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Early Start with Rahel Solomon
South Koreans Detained In ICE Raid Return Home; Qatari PM To Meet Trump After Israeli Strike In Doha; Manhunt Underway For Killer Of Activist Charlie Kirk. Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired September 12, 2025 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL)
[05:30:10]
BRIAN ABEL, CNN ANCHOR: President Trump says Charlie Kirk's widow is "absolutely devastated."
CNN's Sunlen Serfaty has more on Erika Kirk and her relationship with her husband.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHARLIE KIRK, CO-FOUNDER, TURNING POINT USA: The beautiful, legendary Erika.
ERIKA KIRK, CHARLIE KIRK'S WIDOW: I love you so much.
C. KIRK: I love you.
SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): For 36-year-old Erika Kirk --
E. KIRK: I literally won the jackpot with my husband.
C. KIRK: Ahh, vice versa.
SERFATY (voiceover): -- her marriage to 31-year-old Charlie Kirk became the center of her life with much of it playing out in public --
E. KIRK: I love you.
C. KIRK: I love you, too.
SERFATY (voiceover): -- second only, she says, to her first priority, her faith.
E. KIRK: Now, more than ever, your faith has to be so on fire.
SERFATY (voiceover): The two have been married for four years, getting engaged two years after their first meeting.
E. KIRK: Do you think that I had an issue understanding where Charlie stood when he looked at me across Bill's Burgers table and said, "I'm not going to hire you; I'm going to date you."
SERFATY (voiceover): They went on to have two kids, a 1-year-old boy and a 3-year old girl.
E. KIRK: Motherhood is -- it's not a pause. It's a launchpad.
SERFATY (voiceover): She's committed herself to homeschooling their kids while supporting him --
E. KIRK: I love submitting to Charlie because he's a phenomenal leader. And the way that he loves me, like, melts me to want to be able to -- how can I help you?
SERFATY (voiceover): -- by his side as he traveled the country, but also speaking out herself.
E. KIRK: I want you guys to be able to just live such an abundant, joy-filled life. That you know how to battle in the trenches of this world and the fox holes of this culture.
SERFATY (voiceover): Not just espousing his political beliefs --
E. KIRK: My husband, Charlie Kirk, is a force.
SERFATY (voiceover): -- but complementing his with what she says are her more conservative values.
C. KIRK: I am a moderate compared to Erika. Erika is very conservative and, yeah, I --
E. KIRK: I was raised well.
SERFATY (voiceover): Raised in Scottsdale, Arizona by her mother, her parents divorced when she was young. Her grandfather was an emigrant from Sweden. She studied political science in college and is working on her doctorate in Christian leadership and biblical studies. She was briefly an NCAA women's basketball player.
E. KIRK: Everyone thought I was a little boy because I wore Jordan and all these different types of athletic clothes.
SERFATY (voiceover): Crowned Miss Arizona in 2012.
E. KIRK: I love to work out. I love to spend time with my family. I love to play with my dogs.
SERFATY (voiceover): She has a nonprofit --
E. KIRK: Internationally, we support and sustain several orphanages throughout Europe.
SERFATY (voiceover): -- a devotional podcast, and a Christian clothing company.
E. KIRK: I guess you could say I'm a social entrepreneur where I find little pockets within culture that I like to disrupt. SERFATY (voiceover): Her partnership in life and politics with Kirk often tinged with concern for their well-being, something she mentioned during her most recent podcast.
E. KIRK: You know, my husband is on college campuses getting screamed at by college kids as he's trying to share with them the truth. And he is so calm. Would I be calm? No, I wouldn't. I barely go to those only because I don't trust myself not climbing over the table and, like, attacking someone in the crowd because I'm very protective of my husband.
SERFATY (voiceover): She acknowledged his appearances made them vulnerable but in conversation with her husband committed to stay their chosen course together.
E. KIRK: Do I get hate? Bring it on.
C. KIRK: Exactly.
E. KIRK: I'll have a -- I'll have a velvet, steel spine by the end of -- end of my life, so bring it on. I have nothing to fear.
SERFATY: Erika was with her kids at Wednesday's event where her husband was killed. Her last post on social media just hours before he passed away was a bible verse which said, "God is our refuge and strength. A very present help in trouble."
Sunlen Serfaty, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ABEL: Kirk's conservative organization is considering its next steps in the wake of their leader's assassination.
His appearance Wednesday at Utah Valley University was meant to be the kickoff for a new round of speaking engagements on college campuses around the country. An official with Turning Point USA tells CNN the tour will continue in some fashion to celebrate Kirk's life. But friends and colleagues are still processing his death and say it's too soon to determine what comes next.
Donors are recommitting their support for Turning Point USA. Allies have vowed to channel their grief and anger into growing a new, younger generation of conservative activists and politicians.
Mourners gathered at the organization's headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona on Thursday to pay tribute to Kirk.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JENNA GILL, LAID FLOWERS AT KIRK MEMORIAL: This was a really heartless act, and I feel so sad. And I feel like when we're trying to be silenced, we need to come together as a whole and be a family. Um, I think that, you know, this is beautiful. There's so many people here and it just goes to show that we are not alone and anything --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[05:35:10]
ABEL: When we return, what new surveillance video reveals about the potential suspect in the Kirk assassination.
And hundreds of South Koreans detained by ICE have just returned home. Still to come, why the immigration raid in Georgia triggered tensions between the U.S. and a key ally.
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[05:40:10]
ABEL: We are following new developments in Utah where officials are hoping the public can help them track own Charlie Kirk's killer.
New video obtained by CNN shows a person matching the description and images of the suspect. You see that person here walking on a residential street before the shooting. CNN has geolocated the video to a neighborhood near Utah Valley University campus. The person in that video appears to pause at that tree right there before turning and walking toward the university.
The FBI is offering up to $100,000 for information leading to the shooter's identification and arrest. And Utah's governor says the state will seek the death penalty at any eventual trial.
And just before he was shot, Kirk took a question about transgender mass shooters. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HUNTER KOZAK, QUESTIONED CHARLIE KIRK BEFORE HE WAS SHOT: Do you know how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years?
C. KIRK: Too many.
(Gunshot)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ABEL: The fatal gunshot is then heard, abruptly ending that conversation.
Hunter Kozak, who is a student a Utah Valley University, is the person who asked Kirk that question and is now speaking out in a video shared with CNN. Kozak is clearly haunted by what he witnessed. And while he doesn't agree with Kirk's views, he says violence is not the answer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KOZAK: It's a tragedy and I don't -- it's hard to grapple with and I'm part of a community that is struggling to grapple with it right now. And people have obviously pointed to the irony that I was -- the point that I was trying to make is how peaceful the left was right before he got shot. And that only makes sense if we stay peaceful.
And as much as a disagree with Charlie Kirk -- I'm on the record for how much I disagree with Charlie Kirk but, like, man dude, he -- he's still a human being. Have we forgotten that?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ABEL: Israel's prime minister gives the green light to a settlement expansion in the West Bank -- a move that could deal a major blow to the future of a Palestinian state. We'll explain.
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[05:46:51]
ABEL: Welcome back. I'm Brian Abel. Here are some stories we are watching today.
The manhunt is intensifying in Utah after the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk. Officials have released these new photos of the suspect, but authorities say they have no idea whether the suspect is still in Utah or across state lines.
Kirk, a prominent conservative political activist was gunned down during an event Wednesday at Utah Valley University.
Kirk's casket is now in Phoenix, Arizona -- the conservative activist's hometown. Vice President J.D. Vance helped carry his casket onto Air Force Two. Vance and his wife Usha, along with Kirk's wife and children, took Kirk's remains from Utah to Phoenix.
The funeral is expected to take place there in the coming days, and President Trump says he will be attending.
The president spoke about Kirk's death when he attended the September 11 anniversary event at the Pentagon. Mr. Trump said Kirk was "a giant of his generation" and that he would award Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
We turn now to more than 300 South Korean nationals detained in the U.S. immigration raid returning now back home. A special Korean Air charter flight carried the workers back from the U.S. They were detained during an ICE raid at a plant under construction in the state of Georgia. It was being built as a joint venture between South Korean giants LG Energy Solution and Hyundai.
The raid triggered an outcry from South Korea, a key U.S. ally, and raised questions about foreign investments in the U.S.
Dozens of workers from other countries detained in the raid do remain in ICE custody.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is vowing that there will be no Palestinian state. He made the pledge while signing a document on Thursday that commits Israel to expanding its West Bank settlements, including through its so-called E-1 plan. It makes a contiguous Palestinian state virtually impossible because it splits the West Bank and separates it from East Jerusalem. Palestinians want East Jerusalem as their future capital.
Various nations have previously criticized this E-1 plan. The European Union's foreign policy chief says it further undermines the two-state solution. And some Western countries are also preparing to recognize a Palestinian state later this month.
And Qatar's prime minister will meet U.S. President Donald Trump later today. That's according to a person that's familiar with the plans. The meeting comes a day after the U.N. Security Council condemned an Israeli strike this week in Doha, Qatar's capital, which targeted Hamas leaders.
Qatar's prime minister told the council that his nation, despite the attack, will not stop its diplomatic work towards peace in Gaza. The U.S. ambassador to the U.N. said the strike didn't advance either Israel's or U.S.' goals.
Hamas says Israel went after its leaders just as they were discussing their response to the latest U.S. ceasefire proposal.
[05:50:00]
And Paula Hancocks is keeping on eye on all of these developments in the region and joins us now from Abu Dhabi with the latest, Paula.
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Brian, it was a significant U.N. Security cabinet meeting. That statement condemning the Israel attacks in Doha and the very fact that it wasn't -- it wasn't vetoed or at least the United States signed on to that statement as well.
We have seen with many of these statements -- these resolutions in the Security Council the U.S. either pulling back, abstaining, vetoing, and standing by Israel. That wasn't the case here. They also condemned this attack. And we've heard that very clearly from the U.S. president as well saying he was not happy with what had happened.
The U.S., though, and the U.N. itself still walking a fairly tight line. Let's listen to the U.S. ambassador to the U.N.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DOROTHY SHEA, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: Unilateral bombing inside Qatar, a sovereign nation working very hard and bravely taking risks alongside the United States to broker peace, does not advance Israel's or America's goals. That said, it is inappropriate for any member to use this to question Israel's commitment to bringing their hostages home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANCOCKS: Now Israel also doubled down. We heard from Danny Danon, the Israeli ambassador to the U.N., saying that Qatar has to expel Hamas or bring them to justice -- and if they don't, Israel will. Now what we have heard from Qatar itself is that they are not walking away from that role of mediator when it comes to trying to secure a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza. We heard from the member states as well saying that still remains a top priority.
He will be meeting, we understand, the U.S. President Donald Trump today -- this Friday -- in Washington. And clearly, this strike will be the top -- the top issue on the agenda. The fact that certainly Doha would have expected certain U.S. security guarantees as well when it comes to their close relationship with this Trump administration. So there will be discussions on that.
There will be discussions on where these talks can go from here. Whether Doha, for example, would even accept anyone from the Israeli delegation coming to their country after the military has bombed the residential area in their country.
So it will be an interesting discussion between these two leaders -- Brian.
ABEL: Paula Hancocks following these everchanging storylines for us from our Abu Dhabi bureau. Paula, thank you.
Well, Prince Harry has made an unannounced trip to Kyiv. The Duke of Sussex is expected to unveil initiatives for rehabilitating wounded soldiers in Ukraine through his Invictus Games foundation.
Meanwhile, the fallout is continuing from Russia's drone incursion into Poland. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban sided with Poland, calling the incursion "unacceptable." And Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk refuted President Trump's suggestion that it may have been accidental.
The Polish leader is urging allies to take Russia's actions seriously.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TUSK, POLISH PRIME MINISTER (through translator): I also understand for all those who like some kind of normalization, stabilization, some kind of policy of understanding with Russia, this situation is very uncomfortable. Because if what happened in the Polish skies on the night of September 10 is happening, it's hard to pretend that nothing happened. I hope that none of our allies will pretend that nothing happened because it did happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ABEL: Poland is also closing its border with Belarus, a key ally of Russia. Earlier, Tusk said many of the Russian drones entered Poland from Belarus.
And newly released photos and videos may give authorities the big break they need to find Charlie Kirk's killer. Our breaking news coverage continues next.
(COMMERCIAL) [05:58:45]
ABEL: Back to our breaking news in Utah following the murder of conservative political activist Charlie Kirk. Investigations are searching for the gunman who shot and killed Kirk at Utah Valley University Wednesday. They have released new photos and videos hoping the public can help identify the killer.
Utah's governor says the FBI has already received more than 7,000 tips in the case and investigators have conducted nearly 200 interviews.
President Donald Trump telling reporters Thursday that investigators were "making big progress" in the search for the suspect.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And he was a unique man. But, uh, we're doing the best we can.
REPORTER: Anything on the investigation or anything on the latest that you've heard from the FBI or Kash Patel?
TRUMP: No. What they've reported to me so far is pretty much what you're seeing on the news is what it is. They have a virtual manhunt out there, so we'll see what happens -- but we hope they get him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ABEL: And President Trump was one of many people who marked the 24th anniversary of the September 11 attacks on Thursday. In New York Thursday night, the president attending the Yankees game against the Detroit Tigers at Yankee Stadium. There was a special ceremony ahead of the game to remember the victims of the attack.
[06:00:00]
And earlier in the day there were memorial events at several locations, including Shanksville, Pennsylvania where United Airlines flight 93 crashed; the Pentagon, where American flight 77 crashed; and at ground zero where two of the hijacked planes toppled the World Trade Center towers.
Thank you for joining us here on EARLY START this morning. I'm Brian Abel in Washington, D.C. "CNN THIS MORNING" starts right now.
