Were Charlie Kirk’s wife and kids at the event where he was fatally shot? Liberal commentator Dean Withers is in tears over the right-wing activist’s death

Dean Withers cried while talking about Charlie Kirk's assassination. The liberal commentator was livestreaming on TikTok when he got the news. He started crying as he said that Kirk's wife and daughter were in the audience when she was shot.

The information is false as Erika Frantzve Kirk and their two kids were not present at Utah Valley University's event. Charlie Kirk was at the institution for his The American Comeback Tour, in which he planned to go to different colleges and debate on political matters.

As Dean Withers cried, he noted that nobody deserves to die the way Kirk did. The clip from the livestream was reuploaded on X, where it went viral and gained a mixed reaction from netizens.

This is Dean Withers
He is probably 100% opposed to Charlie Kirk's politics, and he is rightfully upset and showing empathy to Kirk's wife and kids.

Those who want to paint this horror onto everyone on "the left" need to think for a moment and realize that most people don't… pic.twitter.com/tOfabgHMs8

— Chase Oliver (@ChaseForLiberty) September 11, 2025

While some bashed him for crying over Charlie Kirk's death, as he had said controversial things in the past, others appreciated the fact that Dean showed empathy for a man who shared different political views from him.

For the unversed, both political commentators interacted on the popular YouTube channel Jubilee's video titled "Can 25 Liberal College Students Outsmart 1 Conservative."

The one-hour and thirty-minute-long video, uploaded on September 8, 2024, went viral, garnering over 31 million views. As of now, it is the most-watched video on the YouTube channel.

Dean Withers addressed the backlash regarding his initial reaction to Charlie Kirk's death

On Wednesday, after the clip circulated on X, Dean Withers tweeted that he wanted to address his reaction. The liberal commentator stated that when he heard the news of the assassination, he immediately thought of Charlie's wife Erika and their children.

"Right after the news broke that Kirk was dead, the first thought in my head was a) his 3-year-old daughter & wife were there and watched their father/husband violently die by his jugular vein being blown open by a gunshot, bleeding to death on the spot," he wrote.

Notably, Charlie Kirk's family was not present at the college campus. Dean Withers shared that his friend Parker was at the event, less than 20 feet away from Charlie Kirk, and that thought made him emotional.

Dean also said that he felt empathy for the students who were running, screaming, and were worried about their lives.

"And b) the fact that my best friend Parker was there in person, less than 20 feet away, and witnessed this all go down, on top of the commotion of everyone running, screaming, and confused on if they might be shot next. I believe my tears were a natural, uncontrollable human reaction," Withers wrote.

Dean Withers also did a livestream on his YouTube channel. Parker joined the call and shared his experience while crying. Dean requested his followers not to make the incident into a "right versus left" and instead see it as "humanity versus inhumanity."

Although the shooter has not been identified, authorities have speculated that the assassin shot from the rooftop of a nearby building. Erika Frantzve Kirk has not released any statement so far. Stay tuned for more updates regarding Charlie Kirk's death.