Trump administration officials and friends praised Kirk’s faith and courage at a memorial attended by tens of thousands in Arizona.
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Trump: Kirk Received Death Threats for Years, Never Backed Down
Trump said that Kirk had faced death threats for years, yet never backed down.
“He always felt that when they actually made the threat, they were not the ones to worry about,” Trump said. “The ones to worry about were the ones that don’t make the threats.”
Trump said Kirk knew the risk, but shared a motto with him: “Never back down, and never, ever surrender.”
“He believed in it so strongly,” Trump said. “And he’s right. He’s totally right.”
By T.J. Muscaro
Trump: ‘No One Was Too Small’ for Kirk to Notice
Trump said that no one was too small for Kirk to notice, no matter how big he became.
“Several years ago, a fourth grader asked Charlie to appear on his podcast, which was probably only watched by the parents of that fourth grader, and Charlie, who was actually pretty hot at the time, to be honest, he agreed,” Trump said.
The fourth grader asked for advice, and Kirk told him, Trump recalled, that “the left may have all the world, but they can never outwork me.”
Trump recalled Kirk saying that he would wake up and stay up as early as he needed to be and never stop fighting for the country.
“He did this until his dying breath,” Trump said. “That’s what he was doing.”
By T.J. Muscaro
Trump Recalls Kirk’s Early Days of TPUSA
Trump took the stage to honor Kirk’s legacy, remembering a time 12 years ago when the conservative commentator first went onto a college campus in Wisconsin and put up a card table with “three big words: big government sucks.”
“That day, Charlie talked to every student who approached him, most of whom were probably quite a bit older than he was,” Trump said.
After that, Kirk founded his first chapter of Turning Point USA, Trump said, and then traveled for 300 days “raising money and taking his message to campuses all over the country.”
Trump said that Kirk spent years floating between his parents’ basement and the couches of friends and supporters before his political movement exploded.
“It wasn’t easy, but Charlie wasn’t in it for money at all,” Trump said. “He was always in it for the mission.”
By Jacob Burg
Trump: Kirk Was a ‘Master Builder of People’
Trump praised Kirk as a “master builder of people,” and credited him for helping unite the MAGA movement.
“It was Charlie who first started organizing young black conservatives hungry for support and leadership,” Trump said, recounting Kirk’s help during his 2016 presidential campaign.
“It was Charlie who stood up for persecuted Christians and Jews on college campuses. It was Charlie who helped bring online censorship, free speech, and cancel culture to the fore of our political debate. He was right up there with me.”
By T.J. Muscaro
Trump: Kirk Was a Martyr for American Freedom
President Donald Trump took the stage, saying Charlie Kirk a martyr for American freedom.
“He did what was right for our nation,” Trump said. “And so on that terrible day, September 10, 2025, our greatest evangelist for American liberty became immortal.
“He’s a martyr now for American freedom. I know I speak for everyone here today when I say that none of us will ever forget Charlie Kirk, and neither now will history.
“Because while Charlie has been reunited with his creator in heaven, his voice on Earth will echo through the generations, and his name will live forever in the eternal chronicle of America’s greatest patriots. He will live forever.”
By T.J. Muscaro
Erika Kirk Offers Advice to Christian Husbands
Erika Kirk said that her husband would send her love notes every Saturday to keep their marriage strong while he was busy traveling. In them, he would tell Erika about his highlight for the week and express his gratitude for her and their children.
“He would always end it with asking the most beautiful question … ‘Please let me know how I can better serve you as a husband,’” Kirk said.
“Charlie perfectly understood God’s role for a Christian husband, a man who leads so that they can serve,” she said.
“To all the men watching around the world, accept Charlie’s challenge and embrace true manhood.
“Be strong and courageous for your families. Love your wives and lead them. Love your children and protect them. Be the spiritual head of your home, but please be a leader worth following.”
Kirk said a wife is not a servant, employee, or slave.
“She is your helper. You are not rivals. You are one flesh, working together for the glory of God,” she said.
Erika Kirk Forgives Her Husband’s Killer
Erika Kirk said that she forgives the young man charged with shooting her husband.
“I forgive him because it was what Christ did, and is what Charlie would do,” she said. “The answer to hate is not hate.
“The answer we know from the Gospel is love, and always love, love for our enemies and love for those who persecute us.”
She said that Kirk’s mission above all was to reach unmarried men.
“Charlie passionately wanted to reach and save the lost boys of the West, the young men who feel like they have no direction, no purpose, no faith, and no reason to live,” she said. “The men wasting their lives on distractions, and the men consumed with resentment, anger, and hate, Charlie wanted to help them.
“My husband, Charlie, he wanted to save young men, just like the one who took his life.”
By T.J. Muscaro
Erika Kirk Reflects on ‘Revival’ in Days After Charlie’s Death
Erika Kirk recounted that in the days following her husband’s death, there were no riots and instead, a revival.
“We didn’t see rioting,” she said. “We didn’t see revolution. Instead, we saw what my husband always prayed he would see in this country. We saw revival.
“This past week, we saw people open a Bible for the first time in a decade,” she said. “We saw people pray for the first time since they were children. We saw people go to a church for the first time in their entire lives.”
She quoted an entry from Kirk’s journal, which said that every decision puts a mark on one’s soul, and encouraged those who took their first steps in their spiritual life to keep going.
“The enemy will tempt you the most in a time like this one,” she said. “God will always be there for you, but you must choose to mark your soul again and again in the direction of Christ.
“I pray again, read the Bible again, go to church next Sunday and the Sunday after that, and break free from the temptations and shackles of this world.”
By T.J. Muscaro
Erika Kirk Takes the Stage, Wipes Tears
Erika Kirk took the stage to offer a memorial speech for her husband, Charlie Kirk. She wiped tears from her eyes as she began to speak.
“So, 11 days ago, God accepted that total surrender from my husband, and then called him to his side,” she said. “More than anything, Charlie wanted to do, not his will, but God’s will.
“And over these past 11 days, through all the pain, never before have I found as much comfort as I now do in the words of our Lord’s Prayer, ‘Thy will be done.’”
The day after her husband’s assassination, Kirk said she arrived at a “Utah hospital to do the unthinkable, to look directly at my husband’s murdered body.”
“I saw the wound that ended his life. I felt everything he would expect to feel. I felt shock … and a level of heartache that I didn’t even know existed,” she said.
Kirk added that “even in death, I could see the man that I love.” She said that she saw the “faintest smile” on his lips while looking at his body.
“And that told me something important. It revealed to me a great mercy from God in this tragedy,” Kirk said.
By Jacob Burg
Vance Says Kirk Would Want Him to ‘Focus on the Good’
Vice President JD Vance lamented to the crowd that he could not pick up the phone and talk to his friend, Charlie Kirk, and ask him for his counsel.
But knowing him, Vance said that he believed Kirk would want him to focus on the good and to continue to fight for the truth.
“He would encourage me, he would encourage all of us to focus on the good,” the vice president said. “He would encourage us to remember that for every hateful voice celebrating his murder, there are 1,000 people mourning it and fighting for his legacy every single day.
“He would tell me to pray. I’m certain of it,” Vance added. “He would tell me to pray for my friends, but also for my enemies, he would tell me to put on the full armor of God and get back to work.”
Vance went on to say that Kirk would want everyone in attendance to commit to telling the truth and fighting for it every single day, as well as talk about God’s love for the whole human family.
“Charlie suffered a terrible fate, my friends, we all know it. We all saw it,” he said. “But I think it is not the worst fate.
“It is better to face a gunman than to live your life afraid to speak the truth. It is better to be persecuted for your faith than to deny the kingship of Christ.”
By T.J. Muscaro
Country Found ‘Great American Leader’ in Kirk: Vance
Vice President JD Vance said that Charlie Kirk’s political movement “demanded courage, it demanded hard work.”
“It demanded building, and it demanded leaders,” Vance said. “In Charlie Kirk, we found a great American leader.”
Donald Trump Jr. Recalls Charlie Kirk’s Bravery
Donald Trump Jr. put a spotlight on the times he witnessed the bravery Kirk demonstrated during his life.
“At Michigan State University, five minutes before we were supposed to go on stage, the State Police told us, and I quote, ‘We can no longer guarantee your safety,’ because the left-wing activists, they were going crazy,” he said.
“It was rough. That sounded like a great reason to pack it up and head out, but it was one of the many times that I would agree with Charlie, who said, ‘No way, we’re going out there anyway.’”
Trump Jr. also recalled one of the last events of the 2024 presidential campaign at Arizona State University. Someone called in a threat in an attempt to keep them off the stage, but they “went out there anyway without fear.”
“Charlie led the way,” he said. “His message was clear then, and his message is clear now. We won’t back down. We won’t be intimidated.”
By T.J. Muscaro
Kirk Thought ‘Conversation Was the Only Way to Heal Our Country’: RFK Jr
Kirk believed that the “only way to heal our country” was through conversation, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in his memorial speech.
“This was important, particularly important during a technological age when we are all hooked into social rhythms, social algorithms that are hacked into other reptilian cores of our brain and amplify our impulses for tribalism, and for he felt that the only way to overcome that biological impulse was with a spiritual fire and with developing community,” Kennedy said.
He added that Kirk believed “the only way to develop community was through conversation.”
By Jacob Burg
Rubio Reflects on Kirk’s International Impact
Secretary of State Marco Rubio remarked that Kirk did not just make a national impact, as was evident by the packed NFL stadium and presence of President Donald Trump and members of his administration, but an impact that spanned the globe.
“I just came from overseas, and in every country I stopped, they gave us their condolences for his passing,” he said. “Impactful in just 31 years of life, he made a difference. He mattered, and he will matter now more than he ever has before.”
Rubio also shared the last message Kirk sent to him, and it was about his work in South Korea.
“Just a few days before his passing … he wrote me from overseas,” Rubio said. “‘I’m in South Korea. I have many concerns I want to share with you when I get back.’ He was constantly expanding his horizons.”
By T.J. Muscaro
Hegseth: Kirk Was Waging ‘Spiritual War’
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth honored Kirk by saying the young conservative commentator had pursued his political movement “with more vigor than anyone I’ve ever met.”
“But over time, he realized, like so many of us have, that this is not a political war. It’s not even a cultural war. It’s a spiritual war: faith and family first,” Hegseth said.
The defense secretary added that his pastor had texted him the day after Kirk was assassinated, writing, “The devil overplayed his hand.”
“Charlie started with Liberty, but ended up lighting our country on fire for Christ,” Hegseth said. “He started Turning Point USA, but this moment is the turning point for the U.S.A. right now.”
By Jacob Burg
Gabbard: Kirk Lived Life as a Warrior, Chose Schools as His Arena
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard remembered Kirk as someone who “lived his life as a warrior for truth and for freedom every single day” and that he chose the nation’s schools to be his arena.
“He knows that they are meant to teach, to train our young people to think critically, to debate ideas, to test their strength through a clash of reason,” she said.
“But too often, these schools silence debate, saying words are violence, dissenting voices are hushed. And those who speak of God—those who speak the truth, simple, objective truths, like there are only two genders in these schools—they are told, ‘You have no voice.’”
Charlie chose to take those people and those institutions head-on and encourage them to speak honestly, debate, and think critically, Gabbard said.
He was winning so much, she said, that the forces of darkness, hate, and evil tried to silence him.
“They kill and terrorize their opponents, hoping to silence them,” she said. “But in this evil that we have experienced, that Charlie faced, their flawed ideology is exposed, because by trying to silence Charlie, his voice is now louder than ever.”
By T.J. Muscaro
Elon Musk Spotted With President Trump at Memorial Service
Tesla CEO Elon Musk is attending Kirk’s memorial.
He served in the Trump administration as a senior adviser to the president.
Tucker Carlson: Kirk Recognized Only Change that Matters When We Repent Our Sins
Political commentator Tucker Carlson said that Charlie Kirk recognized that the only change that matters is repenting for one’s sins.
“The main thing about Charlie and his message, he was bringing the Gospel to the country, he was doing the thing that the people in charge hate most, which is calling for them to repent,” Carlson said.
“So how is Charlie’s message different?” he continued. “And Charlie was a political person who was deeply interested in coalition building and getting the right people in office, because he knew that vast improvements are possible politically, but he also knew that politics is not the final answer.”
Stephen Miller Makes Call to Prevail Over ‘Forces of Wickedness and Evil’
White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller said during his memorial speech that as the future leader of Turning Point USA, Charlie Kirk’s wife, Erika Kirk, “stands on the shoulders of thousands of years of warriors of women who raised up families, raised up city, raised up industry, raised up civilization, who pulled us out of the caves and the darkness into the light.”
“The light will defeat the dark. We will prevail over the forces of wickedness and evil. They cannot imagine what they have awakened,” Miller said.
“And to those trying to incite violence against us, those trying to foment hatred against us, what do you have? You have nothing. You are nothing.”
Miller added that the shooter has “immortalized Charlie Kirk, and now millions will carry on his legacy.”
By Jacob Burg
Gor: Charlie Led with His Faith, Thought With His Heart
Charlie Kirk led with his faith and thought with his heart, said Sergio Gor, director of the White House presidential personnel office and Trump’s nominee to be U.S. ambassador to India.
“He loved life and he loved the people in his life,” he said. “Charlie led with his faith and thought with his heart.
“One of the things I will miss the most is receiving a text every morning from Charlie with a daily Bible verse. Charlie would help set the tone of the day for so many of us. He loved Jesus Christ.”
Mentor Describes Kirk’s Final Moments
Frank Turek, a mentor to Charlie Kirk, recalled Kirk’s final moments.
Turek, a Christian author and public speaker, was at Kirk’s event at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10 when Kirk was shot.
He recalled that Kirk’s security team did all they could to save the Turning Point USA co-founder. Kirk’s security team quickly carried Kirk to an SUV to take him to the hospital. Turek then got on the back of the SUV.
“I want you to know that we did everything we could to save Charlie. But Charlie was already gone. His face was looking at mine, but he wasn’t looking at me,” he said.
“He was looking past me right into eternity and, if it’s any comfort at all, I learned later that Charlie felt no pain,” he continued. “He died instantly, but we had to try and bring him back.”
Dr. Ben Carson Says Revival Coming With Future TPUSA
Dr. Ben Carson, who ran in the 2016 Republican presidential primary before becoming President Donald Trump’s secretary of Housing and Urban Development a year later, drew from the book “The Naked Communist,” during his eulogy for Kirk.
Written by W. Cleon Skousen in the 1950s, the book, according to Carson, “exposed the things that were being done by the Marxists to gain control of our country.”
Carson said this included “gaining control of the public education system and the teacher unions so that you could infiltrate and indoctrinate our young people” and attempts to steer Hollywood and the media.
The former Cabinet secretary has compared mid-20th-century Marxism to modern progressivism, alleging that the latter belief system is an extension of the former.
During his memorial speech, Carson said the left is trying to push “God out of our society.” He added that a revival is coming with Turning Point USA in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s death.
“We’re all going to be a part of it. I love the fact that Erica is going to take over, and we’re going to grow the turning point to a very significant level,” he said, referring to Kirk’s widow. “You got to stand up for what you believe in.”
By Jacob Burg
No Congresswoman Luna Without Kirk
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) said she would not be in Congress were it not for Kirk.
“Just want to start off by saying there would be no Congresswoman Luna without Charlie Kirk,” she said at the beginning of her eulogy.
Luna served as Hispanic outreach director for Turning Point USA. She was first elected to Congress in 2022.
Trump Arrives at Memorial Arena
President Donald Trump has arrived at State Farm Stadium in Phoenix, the site of the memorial for Charlie Kirk.
Trump is scheduled to give a eulogy at the end of the event.
TPUSA Director Recalls Kirk’s Help During Husband’s Cancer Battle
Stacy Sheridan, Turning Point USA’s senior advancement director, recalled Kirk helping her husband, Michael Sheridan, during his battle with cancer.
“At one point, [Kirk] had critical medication and an oxygen machine sent to my doorstep without my knowledge,” she said. “I still, to this day, have no idea how he made that happen, but that was Charlie.”
Michael Sheridan succumbed to his battle with cancer.
‘Courage Was a Daily Choice’: TPUSA Chief Operating Officer
Justin Streiff, chief operating officer at Turning Point USA, said that Kirk would often describe courage as “one of the easiest things in the world, because all it requires is you to say yes.”
“Courage does not require talent. It does not require natural ability. Courage requires a personal decision,” Streiff said.
He added that for Kirk, “courage was a daily choice, a yes—no matter the cost—and it cost him his life.”
By Jacob Burg
Turning Point’s First CEO Recalls Early Days
Tyler Bowyer recalled starting Turning Point USA with Charlie Kirk more than 10 years ago.
He met Charlie Kirk in 2014 and the two shared “a vision of what the conservative movement should be.”
He described Kirk as a “grown, 21-year-old man,” who had mail delivered to a detached garage off his parents’ house to assure donors he was not a kid still living with his parents. His organization had its own address: 217 and a half Illinois Street.
“We worked 24/7, he would tell every supporter of ours,” Bowyer said. “Between me and him, we were a team that was never off the clock. Full coverage. I would usually stay until two or three in the morning working on the next big Turning Point USA project, and text Charlie reports of what our team that day had accomplished.”
Kirk’s job was to dream up the ideas, and Bowyer’s job was to turn them into proposals and presentations. Together they would work to execute the plans.
“Charlie would take red-eyes from coast to coast, going all over the country like a crazy man on any and every possible donor, meeting with every possible donor who would take a meeting so our ideas and fixes for the conservative movement could help young people once and for all,” he said. “I oftentimes would go with him and marvel at the deranged, 22-year-old lifestyle.”
“I got really good at recruiting the best young talent in the country to come work for us, and it was nonstop,” he added. “We were a hell of a team and that’s how it worked. Turning Point USA was built, and the Charlie Kirk vision was delivered.”
By T.J. Muscaro
Trump Arrives in Arizona
President Donald Trump has arrived in Arizona for Kirk’s remembrance service, where he is scheduled to deliver a eulogy.
He arrived at Luke Air Force Base, located west of the memorial site, the 73,000-seat State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
Hillsdale College to Give Kirk, Wife Honorary Degrees
Larry Arnn, the president of Hillsdale College, a private Christian liberal arts college in Hillsdale, Michigan, said during his speech that he would offer honorary degrees to Charlie and Erika Kirk.
“Charlie has suffered enough. He’s gone to the Lord. He deserves this award,” Arnn said.
Arnn said he is also creating a scholarship “in the hope that Charlie’s children will go to a good college” and that he has “one in mind.”
By Jacob Burg
Kash Patel Says FBI Investigating ‘Theories and Questions’ on Charlie Kirk Assassination
FBI Director Kash Patel on Sunday said that the law enforcement bureau is “meticulously investigating theories and questions” into the assassination of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk.
The investigation will touch on “the location from where the shot was taken, the possibility of accomplices, the text message confession and related conversations, Discord chats, the angle of the shot and bullet impact, how the weapon was transported, hand gestures observed as potential ’signals’ near Charlie at the time of his assassination, and visitors to the alleged shooter’s residence in the hours and days leading up to September 10, 2025,” Patel wrote on X.
“Some details are known today, while others are still being pursued to ensure every possibility is considered. Our primary focus is to complete this investigation and deliver justice. To protect the integrity of the investigation and subsequent prosecution, we cannot release every piece of information we have to the public right now. We will ensure every question is addressed at the appropriate moment.”
GOP Donor Recalls Kirk’s First Challenge Grant
Republican donor Rebecca Dunn recalled Charlie Kirk’s first challenge grant when he launched Turning Point USA.
To start a Florida chapter, she recalled, Kirk needed $50,000. Dunn said Kirk challenged her and her husband to give him $25,000 if he raised that same amount. He did so in two days.
This was followed by successive challenge grants going into the millions.
Kirk’s Pastor Recalls Youth-Inspiring Trip to Korea
Pastor Rob McCoy told attendees that he traveled with Charlie Kirk to South Korea recently.
“He was supporting the persecuted Christians over there as they were raiding churches and imprisoning pastors, and he spoke to the youth that are now chanting on the streets, ‘I am Charlie Kirk,’ standing for freedom across the country,” McCoy said.
The weekend following Kirk’s assassination, streets in South Korea were filled with supporters waving American and South Korean flags. Footage showed them chanting “We are Charlie Kirk,” and holding signs saying “Chinese No-Visa Entry = Security Threat.”
By T.J. Muscaro
‘You Can Feel the Unity,’ Attendee Says
PHOENIX—With under an hour to go before the Charlie Kirk memorial service is scheduled to begin, attendees have filled State Farm Stadium from the ground floor to the upper tier.
Many among the tens of thousands of attendees could be seen standing, swaying, and singing along to the Christian worship music, which began around 8 a.m. Mountain Time.
In the bleachers, joining in the singing were Florida resident Shirley Ross and Colorado resident Lisa Clark. As friends since the third grade who have kept in touch throughout their adult lives, Ross and Clark both agreed to meet each other together at the Kirk memorial service. As a worship song came to a close, they shared a hug.
“This atmosphere is electric. It’s electric. It’s emotional. You can feel the love, you can feel the unity,” Ross said.
“I’m a grandmother, and I came for my grandchildren, for healing, and the hope for their future,” Clark said.
As the worship songs drew to a close, the attendees began waving posters bearing the logo of Turning Point USA, which Kirk founded in 2012.
By Ryan Morgan
Thousands Head to Charlie Kirk Memorial
GLENDALE, Ariz—Long lines stretch around State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, as thousands of people from around the country gather for Charlie Kirk’s memorial service.
The Epoch Times observed many people wearing red, white, and blue clothing and carrying American flags.
Some had on T-shirts that read “I am Charlie.”
Overflow space outside is reserved for the many who will not fit inside the 73,000-seat arena.
Hundreds were seen walking away from the stadium after realizing they would not get in, some with discouraged looks on their faces.
By Brad Jones and Travis Gillmore
High-Profile Speakers at the Service
The remembrance ceremony for Charlie Kirk includes a long list of speakers including White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Tucker Carlson, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.. Donald Trump Jr., Vice President JD Vance, and President Donald Trump.
Kirk’s wife, Erika Kirk, will speak as well.
Trump: Ceremony Is to ‘Celebrate the Life of a Great Man’
Prior to leaving the White House on Sunday, President Donald Trump told reporters that the remembrance service for Charlie Kirk is to “celebrate the life of a great man.”
“We’re here to celebrate the life of a great man. Really, a great man. A young man. We look forward to it,” he said.
“That something like this could’ve happened is not even believable,” he continued. “Will be a very interesting day. A very tough day.”
When asked what he will say to Kirk’s wife, Erika, and the rest of the family, Trump said he is “just going to give them my love.”
“There’s nothing much you can say. Talk about the great things he’s done,” he continued. “He’s been amazing. He’s had a tremendous influence.”
Trump briefly talked about what Kirk had accomplished.
“For a young man, he did a great job. A tremendous job,” he said. “He had a hold on youth because they loved him. They respected him. And if you go back 10 years, those colleges were dangerous places for conservatives. And now they’re hot.”
Trump En Route to Arizona
President Donald Trump left the White House at 9:30 a.m. ET on Sunday en route to Arizona, where he will speak at Charlie Kirk’s funeral. The president is scheduled to arrive at the memorial service at 3 p.m. ET. He is expected to be back at the White House at 10:35 p.m. ET.
Charlie Kirk’s Memorial Service: What to Know
The memorial service for Charlie Kirk, political commentator and founder of Turning Point USA (TPUSA), will be held on Sept. 21 at the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
Kirk, 31, was shot and killed during the start of his American Comeback tour on Sept. 10 at Utah Valley University in Orem.
Kirk, who is survived by his wife, Erika Kirk, and their two young children, will be eulogized by his wife as well as President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and others.
According to the TPUSA website, in lieu of flowers, the organization asks that mourners consider supporting the organization that he started at age 18, which plans to move forward with Erika Kirk at the helm.
The service for Charlie Kirk will start at 11 a.m. local time, but the doors will open at 8 a.m. According to the TPUSA site fightforcharlie.com, the dress code is “Sunday Best—Red, White, or Blue.” Attendees are asked to register for the event.
In addition to the late TPUSA founder’s wife, the president and vice president, several other high-profile political figures are expected to attend, and possibly speak during the event.
Some of those figures include Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and Director of National Security Tulsi Gabbard.
Other notable guests include White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, the president’s eldest child, Donald Trump Jr., political commentator Tucker Carlson, White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, and director of White House personnel Sergio Gor.
Huge Crowd Anticipated at Memorial Event for Charlie Kirk
A memorial service for Charlie Kirk on Sunday is expected to draw a massive crowd at a football stadium in Arizona, where President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and other prominent conservatives will pay tribute to the slain political commentator.
Organizers said they expected to fill State Farm Stadium in Glendale, which has a capacity of more than 73,000, and had arranged for overflow space at a nearby arena, according to Andrew Kolvet, a spokesman for Kirk’s advocacy group, Turning Point USA.
Security will be extremely tight, given Trump’s attendance as well as the ongoing political turmoil in the aftermath of Kirk’s death. A senior Department of Homeland Security official said the service had been given the agency’s highest level security rating, reserved for “events of the highest national significance” such as the Super Bowl.
Kirk, 31, was assassinated by a single bullet on Sept. 10 during a campus event in Utah. The 22-year-old suspected assassin has been charged with murder.
NTD Television, The Epoch Times’ sister media, will present a special live coverage of the memorial service starting at 12 p.m. ET. Watch here.
Reuters contributed to this report.
‘Miraculous’: No Exit Wound on Charlie Kirk, TPUSA Spokesman Says
There was no exit wound on Charlie Kirk when he was shot on Sept. 10, said Turning Point USA spokesperson Andrew Kolvet.
“The fact that there wasn’t an exit wound is probably another miracle,” he said in a Sept. 20 post on X.
Kolvet recalled that the surgeon told him the bullet “absolutely should have gone through, which is very very normal for a high powered, high velocity round. I’ve seen wounds from this caliber many times and they always just go through everything. This would have taken a moose or two down, an elk, etc.”
It didn’t go through because “Charlie’s body stopped it,” the spokesperson said.
Kolvet said he told the surgeon that there were people behind Kirk.
“It was an absolute miracle that someone else didn’t get killed,” the surgeon said, according to Kolvet. “His bone was so healthy and the density was so so impressive that he’s like the man of steel. It should have just gone through and through. It likely would have killed those standing behind him too.”
The coroner found the bullet beneath the skin, said Kolvet.
“Even in death, Charlie managed to save the lives of those around him,” he said.
“Remarkable. Miraculous.”
Remembering Charlie Kirk: NTD Live Special Coverage
NTD’s Steve Lance and Tiffany Meier will host our live special coverage of Turning Point USA’s memorial service for the late Charlie Kirk, a life of faith and conviction. President Donald Trump and many others are scheduled to speak at the event. Watch our pre- and post-memorial coverage starting at 12 p.m. ET on Sunday, Sept. 21.
How Charlie Kirk Helped Republicans Reach Young Americans
WASHINGTON—When Blake Neff first started working with Charlie Kirk in 2022, he doubted the conservative activist’s message would land with its intended audience.
“I was like, ‘Young people are all libs. This is just not going to work,’” Neff told The Epoch Times.
Then he saw the fruits of Kirk’s labor: scores of debates on college campuses; the mastery of social media; huge, in-person events such as AmericaFest; in 2024, Turning Point Action’s get-out-the-vote operation in purple states, which helped swing the presidential election for President Donald Trump.
Pro-CCP Influencers Exploit Kirk’s Assassination to Attack US, Divide Americans
Pro-Chinese regime social media influencers and accounts are capitalizing on the assassination of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk to attack the United States and sow division, an Epoch Times investigation has uncovered.
Additionally, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has allowed information and comments about Kirk to spread widely on the Chinese internet; many comments that use the assassination to argue that the American system of governance is inferior the CCP’s. In China, the internet is tightly controlled by Beijing’s censors and topics are only free to spread and be discussed when allowed by the CCP.
By Petr Svab
