Charlie Kirk was remembered as a “martyr” and “warrior” by some of the leading lights of the conservative movement, the Trump administration, friends as well as his grieving widow during a packed memorial service in Arizona Sunday.
As President Trump and others noted, the service felt more like a “revival” rather than a memorial, and Kirk’s connection to and efforts for his Christian faith were on full display throughout. Kirk was recalled for the movement among young conservatives that he helped spark, his willingness to debate and his fearlessness in the face of threats.
In a poignant moment, Kirk’s widow, Erika said that she forgives her husband’s alleged assassin.
Kirk, 31, founded Turning Point USA at age 18 and rose to become one of the most prominent conservative voices in the country. His influence, particularly with young people, helped propel Trump to office. But some of his comments on gun violence, LGBTQ issues, race and more often drew criticism from liberals and others.
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Here’s how the news is developing.
4:59 AM +07
Erika Kirk takes the stage
Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk, wiped tears from her eyes as she began addressing the thousands of people gathered at State Farm Stadium.
“I bless all of you for coming here from all over the world to honor and celebrate my Charlie,” she said.
4:56 AM +07
Vance says ‘evil still walks among us’ but people must ‘focus on the good’
Vice President JD Vance said “they tried to silence our dear friend Charlie Kirk” but at the conservative activist’s memorial service, “we speak for Charlie louder than ever.”
Vance said Kirk would “encourage me to be honest that evil walks among us” but he would want people to “focus on the good.”
“America was his home and he was willing to die for it,” Vance said.
JD Vance: We speak for Charlie Kirk ‘louder than ever’Vice President JD Vance spoke at the memorial event for Charlie Kirk being held at the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
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Vance added that Kirk “exemplified kindness, courage and a commitment to open debate” and was a “great American leader.”
“Now our whole administration is here but not just because we love Charlie as a friend, even though we did, but because we know we wouldn’t be here without him. Charlie built an organization that reshaped the balance of our politics,” Vance said.
He described Tyler Robinson, the suspect who was charged for allegedly killing Kirk, as an “evil murderer” and said that after Kirk’s death, “we have seen the very worst parts of our humanity.”
4:33 AM +07
Donald Trump Jr. says, ‘We are all Charlie’
Donald Trump Jr., a close friend of Kirk’s after they first worked together during the 2016 presidential campaign, began his remarks by saying he is not a sentimental person but “last week, when I received word that Charlie, who was like a little brother to me, had been assassinated, I was truly devastated.”
Charlie Kirk ‘was like a little brother to me’: Donald Trump Jr.The oldest son of President Donald Trump spoke about his late friend, conservative activist Charlie Kirk, at a memorial event in Glendale, Arizona.
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“His legacy must be that when they took his life a million more Charlie’s stepped up to film the void. We are all Charlie,” Trump Jr. said to boisterous applause.
He then led the crowd in a call and response.
“I want to make sure the world hears us loud and clear. Will you surrender? Will you back down? Will you give up in fear?” Trump Jr. said, with the audience yelling “no” each time in reply.
4:17 AM +07
Kirk was a ‘warrior’ who ‘waged war’ with a ‘microphone, his mind and the truth’: Hegseth
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said Charlie Kirk waged war “not with a weapon” but with a “microphone, his mind and the truth.”
Pete Hegseth: Charlie Kirk was ‘a warrior for country, a warrior for Christ’Secretary of War Pete Hegseth spoke at a memorial for Charlie Kirk, more than a week after the conservative activist was murdered.
ABCNews.com
He described the conservative activist as a “warrior” who had the “Biblical heart of a soldier.”
Hegseth urged those listening to “live worthy of Charlie Kirk’s sacrifice.”
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