Students and parents at an Arizona high school are telling Turning Point USA President Erika Kirk to stay home after she announced she was planning a visit.
Kirk intends to spend time at Pinnacle High School in Phoenix on April 24, but she's being met with resistance from both parents and students at the school.
“I don’t know why she’s coming here, to be honest,” Francisco Sanchez, a senior at the school, told 12 News Phoenix.
He said he believes that Kirk's positions are too extreme for the school. “I think there are better representatives we can have.”
Another senior, Kasandra Acosta, told the broadcaster she thought it was a "little crazy" that someone like her—a conservative influencer—would visit her school.
“I’m pretty shocked. Honestly, I’m surprised it’s even happening,” she said.
Her event was organized by the school's Club America group, which is affiliated with Kirk's TPUSA.
Kirk also has local roots: she and her late husband, Charlie Kirk—who was assassinated last year during a campus event in Utah—lived in Scottsdale for several years and TPUSA's headquarters is in Phoenix.
It's not just students who are perplexed by Kirk's visit. Parents told The Arizona Republic that they were concerned about security issues surrounding the woman's visit. They said Kirk's decision to skip a planned event at the University of Georgia over security concerns has them concerned about the safety of their children.
A spokesperson for TPUSA said Kirk declined to attend the event after she received "some very serious threats."
A letter from the Paradise Valley School District to parents described Kirk's visit as an opportunity for her to “share her personal journey and life experiences,” but concerned parents are more concerned with the possible safety risks her presence poses to their children.
“It’s not just your average citizen coming over to speak to the club. She brings politics with her, she brings division with her, just because everybody in America is divided,” Bobbee Noland, who has a student at the school, told The Arizona Republic.
The school reportedly told students they might see an increased security presence on campus during Kirk's visit. That announcement drove some parents to request that her event be moved to after-school hours, allowing students who have no interest in her talk to leave the campus before her arrival.
According to 12 News in Phoenix, the city's police said Kirk's event is private and the responsibility for securing it will rest on her and the school district.
“We regularly work with community partners to support public safety during gatherings. As with any event, our officers will continue to monitor activity, review available information, and adjust deployment strategies as needed to help ensure a safe environment for students, staff, and the surrounding community,” a Phoenix police spokesperson said in a statement.
Kirk's planned high school visit won't be her only appearance in the Phoenix area. She is also scheduled to attend a political rally in the city alongside President Donald Trump and Republican members of the Arizona Congress.
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