Introduction
Introduction Statistics Contact Development Disclaimer Help
.-') _ .-') _
( OO ) ) ( OO ) )
.-----. ,--./ ,--,' ,--./ ,--,'
' .--./ | \ | |\ | \ | |\
| |('-. | \| | )| \| | )
/_) |OO )| . |/ | . |/
|| |`-'| | |\ | | |\ |
(_' '--'\ | | \ | | | \ |
`-----' `--' `--' `--' `--'
lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial
ARTICLE VIEW:
Grief, recrimination and a watershed moment for the conservative
movement Charlie Kirk founded
By Kristen Holmes, Kevin Liptak, CNN
Updated:
5:00 AM EDT, Sun September 21, 2025
Source: CNN
Charlie Kirk’s here Sunday will punctuate a watershed moment for the
grassroots conservative movement he founded as a teenager and was
working to advance earlier this month when a gunman shot and killed
him.
For Kirk’s supporters, the days since the assassination have been
defined both by intense grief and deep anger at the forces that they
believe contributed to his killing. His death at age 31 has galvanized
his followers behind his conservative views and Christian faith, and
they’ve resolved to continue to strengthen Kirk’s movement.
But political leaders and some of Kirk’s most public facing allies
have also converted their fury into they accuse of inciting political
violence or disparaging a man they saw as a generational leader. That
response in the aftermath of the killing has sparked fears of a
government-led crackdown on dissent, all building into a febrile moment
for the country.
Many thousands of mourners are expected gather to hear remembrances
from President Donald Trump and a slew of conservative luminaries,
including several top administration officials and Kirk’s wife,
Erika, in her first remarks as of the organization Kirk founded,
Turning Point USA.
Trump has been front and center since nearly the moment Kirk was shot
on a college campus in Utah. It was Trump who announced Kirk had been
shot during the event and later that he had died. It was Trump who
announced, during an interview on Fox News, that a . And it is Trump
who will be the final speaker at Sunday’s event.
Aides said Trump has been heavily involved in writing his speech, which
will include personal reflections on his friend and the impact he has
on his political movement. While his remarks are expected to be more
personal than a typical presidential speech, Trump is known for veering
from his script.
Throughout, Trump has remembered as a close friend and critical factor
in helping him win elections and shape his administration. But he’s
done little to lower the national temperature, going after “radicals
on the left” he says are responsible for an atmosphere of violence
that led to Kirk’s death.
While a source close to Kirk said there wasn’t coordination on
Trump’s announcement, those close to the political activist were
thankful to the president for taking charge at a moment when grief had
overtaken them.
“Everyone was so overwhelmed and distraught, how to communicate what
happened seemed impossible,” one source said, noting that Kirk’s
profile had grown so large, it was unclear how they could appropriately
deliver the tragic news to his following. “He did us a favor. Charlie
legitimately loved President Trump. It was right.”
Trump called Kirk’s wife while she was still at the hospital to offer
condolences, in what one source described as an emotional tone. Shortly
afterward, arrangements started being made for Trump to travel to
Arizona for the funeral.
“They’ve asked me to go,” Trump said last week at the White
House. “I think I have an obligation.”
The event, set to be held inside State Farm Stadium in Glendale,
Arizona, which can hold more than 70,000 people, is likely to offer a
window into the sentiments that have coursed through Kirk’s circle in
the aftermath of his shooting.
Aside from Trump, prominent speakers at the funeral include Vice
President JD Vance, chief of staff Susie Wiles, Secretary of State
Marco Rubio, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth and Health and Human Services
Secretary Robert F. Kennedy. Underscoring the close ties Kirk built
with so many in Trump’s orbit, the White House is sending two planes
full of staff from Joint Base Andrews to Arizona on Sunday. Sources
said the speeches given would not be subject to any sort of review
beforehand.
Many close to Kirk are in the public eye, and have grieved openly on
social media —some tearfully, others with anger, and others seeking
consequences beyond the man in custody, charged with shooting and
killing Kirk.
“They took my f**king friend,” one friend of Kirk’s told CNN.
“We want justice.”
Sources close to Kirk describe the hours after his death as chaotic.
Kirk’s wife and several of his closest friends and colleagues flew
immediately to Utah after being alerted of the shooting, one of the
sources said.
Multiple sources said their primary concern was making sure Erika Kirk
was on her way and informed. Conflicting information was being
circulated as Charlie Kirk’s allies tried to glean updates his
condition.
“He lost so much blood, but we thought there was a chance,” one
source told CNN.
Ultimately, doctors told those close to Kirk that there was no way to
bring him back from the moment the bullet hit him, the source said.
Administration officials at both the White House and Department of
Justice, many of whom were close friends of Kirk’s, were briefed on
his passing.
In her first public remarks after his death, Erika Kirk .
“You have no idea the fire that you have ignited within this wife.
… The cries of this widow will echo around the world like a battle
cry,” she said, vowing to make his mission stronger and larger.
“I’ll make Turning Point USA the biggest thing that this nation has
ever seen,” she said. “I promise.”
Some conservatives view Erika Kirk’s elevation to CEO of Turning
Point as a moment to in the same way her late husband drew young men to
support Trump and conservative causes.
The organization says it has already seen a since Charlie Kirk’s
death, with more than 62,000 requests from high school and college
students to start new chapters or become involved in existing groups.
Amid the renewed interest, conservative leaders have begun a crusade
against those they allege celebrated Kirk’s death, drawing attention
to their social media posts, reaching out to their employers and
publishing their personal information.
Many prominent Democrats condemned political violence and voiced
sympathies over Kirk’s death, even as they noted some of his more
inflammatory viewpoints on guns, race and gender.
The White House has vowed to use the federal government to go after
liberal groups in Kirk’s name, suggesting that his killer was part of
a larger movement that promoted violence against conservatives.
One of the officials leading that charge has been deputy chief of staff
Stephen Miller. One source said that Miller, a close friend of Kirk’s
who is expected to speak at the memorial, feels personally invested in
the cause. The source said one of Kirk’s final text messages to
Miller said the government needed to look into groups that he said were
“fomenting” violence and root out their financial networks.
In the days after Kirk’s death, Miller cited a “network of
organizations” that he accused of launching riots, specifically
naming Black Lives Matter demonstrations. Black Lives Matter condemned
political violence in the wake of Kirk’s shooting, with a board
member saying in a statement, “Vigilante justice has no place in a
just society. Not on the left. Not on the right. Not in response to
racism, and not in the name of righteousness. It must be rejected,
always.”
Organizers are expecting many thousands of mourners to attend
Sunday’s funeral, with arrangements being made for overflow viewing
areas to accommodate those who cannot fit inside the stadium, a source
said. Some allies of Kirk’s expressed concern over around the event,
though they noted it would not stop them from attending. Following
Kirk’s assassination, some senior White House officials have been
given Secret Service protection, including press secretary Karoline
Leavitt, amid security threats.
The event has been given a Special Event Assessment Rating Level 1
designation, a senior Department of Homeland Security official said,
which unlocks major federal resources from across the government for
security purposes.
“This designation is reserved for events of the highest national
significance and enables the federal government to provide the full
range of law enforcement and security resources necessary to support
local officials in ensuring a safe and successful event,” the
official said.
The designation has previously been given to other major gatherings
like the Super Bowl and Kentucky Derby.
CNN’s Betsy Klein contributed to this report.
<- back to index
You are viewing proxied material from codevoid.de. The copyright of proxied material belongs to its original authors. Any comments or complaints in relation to proxied material should be directed to the original authors of the content concerned. Please see the disclaimer for more details.