Former Schoolmate Claims Charlie Kirk's Rejection From West Point Fueled His Fire

In the wake of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk’s death on Sept. 10, 2025, every aspect of his life was thrust into the spotlight, including what made people love him and what made others hate him. While many highlight his knowledge and magnetic personality that helped him connect with the conservative youth crowd, his controversial views also drew attention, and continue to do so.

Amid all the discussion, an alleged former schoolmate claims to know why Kirk became so outspoken and dismissive of other cultures and religions, and why he was so intent on preaching his own beliefs and views to others. According to the former classmate, it stemmed from Kirk’s rejection from West Point, a U.S. military academy in New York. “He went off the deep end” after being turned away, the man recalls. But was Kirk really rejected from West Point? Here’s what we know.

Charlie Kirk was rejected from West Point, a U.S. military academy in New York, according to The Guardian. The outlet says this was when he began diving deeper into projecting his right-wing beliefs. While we don’t know the specifics of his denial, an alleged former schoolmate, Nick Caputo, who goes by @nickcaputo on TikTok, says he was very familiar with Kirk and “was around him a lot in high school” between 2009 and 2011.

Caputo says Kirk was “relentless” in school, but something changed that sent him to a whole other level. He believes it was Kirk’s rejection from West Point, a school he allegedly really wanted to attend.

Caputo adds that he believes Kirk only applied to West Point, and after being denied, he allegedly went around telling people, “it was some imaginary Black person that took his spot.” Caputo explained, “That was the only way he could rationalize in his mind that he was not good enough for West Point.”

Nick also claimed that Kirk “would go around telling Jews that they were going to hell” and would “tell the Latino and Black kids to go back to their countries, completely unprompted, bonkers stuff.”

This allegedly happened when Kirk was only 16, and Caputo believes the rejection ignited a fire in him that intensified his behavior. These accounts align with a few other stories from former classmates (more on that below).

While Kirk didn’t wind up going to West Point, he did attend Harper College, though he dropped out after a single semester to focus on his political activism. He had a lot of supporters behind him.

While many may be quick to question Caputo’s account of his high school days around Kirk, his recollections don’t seem far off from things Kirk himself has said or how other former classmates described him. Some considered him “rude,” and even his friends described him as “arrogant,” per Politico. Maria Krutikova, a former friend of Kirk’s and once a conservative herself, said, “He didn’t always act in ethical ways.”