The Media Research Center proudly awarded our annual Free Speech Award to Charlie Kirk, a tireless champion of the First Amendment and the sacred right to free speech it protects. Charlie led the charge for every American to speak freely, believe openly, and challenge authority without fear. In standing against those who despised these freedoms, he paid the ultimate price, becoming a martyr for the first protection in our Bill of Rights.

This award, presented during Free Speech Week, honored Charlie’s courage and life’s work. That week serves as a reminder of what sets America apart: Without free speech, there is no democracy, no Republic, no America. Yet, today, many no longer believe in this right, with some even viewing the First Amendment as a danger to the nation.

Charlie foresaw this threat. He warned that the Left’s growing intolerance would escalate from censorship to criminalizing “wrongthink.” His words, “Leftists in the Western world want to criminalize wrongthink... This can only end badly if we don’t stop it first,” were prophetic. He understood free expression as a moral necessity, not a government-granted privilege, allowing truth to prevail over power. He recognized the modern threat came not from a single source but from a coordinated network of tech companies, bureaucrats, and cultural elites controlling information.