#kirkstorian

BACKGROUND

I would not be shocked in the least if most of you say you have never heard of Benji Backer or his work. He was born near Appleton, Wisconsin. Benji is around 27-28 years old, making him several years younger than Charlie, and several grades younger than him when they first met. He’s the founder of Nature Is Nonpartisan, a nature conservation group founded on the basis of saving nature rather than politics or the government. This is slightly different than Charlie’s organization, TPUSA, which at first focused on national debt and took a nonpartisan view on most things; now, in 2026, TPUSA focuses on conservatism, not conservation, and leans more republican than anything.

FRIENDSHIP

Benji Backer first met Charlie Kirk in highschool. They were both pretty politically active back then, in 2012 (Charlie’s graduation year, Benji would’ve been in eighth grade or freshman year, most likely. Benji’s birthday is not public information and I don’t want to seek out that information, so I’m going off past ages.) They first met on Twitter when Charlie tagged him in a post telling him that he would probably be interested in TPUSA. Ever since he was 12, Benji recalled receiving hateful comments about his political stance and even a handful of death threats. He, exactly like Charlie, sought to rid classrooms of supposed bias, and he received hate for it. Benji wrote blogposts for sources such as the now-defunct FreedomWorks, and even appeared on USA Today when he was 14. Benji was often spotted alongside Charlie, in some Fox News interviews as well as local Chicago radio show appearances. He was one of Charlie’s earliest friends in the political sphere, making him an integral part of TPUSA and Charlie Kirk’s own history. Benji was the president of the Turning Point Wisconsin chapter and he was proud of it. In an interview below, Benji recalled Charlie constantly driving down to Wisconsin and Benji driving up to Illinois so the pair could hang out or discuss political matters. Charlie would not stop boasting about Benji and how proud he was of him, how much of a difference he made, and how he’s a great friend.

CHARLIE'S OPINION

Charlie would even defend Benji against bullies on Twitter. Truly the purest form of friendship. Benji has since deleted a vast majority of his early Tweets, making it seem one-sided but I know with certainty it was not. Charlie would emphasize that Benji was “just 15” quite often and would threaten to report people for cyber-bullying his friend. He took it very seriously, actually.

FALLING-OUT AND CK'S DEATH

The two men began to gradually drift apart due to a shift in TPUSA’s mission and the more political stance it took on certain issues. Benji wished to remain nonpartisan and he still remains nonpartisan, while TPUSA, is, well, TPUSA. The only reference to Charlie that Benji made before his death and after their falling-out was in 2017, and it was only to say that Charlie supported his conservative nature conservation foundation. When reflecting on the progress TPUSA has made, Charlie went so far as to crop Benji out of a photo at CPAC 2013. How petty! After Charlie’s death, several news sources were not hesitant to capitalize on Benji’s grief. Barely over a day after Charlie’s passing, PBS(Public Broadcasting Station, similar to England’s BBC) reached out and briefly interviewed him about Charlie and how he was an influence in his life. Benji was audibly upset in this interview, which I have linked below in video format as well as original, and it’s very gut wrenching to hear. Charlie truly cared for Benji, and even after their falling-out, both men held great respect for each other.

MEDIA COLLECTION

Above photos were from a joint Chicago Radio appearance in 2012. The man in the purple shirt is Allen Skillicorn, a former Illinois State Representative.

Charlie in center, Benji third from the right. This photo is from CPAC 2013, specifically the end of CPAC, 17 March 2013, showcasing the early and close-knit TPUSA team.