On September 11 and 12, Facebook accounts (1;2) circulated a phrase attributed to Turning Point USA’s executive director Charlie Kirk, who was killed on September 10: “My Christianity rests on Georgians who defeated the Ottomans, Persians, and Islamic Jihad.” One of the posts includes a video collage, with the left side showing the moment of Charlie Kirk’s assassination and the right side showing a person saying the quoted phrase. The post’s description creates the impression that the person in the second video is also Charlie Kirk.
The quote about Georgians does not belong to Charlie Kirk. The video was published in 2018 on the YouTube channel SOCO FILMS, and the phrase was voiced by a debate participant in London’s Speakers’ Corner named Bob. In the video, the quote is slightly different. Bob says that the followers of his Christianity are Armenians and Georgians, who defeated Persian Zoroastrians and Muslims.
The circulated quote does not belong to Charlie Kirk. It comes from one of the videos on the SOCO Films YouTube channel. The channel regularly publishes videos of religious debates from Speakers’ Corner in London.
The video from which the Facebook clips were taken was uploaded to the channel on February 13, 2018, under the title “Bob Debating a Heretic.” In one segment of the debate, Bob explains that his Christianity differs from that of his interlocutor because his Christianity is the one that defeated Islamist jihad, Vikings, northern pagan tribes, and the Ottoman Empire, conquered the Roman Empire, and repelled the Arab invasion in the 7th century. When his interlocutor pointed out that he was describing Eurocentric, racist Christianity, Bob replied that this was a mistake, because the same religion is also followed by Ethiopians, Armenians, and Georgians (from 37:30).
Bob: “This is why you are wrong. Because the Ethiopian Christians, who follow my kind of Christianity, defeated the Muslim invasions from Somalia and Egypt. My Christianity is the one followed by Armenians and Georgians, who defeated Persian Zoroastrians and Muslims.”
Therefore, the phrase does not belong to Charlie Kirk and has no connection to him. In open sources, there is only one case where Kirk mentioned Georgia or Georgians. On December 9, 2024, Kirk was asked about the events unfolding in Georgia during his podcast. Kirk himself did not answer the question; instead, his interlocutor compared the developments in Georgia to Hungary and Ukraine in 2014, where, according to him, anti-LGBT governments defended traditional families and were accused of being anti-democratic because of it.
Charlie Kirk was fatally wounded during a speech at Utah Valley University on September 10. On September 21, a memorial ceremony was held for Kirk in Glendale, Arizona, attended by the U.S. President and Vice President.
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