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A conservative youth summit being held near Houston this weekend is now expecting a record crowd — and ramped up security — as the event plans to dedicate part of the program to the life of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
While the 2-day event will still feature speeches from U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and others, the founder of the Texas Youth Summit said he will make sure the event pays tribute to Kirk, the creator of Turning Point USA, which is one of the sponsors of the conference.
“We are preparing for a record-breaking turnout of more than 2,500 people,” Texas Youth Summit founder Christian Collins said in a message to summit-goers, while also warning of extra security in the wake of Kirk’s killing in Utah last week.
Turning Point USA announced there will be a public memorial service for the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk in Arizona on Sunday.
Kirk was one of the featured speakers at the Texas Youth Summit in 2023, where he spoke of his faith, advocated against policies that support transgender people and called on conference goers to reject popular musicians, like Taylor Swift, because they don’t have Christian messaging.
U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Houston, was already scheduled to speak at the event at The Woodlands, but said after last week, he was even more determined to get there.
“I’ve stared down the barrel of the enemy in combat, but I never imagined that same danger would reach our shores,” the 43-year-old Army veteran said. “Yet as God-fearing, freedom-loving Americans, we cannot be shaken by threats of violence.”
Gov. Greg Abbott announced on Tuesday that he too is being added to the program on Saturday.
Conservative social media influencer Allie Beth Stuckey, a Dallas resident, is also among those scheduled to speak at the event. She has used her social media accounts as a call for more conservative Christians to make their voices heard in the wake of Kirk’s killing.
“Everyone is going to know who he was and why he lived and the gospel that motivated him,” she said in a post on Instagram.
Meanwhile, state officials continue to crack down on people who are speaking out against Kirk and his messaging. The Texas Education Agency said earlier this week they are reviewing at least 180 complaints of public school teachers and staff posting negative comments about Kirk following his assassination.
The Texas Youth Summit starts on Friday at 3 p.m. at The Woodlands Marriott and runs through Saturday.
 | Jeremy Wallace, Texas politics reporter |
Who's Up, Who's Down
A daily stock market-style report on key players in Texas politics.
Up: Ron Nirenberg.
An ethics panel in San Antonio ruled earlier this week that the former mayor ran afoul of the rules when he used pictures of himself with first responders on his personal Facebook page. The board said state law warns candidates against using photos of official city staff for their campaign literature or websites. But Nirenberg, a Democrat, gets the UP of the day for two reasons. First, he received just a public admonishment but no fine. Second, he was also flagged for not immediately disclosing he had received an autographed jersey directly from San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama. City officials are required to disclose when they receive a gift worth $100. The Wemby jersey is worth well over $1,000. Nirenberg updated his disclosure reports. He both avoided any fine and gets to keep the jersey from one of the biggest stars in the NBA.
Down: Lina Hidalgo.
Once seen as one of the brightest young stars in Texas Democratic politics, the Harris County Judge said she won’t seek reelection after two terms leading the largest county in Texas. First elected in 2018 at the age of 27 in an upset over Republican Ed Emmett, Hidalgo ushered in the “blue wave” in Harris County, eventually swinging the Commissioners Court from a Republican to a Democratic majority. Hidalgo became a regular visitor to the White House during the Biden years and built up a personal connection with former Vice President Kamala Harris, who had Hidalgo as a featured speaker during the Democratic National Convention in 2024. As for what is next, Hidalgo told ABC-13, she’ll serve out her term through 2026 and then "after that, I don't know. I don't know what I will do.”
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Photo by: (Andrew Harnik/AP)
Charlie Kirk's mastery of social media was key to his rise as an influencer in conservative politics. So the extent to which his death and its aftermath have played out on those forums shouldn't come as a surprise. In a microcosm of life today, social media is where Americans have gone to process last week's killing in Utah and is the chief tool his supporters are using to police those they feel aren't offering proper respect. Investigators are probing the time the man accused of killing Kirk, Tyler Robinson, spent in the “dark corners of the internet” — anti-social media, if you will — leading up to when he allegedly pulled the trigger. AP reporter David Bauder looks at the role social media has played over the last year shaping how last week's killing is putting social media under new scrutiny.
What else I'm reading
The U.S. Border Patrol announced that 500 Texas National Guard soldiers have arrived in El Paso in support of border security missions. Daniel Borunda of the El Paso Times reports the deployment comes at a time El Paso, like the rest of the Texas border, is seeing a historically low number of migrants crossing the border.
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