Is there evidence that Erika Kirk was a recruiter for Jeffrey Epstein or that she had her husband, Charlie Kirk, killed to shut him up about it? No, that's not true: The claim appears to be based on another false claim that Erika Kirk operated a charity in Romania that was used for trafficking orphaned children internationally. Lead Stories previously researched that claim and found it unfounded. Another possible basis for the claim in that she was a competitor in the Miss USA pageant, which was owned by Trump, who was a friend of Epstein's. The timeline of those purported connections does not support the claim.
The claim appeared in a post (archived here) shared by the @princess_kim_k account on X on September 14, 2025. It read:
ERIKA KIRK IS IN THE EPSTEIN FILES AS A RECRUITER! ERIKA KIRK IS IN THE EPSTEIN FILES ABD HAD CHARLIE KILLED TO SHUT HIM UP !
This is what the post looked like at the time of writing:
(Source: screenshot of X.com by Lead Stories)
Erika Lane Frantzve, born in Ohio in 1988, became Erika Kirk when she married Charlie Kirk in 2021. She was a student at Notre Dame Preparatory High School in Scottsdale, Arizona, in 2005, when the Palm Beach Police Department began an investigation of Epstein's sexual activities with underage high school girls in South Florida. Frantzve was studying political science at Arizona State University in 2008, when Epstein accepted a deal to plead guilty to charges of soliciting prostitution to end the investigation. The federal indictment (archived here) that preceded Epstein's 2019 arrest -- and subsequent death in jail -- covered sex trafficking allegations relating to 2002 to 2005. There is no evidence that Frantzve knew Epstein, helped recruit minor victims, or was a victim of Epstein, while she was in high school in Arizona.
Frantzve was chosen Miss Arizona USA in 2012, part of the Miss USA competition owned by Donald Trump at the time. The implication that this connection to Trump led her to Epstein is not feasible, since there is no evidence that Trump's friendship with Epstein went beyond about 2004.
Another aspect of the disinformation about Erika Kirk is the false claim that she operated charities in Romania that were accused of trafficking Romanian orphans. Lead Stories debunked that claim in our fact check titled Fact Check: No Evidence Erika Kirk's 'Romanian Angels' Evangelical Ministry Was Accused Of Trafficking Children Or Banned From Romania. It opened:
Is there any evidence that Charlie Kirk's widow Erika Kirk's "Romanian Angels" or "Everyday Heroes like You" ministries were accused of "snatching children only to send them straight into sex and organ trafficking networks in the United Kingdom and Israel? No, that's not true: A review of Romanian court records and media reports by Lead Stories' Romanian staff found only positive mentions of the charities' work. The charity promoted a campaign for Americans to "adopt" an orphan by sending them Christmas gifts to be delivered by U.S. military personnel stationed in Romania. It was not involved in international adoptions.
Charlie Kirk was speaking out about the Epstein scandal in the months before he was shot to death on September 10, 2025. In this July 10, 2025, segment of "The Charlie Kirk Show," he is critical of President Trump's opposition to the government releasing more documents relating to the Epstein scandal:
The claim that Erika Kirk has her husband killed "to shut him up" is not supported by any evidence given by those making that claim. Since we know she was not connected to the Epstein sex scandal, we also know Charlie Kirk's calling for release of the Epstein files would not have been a motivation for murder.
