also mentioned Trump reposting a message saying to hang them.
The student did not address the context surrounding those lawmakers.
The six individuals, all former military or CIA personnel, had released a video urging Armed Forces members to disobey what they termed unlawful orders.
When questioned, none could identify specific orders they considered unlawful.
Kozak pressed Erika Kirk to condemn what he characterized as Trump’s violent rhetoric.
He suggested that any genuine effort to stop political violence required holding both parties to identical standards.
Erika Kirk responded with measured words.
She questioned why anyone would think she would endorse murder and explained the issue ran deeper than any single individual.
The widow emphasized that violence begins in the home and with families.
She discussed how children are raised and what influences they absorb from the world around them.
Kirk made clear she would never support political violence, noting both she and her late husband were victims of it. However, she redirected the conversation toward personal responsibility rather than political blame.
She challenged parents to be more involved in raising their children.
Kirk asked whether parents wanted to raise thought leaders or assassins, framing this as the critical choice facing families today.
When Weiss asked if political leaders bore responsibility for lowering tensions, Erika Kirk replied that everyone shares that responsibility.
She stated she was doing her part but could not control others.
The exchange recalled Kozak’s final interaction with Charlie Kirk on that September day in Utah.
The student had referenced a previous question he asked Kirk at a campus event weeks earlier.
Kozak’s question to Charlie Kirk concerned gun rights for so-called transgender Americans.
He mentioned a “transgender” mass shooter and subsequent discussion by the Trump Department of Justice about potentially revoking gun rights for transgender individuals.
The crowd cheered as Kozak spoke.
Unknown to those gathered, suspect Tyler Robinson had positioned himself on a nearby rooftop, taking aim at Kirk’s head.
Robinson was reportedly in a romantic relationship with a “transgender” person allegedly using black market hormone replacement therapy.
Kozak asked Kirk how many transgender Americans had been mass shooters over the past decade.
