Trump Supporters Bid Farewell to Right-Wing Activist Charlie Kirk

At a memorial for slain US right-wing activist Charlie Kirk on Sunday, President Donald Trump and his supporters commemorated the 31-year-old’s life with language reminiscent of religious devotion.

“He’s a martyr now for American freedom,” Trump declared, referring to Kirk, who was killed on 10 September at a university campus in Utah.

Trump was the final speaker at the event, held in a stadium in Arizona, drawing nearly 65,000 attendees who had travelled from across the country to pay their respects.

“I look at him as a Christ martyr, definitely,” said Monica Mirelez, a 44-year-old nurse who drove over 12 hours from Texas to attend.

Mirelez told AFP that she watched Kirk’s Instagram videos daily:

“He was a perfect example of what we should be doing as Christians. We should be bold and speak up. It’s so sad that he was silenced like this. It feels like losing a brother.”

The crowd at Kirk’s memorial was adorned in red, white, and blue, greeting Trump and other speakers with chants of “USA! USA! USA!”

In line with the religious tone of the event, Christian rock songs were performed between speeches, with many in the audience singing along.

Supporters emphasised Kirk’s commitment to ‘biblical principles’:

• Mirelez said she supported Kirk as a fellow Christian, finding that his political views aligned with the Bible.
• She added: “He stood up for biblical principles, against the LGBTQ community… That brought him a lot of hate from many people, but I think he was misunderstood.”

Another attendee, Nick Chisholm, a 15-year-old high school student, expressed shock at classmates’ reactions to Kirk’s death: “They laughed, they said he deserved it. Whatever he said, he didn’t deserve to be killed for speaking his opinion and his beliefs.”

Speakers and attendees highlighted a sense of unity following Kirk’s killing.

“You have no idea the dragon you have awakened,” said Stephen Miller, a top Trump advisor.
“You have no idea how determined we will be to save this civilisation, to save the West.”

Welsley Inglis, a 61-year-old mechanical engineer from California, suggested the shooter was primarily influenced by the Democratic Party: “They’re the ones pushing gender blending, no male, no female, transgender, get rid of that dichotomy. I appreciated how Kirk was bringing the youth back to the church and changing their minds. When I was a child, churches were filled. By the time I became an adult, churches were empty.”

Inglis also referenced the Trump administration’s threats to crack down on left-wing activists accused of funding political violence: “We can’t just crack down on dissent, there would have to be proof, it has to be done by the book… But personally, I think they have proof, it just hasn’t been released yet.”

Other supporters took a more cautious or reconciliatory stance.

Jeremy Schlotman, a 21-year-old practising Catholic and recent member of Kirk’s organisation Turning Point USA, emphasised forgiveness: “I think that’s the best response to what the shooter did.”

Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, had expressed a similar sentiment during her speech on Sunday.

“Kill one, and a thousand more will rise. That’s what’s happening. The shooter just created a generation of new Charlies. We’re all Charlie Kirk now,” Schlotman added.

Memorial Highlights Table