Erika Kirk walked onto the stage at the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) Wednesday night to a packed house for her first Turning Point USA campus appearance since the murder of her husband, Charlie Kirk.

"It’s hard not to cry after watching," she said of the video tribute that played before she took the microphone. "I haven’t seen that... that video since that day happened."

"Being on campus right now for me is a spiritual reclaiming of territory," she said. "There is a lot of symbolism in today. It’s Wednesday, seven weeks. And the more that I am coming to grips with the permanency of this nightmare, the more that I am starting to realize and witness that the enemy, he doesn’t want you."

He wants your territory. He wants your influence. And I could just hear Charlie in my heart. I could hear him say, ‘Go reclaim that territory, babe. Go — the battles that God’s love conquers.’ And that’s why I’m here today," she added.

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Erika thanked the students who filled the arena, many wearing 'Freedom' T-shirts like the one she wore at the podium. "You have no idea how helpful it is to have all of you in my life, because you help me feel even more deeply connected to my husband," she told them.

She recalled how Charlie made a point at every Turning Point USA event to stop and talk with student leaders. "He would ask you what your name is, what you’re studying, what issues are going on on campus," she said. "He wanted you to know he was investing in you: into your chapter, into your school. That was a pulse point for him."

"Earn your voice," she urged. "You are the courageous generation. That’s what you are. All of you, Gen Z, you are the courageous generation. Make him proud."

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"I lost my friend. I lost my best friend," she said. "If you’re nervous about standing up for the truth, the murder of my husband puts into perspective all those fears. My husband never went with the flow. He believed the harder path was always the right one, because comfort doesn’t change the world."

She shared for the first time with the audience present that for weeks after Charlie's murder she avoided their bedroom at home.

"It took me a while to even just make it back into our bedroom," she said. "I used to sprint from the opening door into the bathroom and sprint out. I was not ready to walk into our bedroom yet, and when I was finally able to sleep in our bed for the first time, I slept on his side of the bed."

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From that spot, she said, she finally saw what Charlie saw every morning, the framed words on the wall: "They will be known by the boldness of their faith."

"He saw that every single morning he woke up," Erika said. "I didn’t, because I was on the other side, facing the window. But from his side, that’s what he saw first."

On his desk, she added, were three questions Charlie had written out and asked himself each day: "What is something I can do for someone today? What is something I can do to add value to the world today? How can I honor God today?"

"Those were his action points for courage," Erika said. "Ask yourself those questions every day, and I promise you, you will get courage. What death amplifies even more is that you only get one life. So live like it matters."

"Love your family fearlessly. Love your spouse fearlessly. Love this country," she said. "Defend her and serve our God. And don’t think that it’s someone else’s role to do it. You do it. You do it." The audience broke into applause.

"This moment can either be your breaking point or your wake-up call," she said. "Essentially, your turning point."

She then introduced Vice President JD Vance, a friend of her late husband, calling him someone who "understands the fight that we’re up against and can articulate that in a way that transcends race and background."

"There will never be another Charlie," she said, "but I know he’d be proud to see us here tonight."

Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth announced that the U.S. military on Wednesday struck another boat carrying people he claims were narco-terrorists.

The strikes were carried out in the Eastern Pacific region at the direction of President Donald Trump, killing four men on board, according to Hegseth.

The military "carried out a lethal kinetic strike on yet another narco-trafficking vessel operated by a Designated Terrorist Organization (DTO) in the Eastern Pacific," Hegseth wrote on X.

"This vessel, like all the others, was known by our intelligence to be involved in illicit narcotics smuggling, was transiting along a known narco-trafficking route, and carrying narcotics," he said. "Four male narco-terrorists were aboard the vessel—and killed—during the strike, which was conducted in international waters. No U.S. forces were harmed in this strike."

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"The Western Hemisphere is no longer a safe haven for narco-terrorists bringing drugs to our shores to poison Americans," Hegseth added. "The Department of War will continue to hunt them down and eliminate them wherever they operate."

This is the 14th strike on suspected drug boats carried out since September. A total of 61 have reportedly been killed while three survived, including at least two who were later repatriated to their home countries.

The Pentagon has refused to release the identities of those killed or evidence of drugs on board.

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The Trump administration has been scrutinized in recent weeks over the strikes, including by Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who raised concerns about killing people without due process and the possibility of killing innocent people.

Paul has cited Coast Guard statistics that show a significant percentage of boats boarded for suspicion of drug trafficking are innocent.

The senator has also argued that if the administration plans to engage in a war with Venezuela, as it has targeted boats it claims are transporting drugs for the Venezuela-linked Tren de Aragua gang, it must seek a declaration of war from Congress.

Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee also penned a letter on Wednesday demanding to review the legal justification behind the series of boat strikes they say appear to violate several laws.

"Drug trafficking is a terrible crime that has had devastating impacts on American families and communities and should be prosecuted. Nonetheless, the President’s actions to hold alleged drug traffickers accountable must still conform with the law," the letter reads.