GLENDALE, Ariz. — A memorial for Charlie Kirk is set to feature both President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, as well as Kirk’s widow Erika Kirk, at State Farm Stadium.
Tens of thousands of Kirk’s fans, dressed in their Sunday best in colors red, white and blue, packed the stadium to pay tribute to the late conservative activist, who was assassinated on Sept. 10, at Utah Valley University, his first stop on his fall “American Comeback Tour.”
Kirk, 31, had taken two questions as part of his “Prove Me Wrong” table when he was killed by a single bullet in front of 3,000 students and community members. A suspect in his death, Tyler Robinson, has been charged with aggravated murder along with other charges. He appeared in court last week.
Besides founding Turning Point USA and Turning Point Action, Kirk also played an outsized role in the 2024 election. He is credited with activating young voters to turnout for Trump.
Sen. Mike Lee in a post on X on Sunday morning wrote, “I’m in Arizona to celebrate the life of Charlie Kirk—a true friend who made the world a better place.”
A travel size pack of tissues and signs with photos of Kirk were laid out on the floor seats. Gospel performances began promptly at 8 a.m, an hour after the doors opened.
Attendees waited for hours, first in the parking lot, which opened at 5 a.m., then in line to get through the TSA-level security lines and to their seats at the stadium that can accommodate more than 60,000 people.
Many people flew to Arizona to attend one of the biggest memorials in U.S. history.
Because of the strict no bag policy, attendees did not carry flowers or any other items to honor Kirk.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security designated Kirk’s celebration of life a rating typically reserved for events like the Super Bowl or the Boston Marathon, ABC News reported.
The Secret Service worked with local authorities in Phoenix and Glendale as well as state and federal partners days ahead of the memorial.
Security is tight, partly because of the heightened political tensions.
Earlier this week, Phoenix police’s bomb squad responded to calls of a suspicious bag spotted by the TPUSA headquarters, which has transformed into a memorial for Kirk. In another instance last weekend, a 22-year-old man, wearing the same T-shirt as the suspect who shot Kirk, stomped over the memorial. He was detained by the police.
Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego cancelled his town halls in Tucson and Yuma after receiving an increased number of threatening calls, texts and posts. He did not attribute it to the recent tragedy, as the Arizona Republic reported.
Ahead of the programming, Dan Beazely, a Michigan resident who traveled to Arizona following the assassination, circled the stadium, wheeling a 10-foot cross around with him. He offered prayers at the center of the stadium. Beazely has shown up to the vigils outside Turning Point USA headquarters and Arizona State University in over 100 degree heat for one reason: “So that this cross could stand above all the darkness and shine a light,” he said last week, as the Deseret News reported. Reporters, photographers, swarmed around him to get a photo of the man with the cross.