Washington — Charlie Kirk, A Right-Wing Political Activist and Influential Vonservatives Shot and Killed

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↗️ Kirk service has aura of state funeral

Photo: Rebecca Noble/Bloomberg via Getty Images A massive security presence is enveloping State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., today: President Trump, Vice President Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other top administration officials will speak at Charlie Kirk's memorial service at 2 p.m. ET, Axios Phoenix's Jeremy Duda reports. Homeland Security designated the memorial a Level 1 Special Event Assessment Rating (SEAR) event — the agency's highest security rating, and the same level as the Super Bowl, ABC News reports. The dress code is listed as "Sunday Best- Red, White, or Blue." The stadium accommodates up to 73,000. Overflow seating will be offered next door at Desert Diamond Arena, with a capacity of 19,000. Erika Kirk — Charlie Kirk's wife, and his successor as CEO of Turning Point USA — will speak. Prominent Christian musicians and Lee Greenwood will perform. Speaker lineup ... White House video. Erika Kirk sat down in Scottsdale, Ariz., with Robert Draper, who profiled Charlie Kirk for The N.Y. Times Magazine in February ("He Always Delivers — gift link). Draper writes today that in Erika Kirk's view, "a young but towering spiritual voice was silenced by a young lost soul": "I'm a strong believer that this was God's plan," she said. "And it's so clear-cut. It couldn't be more Charlie ... I've had so many people ask, 'Do you feel anger toward this man? Like, do you want to seek the death penalty?' I'll be honest. I told our lawyer, I want the government to decide this. I do not want that man's blood on my ledger. Because when I get to heaven, and Jesus is like: 'Uh, eye for an eye? Is that how we do it?' And that keeps me from being in heaven, from being with Charlie?" Keep reading.

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Trump officials praise Charlie Kirk’s faith and his mark on the conservative movement

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — President Donald Trump praised Charlie Kirk as a “great American hero” and “martyr” for freedom as he and other prominent conservatives gathered Sunday evening to honor the slain conservative political activist whose work they say they must now advance.

https://apnews.com/article/charlie-kirk-trump-memorial-service-b5469086954908b162f464da966cf238?

Charlie Kirk Memorial

An estimated 200,000 people attended a memorial service honoring conservative activist Charlie Kirk yesterday at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. The service was organized by Turning Point USA, the youth organization Kirk cofounded, which is now led by his widow, Erika Kirk. The event included speeches by Christian leaders, conservative activists, and public officials, including Secs. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Marco Rubio, and Pete Hegseth. Vice President JD Vance credited Kirk with helping to elect the Trump administration. President Donald Trump headlined the event, praising Kirk’s impact and legacy. Erika Kirk—in her first major speech as Turning Point USA’s CEO—publicly forgave Kirk’s shooter, citing her Christian faith. The service was designated as a Special Event Assessment Rating Level 1 event, the highest designation used for events like the Super Bowl and major marathons. The determination is made by the Department of Homeland Security, allowing extensive federal interagency support.

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Tucker Carlson tells story about murder of Jesus at Charlie Kirk’s memorial, igniting criticism

Tucker Carlson, the far-right personality who has repeatedly drawn criticism for promoting antisemitic conspiracy theories, recounted the plot to murder Jesus during his speech at the memorial service for Charlie Kirk.

https://www.jta.org/2025/09/22/united-states/tucker-carlson-tells-story-about-murder-of-jesus-at-charlie-kirks-memorial-igniting-criticism?

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Black church leaders reject Charlie Kirk martyrdom and point to his race rhetoric

How Charlie Kirk is being memorialized — with many conservatives and white Christians, particularly evangelicals, emphasizing his faith and labeling him a martyr — has sparked debate among Black clergy, who are trying to square a heroic view of the 31-year-old with insulting statements about people of color that were key to his political activism.

https://apnews.com/article/charlie-kirk-death-black-pastors-reaction-sermons-222eb811b6681d29ccbb0547955ac42b?

Black church leaders reject Charlie Kirk martyrdom and point to his race rhetoric  A debate has been sparked among Black pastors trying to square a heroic view of Charlie Kirk, the conservative activist gunned down in Utah this month, with the insulting statements about people of color that were key to his political activism. Conservatives and white Christians, particularly evangelicals, are emphasizing Kirk's faith and label him a martyr.  From the pulpits of Black churches, pastors used their sermons to denounce what they called hateful rhetoric from Kirk that runs counter to the teachings of Jesus Christ and the Gospel. Read more.

Why this matters: Many African American pastors linked the veneration of Kirk —  who used his platform to discuss matters of race in America, including statements that denigrated Black people — to the history of weaponizing faith to justify colonialism, enslavement and bigotry.   Kirk once called the landmark civil rights law granting equal rights to people of color “a mistake,” and described the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. as “awful," leading many Black church leaders to reject comparisons between Kirk’s killing and King’s 1968 assassination.    Kirk’s conservatism does resonate with some Black pastors because they are themselves conservatives who subscribe to the evangelical political ideology that has been on the rise in the Trump era.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Some admirers of Charlie Kirk hope response to his death signals start of a religious revival Trump allies praise Charlie Kirk’s faith and his mark on the conservative movement How Charlie Kirk shaped a generation of young people into a conservative force