Fact Check: Did Erika Kirk lose custody of her children?

PHOENIX, ARIZONA: A claim began circulating earlier this month suggesting that Erika Kirk, the widow of slain conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, had lost custody of her children in a legal dispute following her husband’s tragic death. The allegations spread widely on social media, sparking speculations about the claim. Let us examine the origins of the claim.

Claim: Erika Kirk lost the custody of her kids

According to the claim, Erika, the CEO of Turning Point USA, lost her children in a custody battle with her late husband's parents. 

The claim spread on X and Facebook, and Grok, the AI assistant of X, even claimed that the rumor appeared to be true.

“Based on recent reports from court-related discussions on social media and videos, Erika Kirk appears to be in a child custody dispute with Charlie Kirk's parents, with custody reportedly awarded to them amid concerns over the children's well-being. Details vary and include unverified claims, so check official records for accuracy,” said Gork.

Fact Check: No evidence to support the claim

However, no evidence was found to support the claim. The allegation spread widely after a remark by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, who later said she had misspoken.

A search for relevant court records and news articles yielded no results, and similar searches for custody battles in locations associated with Erika also produced no results.

Given that court records may be sealed due to safety and privacy concerns, the claim could not be independently verified.

Anna Paulina Luna's remark

During her appearance on the PBD Podcast in October 2025, Luna said Kirk 'lost her husband, she lost her kids.'

X user @DiligentDenizen posted the clip on January 8, asking Luna what she meant when she said Kirk lost her kids.

In response, she posted that she 'meant to say the kids lost their dad.' 

"PBD podcast is not edited so it was not changed or taken out," she added. 

She said during the podcast, “But I do think that when the information isn't put out there directly, that's when you have a lot of these, ‘Well, you know, could Erika have been involved in any of that?’"

“And that's what I'm saying — like, I don't think that she at all had any connection to that. When I see that, it's like, you're already victimizing the victim, if that makes sense. Because at the end of the day, she did lose her husband, she lost her kids.” 

“Like, I was just with her at the White House, and she's, you know — that's anyone — if that happened to your wife, my husband — like, it's devastating.”