Inspiring bravery of Charlie Kirk’s devastated widow Erika as she waves to supporters on her husband’s final journey

Charlie Kirk’s heartbroken widow Erika waved to supporters as her husband’s casket was transported to a chapel.

Erika Kirk, née Frantzve, was dressed in all black and wearing sunglasses as she arrived in Arizona on Thursday evening after her husband’s body was flown back from Utah on Air Force Two.

Erika, 36, was greeted by a crowd of mourners waving American flags as a motorcade escorted her to the chapel.

The devastated mother-of-two waved to the her supporters through an open window, fighting back tears as she held a rosary in her hand.

Erika is a devout Christian and has leaned into her faith after Charlie’s assassination.

Charlie, 31, was short in the neck while speaking in Utah on Wednesday, leaving behind his wife and their two kids, a three-year-old daughter and a 16-month-old son.

Erika was accompanied by Vice President JD Vance and his wife Usha as her husband’s remains were transported back from Utah.

A funeral is now planned for next week, which President Donald Trump said he will attend.

Erika Kirk waved to the supporters from an SUV on Thursday evening, fighting back tears and holding a rosary in her hand, as her husband’s remains were taken to an Arizona chapel

Charlie Kirk’s remains arrived at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport on Air Force Two. Accompanying the coffin were Vice President JD Vance, his wife Usha and Erika

Erika (pictured with her husband) is a devout Christian and has leaned into her faith after Charlie’s assassination

Usha Vance held hands with Erika in a heartfelt gesture as they deplaned Air Force Two.

Usha and Erika were dressed in all black and wearing sunglasses as they somberly walked off the aircraft with JD trailing behind.

Erika kept her gaze down as she stepped off the aircraft, as Usha put her arm around her, seemingly to guide her down the stairs.

The Second Lady then pointed into the distance before moving her hand to meet Erika’s.

Hand-in-hand, the two slowly descended marking the conclusion of Charlie’s final plane ride back to his home state of Arizona.

Charlie’s two young children and parents, who witnessed the activist’s murder, were also on board the flight.

National Guard members were seen carrying Charlie’s mahogany coffin on and off the plane.

The president said that he has spoken with Kirk’s wife, Erika, and said she is ‘devastated, absolutely devastated’.

JD Vance also shared a powerful tribute, describing Charlie as a ‘true friend’ and, the ‘kind of guy you could say something to and know it would always stay with him’.

Erika, 36, was greeted by a crowd of mourners waving American flags as a motorcade escorted her to the chapel

Supporters wave American flags as they pay their respects to the late Charlie Kirk

Erika Kirk rides in the passenger seat of a hearse containing the body of Charlie Kirk

Erika Kirk and Usha Vance deplane at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport on Thursday

Trump said Friday that the suspect in the killing has been captured.

Sources told Daily Mail the suspect has been identified as Tyler Robinson, a 22-year-old Utah resident.

He announced the arrest in an appearance on Fox News, where he said that ‘someone very close’ to the suspect turned him in.

‘I think with a high degree of certainty we have him in custody,’ the president told Fox & Friends on Friday morning.

The shooter confessed to his father that he was the perpetrator. His father then tipped off law enforcement and secured his son until officers arrived, law enforcement sources told Daily Mail.

Robinson was still being questioned as of Friday morning.

While Trump said he didn’t want to get ahead of his Justice Department and FBI, he shared a few details that he knows about how they tracked down the suspected shooter.

‘It was a minister who was involved with law enforcement… his good friend is a top U.S. Marshal – and they took it from there,’ Trump said, suggesting that the suspect’s father told him it was time to turn themselves in.

The New York Times reported that the suspect was taken into custody around 11pm local time in Utah on Thursday night.

Little is known of Robinson at this time, and officials have not yet released a motive to the shooting.

Usha and Erika were dressed in all black and wearing sunglasses as they somberly walked off the aircraft with JD Vance trailing behind

National Guard members were seen carrying Kirk’s mahogany coffin on and off the plane

Erika, 36, kept her gaze down as she stepped off the aircraft, as Usha put her arm around the grieving mother-of-two, seemingly to guide her down the stairs

Hand-in-hand, the two slowly trekked to the ground, marking the conclusion of Kirk’s final plane ride back to his home state of Arizona

Officials unload Charlie Kirk’s casket off of Air Force Two at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport on Thursday

Authorities said at a press conference on Thursday night that Robinson will face the death penalty if convicted of the assassination.

Investigators previously revealed that ammunition found in a weapon discovered near to the scene had been engraved with transgender and antifascist ideology.

Robinson’s arrest comes after a manhunt for the suspect stretched to over a day and a half, with officials previously offering a reward of $100,000 for information leading to his capture.

Surveillance footage had been released showing a figure on top of a roof leaping from a building and sprinting into a nearby neighborhood after Kirk was shot from around 200 yards away.

Charlie was killed when a single bullet struck his neck as he addressed the more than 3,000 people in the crowd at a UVU rally on Wednesday afternoon.

Gunfire rang through the crowd as Kirk was mid-sentence, responding to a prompt about mass shootings.

Authorities suspect the fatal shot came from the top of the Losee Center of the Orem campus, about 200 feet away from where Charlie was sitting underneath a tent.

Blood poured from his neck as terror ensued among the audience members, who were seen frantically fleeing the gory scene.

Father-of-two Kirk was killed by a single gunshot wound to the neck on Wednesday afternoon at Utah Valley University

Charlie leaves behind his wife and their two kids, (pictured together) a three-year-old daughter and a 16-month-old son

The attack, carried out in broad daylight as Charlie spoke about social issues, was captured on grisly videos that spread on social media.

The shooter, who investigators believe blended into the campus crowd because of a college-age appearance, fired one shot from the rooftop, according to authorities.

Video released Thursday showed the person then walking through the grass and across the street before disappearing.

‘I can tell you this was a targeted event,’ said Robert Bohls, the top FBI agent in Salt Lake City.