Vice President Vance, Erika Kirk speak at Turning Point USA event at Ole Miss

Erika Kirk, wife of the late Charlie Kirk, kicked off her campus tour at the University of Mississippi on Wednesday. 

She was joined by Vice President JD Vance for Turning Point USA’s "This Is the Turning Point" campus tour. 

Erika Kirk speaks at Turning Point USA event

Kirk, the CEO of Turning Point US, acknowledged that it had been seven weeks since her husband was assassinated.

"I could just hear Charlie in my heart. I could just hear him say, go reclaim that territory, babe. Go to the battles that God's love conquers. And that's why I'm here today. I'm here because this moment, it can either be your breaking point or your wake up call, essentially your turning point," Kirk said.

She continued: "Charlie's murder might seem like we're standing in a shadow, as if death was the victory meant for the enemy. But looking around in this arena, you are proof that this light of truth burns so brightly, so brightly."

Vance speaks at Turning Point USA event

She was joined by Vance, who also spoke at the rally and took questions from the audience, covering topics including the government shutdown, Christianity and immigration.

"I can believe that the United States should lower levels of immigration in the future, while also respecting that there are people who have come here through immigration, lawful immigration pathways that have contributed to the country," Vance said.

He added, "My job as vice president is not to look out for the interests of the whole world. It's to look out for the people of the United States."

Local perspective:

Hundreds of students lined up in the rain for hours Wednesday to get a seat to the free event. 

Where was the "This Is the Turning Point" campus tour? 

The event was held at The Pavillion on the university’s campus. 

Where can I watch the "This Is the Turning Point" campus tour event? 

The event was streamed live on LiveNOW from FOX and on Turning Point USA's Rumble account by clicking here. 

What is Turning Point USA?

Turning Point USA was founded in suburban Chicago in 2012 by Charlie Kirk, then 18, with a mission to identify, educate, train, and organize students to promote the principles of fiscal responsibility, free markets and limited government, according to its website. 

Charlie Kirk shooting

The backstory:

Charlie Kirk was shot and killed on Sept. 10 at Utah Valley University in Orem during the first stop of his American Comeback Tour. 

Kirk was speaking to a crowd of about 3,000 people when a single gunshot was heard and Kirk's head thrust back as he fell. Kirk had a security detail and there was a small police presence at the event, but there was no security check for people who attended. 

Investigators say Tyler Robinson, 22, fired a single shot from a building about 140 yards away. 

Robinson was arrested the following night when he showed up with his parents to turn himself in at his hometown sheriff’s office in southwest Utah, more than a three-hour drive from Orem.

He is charged with aggravated murder, two counts of obstruction of justice for hiding the rifle and discarding his clothing, two counts of witness tampering for instructing a roommate to delete texts and stay silent and one count of committing a violent offense in front of children. 

Prosecutors have said they will seek the death penalty.  Robinson is being held in jail without bail.