Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler repeatedly referred to Charlie Kirk as “Charlie King” during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday.
The New York Democrat, who is retiring at the end of his current term, made the error while questioning FBI Director Kash Patel about how the Trump administration has responded to Kirk’s assassination. Nadler had cited a New York Times report alleging that the White House was invoking the assassination to justify new restrictions on speech.
“Politicizing the murder of Charlie King to go after free speech is not a legacy, I believe, Charlie King would have wanted,” Nadler said, according to footage of the hearing.
Democrat Rep. Jerry Nadler gets Charlie Kirk's name WRONG in a Judiciary Hearing with FBI Director:
"Politicizing, the murder of Charlie KING to go after free speech, is not a legacy, I believe Charlie KING would have wanted." pic.twitter.com/6nJfMh5frp
— Edgar A Barrios (@Edgar_A_Barrios) September 17, 2025
The gaffe drew attention because Nadler had correctly used Kirk’s name several times earlier in his remarks. Patel did not address the mistake and continued answering questions about the FBI’s role in monitoring political violence.
Kirk, the co-founder of Turning Point USA, was shot to death earlier this month. Patel told senators on Tuesday that the FBI had obtained text messages from Tyler Robinson, the alleged shooter, in which he said Robinson was motivated by what Robinson described as Kirk’s “hatred.”
The House hearing followed Patel’s contentious appearance before the Senate, where he clashed with Sen. Adam Schiff, a California Democrat, over questions about whether FBI employees were dismissed for investigating Trump. Patel denied the claim, saying Schiff was trying to set “a trap” with his “yes-or-no” questioning.
Nadler’s misstatement has already been compared to a similar moment in March 2024, when then-President Joe Biden misstated the name of slain Georgia student Laken Riley during his State of the Union address.
Nadler, 78, has served in Congress for more than three decades.
