Erika Kirk withdrew from a Turning Point USA event at the University of Georgia after her security team raised concerns about threats to her safety.

A source said the threats were specific to Kirk's movements. "The specific threats were targeting her and her ability to get to and from the event," the source said. The source added that "Her security team felt that they could not protect her life."

Kirk, 37, was scheduled to headline the event alongside Vice President JD Vance but later withdrew and faced criticism from conservative commentator Candace Owens. Vance attended and spoke at the event.

The source attributed Kirk's recent personal losses to her decision. The insider said, "So as you can imagine, for a mother of two young kids who just lost her husband in the way that she did, she felt that she had to take her security team's advice," and the source added, "I think anybody would."

The source told Us Weekly the threats were not aimed at the venue and that security officials were confident in the protection for others.

"They had full confidence in the Secret Service" to keep Vance "safe," the source said. Still, the source maintained the concern was Kirk's travel outside secured perimeters. "There was absolutely no reason to cancel the event," the source said. "It was specifically for her participation, her ability to get to and from the event that they were concerned about."

Turning Point USA, in a statement to the outlet, said the organization has increased security measures since the September 2025 slaying of Charlie Kirk, Erika's husband and the group's co-founder, and emphasized protections for attendees.

The spokesperson told the outlet that threats related to Kirk's "travel outside the secured perimeter" led the group "to make the difficult decision to withdraw her participation."

The group's statement said, "Our security team continuously assesses security considerations and this was the right call in the interest of her safety," and added, "We are grateful to law enforcement and the U.S. Secret Service for ensuring a safe event."

An independent account cited by CBS News on April 16 reported the Secret Service was not aware of any "credible threats" to Kirk or the event and that agents considered any hostile social media messages nonactionable on the ground. The Secret Service source said that Vance was briefed the event was safe and chose to appear.

The publications source characterized the situation as part of broader hostile reactions to Kirk's public scrutiny. "This shouldn't surprise people: a woman who has been basically accused of murdering her own husband — someone the world loved — is facing death threats," the insider said.

"This is what happens. It's very clear that there's a coordinated effort here, and I don't think anybody should be surprised that we ended up in a situation where it was not safe for her to go to an event that she was widely publicized and speaking at because there were threats on her life."