Caroline Mattox, president of Turning Point USA’s University of Georgia chapter, resigned on April 22, saying the national organization no longer reflects the principles of founder Charlie Kirk. She pointed to a sparsely attended April 14 event at UGA and leadership changes after Kirk’s death in September 2025—when his widow, Erika Kirk, became CEO—as evidence the group has shifted direction. The resignation follows a recent split by the University of Arkansas chapter and sharp criticism over how Charlie Kirk’s legacy has been invoked since his death. TPUSA had not issued a public response at the time of Mattox’s announcement.
UGA TPUSA President Resigns, Says Turning Point USA Has Drifted From Charlie Kirk’s Vision Under Erika Kirk
Erika Kirk in December 2025Credit: Olivier Touron / AFP via Getty
Caroline Mattox, president of Turning Point USA’s University of Georgia chapter, announced her resignation on April 22, saying the national organization no longer reflects the principles on which it was founded.
Mattox said her decision followed a TPUSA event held at the University of Georgia in Athens on April 14, which she cited as evidence that the group has departed from founder Charlie Kirk’s original mission.
Background
Charlie Kirk was shot and killed at a Turning Point USA event in Utah in September 2025. After his death, his widow, Erika Kirk (37), assumed leadership of the organization as CEO. Mattox wrote that she has "witnessed firsthand" what she believes is TPUSA’s "true direction" since that leadership change.
Turning Point USA spokesperson Andrew Kolvet (left) and Vice President JD Vance (right) at the April 14 TPUSA event in Athens, Ga.Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty
Resignation and Concerns
In an Instagram post on April 22, Mattox said it "became abundantly clear" after the UGA event that TPUSA’s "mission and purpose have been lost along the way" and that the organization's current direction "no longer aligns with the principles upon which it was founded."
"While I am grateful for the experiences, lessons, and people this chapter brought me, I can no longer, in good conscience, continue to represent an organization that I believe has strayed so far from its original purpose and principles," Mattox wrote. "Charlie spent his life fighting for truth, and I do not believe he would stand for the blatant dishonesty now being spread by the organization that he built."
April 14 Event Details
Organizers had planned for Erika Kirk to interview U.S. Senator JD Vance at the April 14 program, but she did not attend. Vance told the audience that Erika "did get some threats" before the program. A person familiar with the matter later told CBS News that the U.S. Secret Service found no credible threat to Erika.
Charlie Kirk in October 2024Credit: PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty
The event drew a lighter turnout than expected. TPUSA spokesperson Andrew Kolvet later attributed the attendance shortfall to "left-wing groups" allegedly reserving tickets and not showing up; Kolvet, who substituted for Erika and interviewed Vance on the April 15 episode of The Charlie Kirk Show, said about 2,000 people attended.
Related Chapter Split
Mattox’s resignation follows other fractures within the TPUSA network. About a month earlier, the University of Arkansas chapter severed ties with the national organization. Its former president, Dino Fantegrossi, renamed the group Young American Revival and accused TPUSA of abandoning "conservative policy, principles and values" since Kirk’s death, according to the Arkansas Times. Fantegrossi also said post-assassination invocations of Charlie Kirk’s name—phrases like "Charlie would have said..."—felt "disingenuous and manipulative." His Instagram statement was later removed.
Response
People reached out to Turning Point USA for comment but had not published a response at the time of Mattox’s post.
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