Charlie Kirk's widow, Erika, to receive award named in his honor at Tilles Center event

Erika Kirk, the widow of slain right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, will be honored Thursday at the Tilles Center for Performing Arts in Brookville with an award named after her husband.

Country music singer Jason Aldean and his wife, Brittany Aldean, along with Fox News host Jesse Watters, will present Kirk the first-ever Charlie Kirk Legacy Award at Fox Nation's seventh annual Patriot Awards.

The ceremony, which honors “everyday heroes and patriots who have shown unwavering dedication to the values that make our country great,” according to a news release, will be hosted by Fox News' Sean Hannity, who grew up in Franklin Square.

Erika Kirk took over as the CEO of Turning Point USA, the conservative group founded by her husband, after a sniper fatally shot Charlie Kirk on Sept. 10 while he was speaking on the campus of Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah.

The award was established to honor someone who “embodies Charlie’s mission and his spirit of free speech, faith and family,” according to a news release.

In October, President Donald Trump posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, to Kirk, who, in addition to his wife, left behind a 3-year-old daughter and a 1-year-old son.

Though many on the right lauded his ability to connect with young people through open debate, Charlie Kirk’s message also was seen on the left as homophobic, racist and divisive.

After the presentation, five-time Grammy-nominated Aldean will perform several of his hit songs, including “Try That in a Small Town” and “How Far Does Goodbye Go."

The Tilles Center, on the Brookville campus of Long Island University, has hosted such political and artistic luminaries as Jerry Seinfeld, Bill Clinton, Diana Ross, George W. Bush and Smokey Robinson.

Patriot Award organizers said they will continue to award an annual Charlie Kirk Legacy Award.