Man who asked Charlie Kirk last debate question before he was shot speaks out one year after his death
A man who was the last person to ask Charlie Kirk a question at Utah Valley University has spoken out a year after his death.
On 10 September 2025, Charlie Kirk was assassinated at Utah Valley University while speaking at an outdoor campus debate.
Last week, 23-year-old Tyler Robinson pleaded not guilty to the murder of Kirk. He denied aggravated murder, and six other charges in connection with the shooting of the 31-year-old.
His death shocked the world, and now, Hunter Kozak, who witnessed the assassination outside his colleague campus, has spoken out.
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“I knew that watching someone die while they were in a conversation with me is a very, very, very crazy circumstance that I can’t forget, and that’s going to stick with me," he told CNN.
At the time, Hunter was a student at Utah Valley University, said he wanted to debate the conservative activist's previous comments about transgender mass shooters.
In the middle of the debate, Kirk was fatally shot in the neck.
Following Kirk's public assassination, Hunter reveals that he received a number of messages accusing him of being a 'murderer' along with horrific death threats.
He then told the outlet that the conspiracy theorists surrounding the shooting have 'been bigger trauma than watching the shooting'.
Hunter revealed how conspiracy theorists online claimed there was a coincidence that Kirk had been shot, shortly after he asked a question about shooting - telling the outlet he 'felt like he couldn't trust a lot of people around him'.
Others, say he was paid to be at the scene, as the 30-year-old was seen on cameras falling to the ground.
The constant messages left Hunter fearing for his safety, with the father of two young children revealing he has had to move for his, and his family's safety.
Hunter, who is still at the University, where he is studying to be a teacher in Math, told the outlet that he's left wondering 'how many people secretly think he's a murderer'.
However, he said he now tells himself that 'not everyone is like that,' although
Hunter has his own YouTube channel, recently posting a video titled 'One Year of Harassment'.
At the beginning of the video, the father of two shows just a few of thousands of messages he has received within the year.
In this, he reveals that it wasn't only people online who were questioning him.
"Later that day, I already began seeing conspiracies about me," he said. "But not just from those online. My governor held a press conference about the investigation, and a journalist in the crowd asked the sheriff when I was going to be apprehended," he said.
A week later, the University opened back up, in which Hunter said he felt like 'all eyes were on him'.
Tyler Robinson, from Utah, was arrested on September 12 2025 following an intense nationwide manhunt.
He is next due in court on October 23, 2026, in which a date for his trial is expected to be set.
Topics: Charlie Kirk, Conspiracy Theories, True crime, US News
Kiesha Dosanjh