The memorial vigil was held Saturday in a parking lot in downtown Manhattan.
MANHATTAN, IL — A gathering in memory of conservative activist Charlie Kirk drew an estimated 300 people to downtown Manhattan Saturday evening, organizers said.
Kirk, 31, was fatally shot Sept. 10 during a speaking event at Utah Valley University.
Organizers of the Sept. 20 event in Manhattan sought to give supporters a place to mourn and celebrate his life, organizers said.
“…. I can’t explain to you how wonderful it was,” said Amy Wasiel Smith, one of the organizers. She was joined by Becky Strilko and Megan Arseneau Shutzbac as organizers, also with the help of her husband Mark Smith.
“It was better than I could have imagined. We were all at peace, felt the presence of God. And we all felt very unified.”
Seven speakers addressed the crowd as they stood holding candles in the parking lot on Wabash Street. Two of the speakers were pastors, Wasiel Smith said, including Pastor Brian Bougher of Thrive Church in Manhattan.
“It was so peaceful,” Wasiel Smih said.
Attendees listened to Christian and American music, she said, and enjoyed pizzas donated by Peaceful Grounds Coffee Company.
“It was a beautiful experience, we had people asking when was our next event!” she said. “I think nowadays people just really love the peaceful community and being able to get together without much worry.”
Manhattan police were on-scene to maintain order and ensure the safety of all attendees. The department assigned 14 police officers and four from the Emergency Management Agency, said Manhattan Police Chief Ryan Gulli.
Gulli said the crowd was orderly throughout the gathering.
“The public memorial was very well-attended,” he said. “The memorial was very peaceful and went without incident.”
All items brought to the gathering were then brought to the original Lemont headquarters of Turning Point USA, the nonprofit that advocates for conservative politics on high school, college, and university campuses. It was founded by Kirk and Bill Montgomery in 2012.
“Let me tell you, it took up quite a section there!” Wasiel Smith said of the materials from Manhattan.
“… couldn’t have asked for anything better,” Wasiel Smith said, of the event’s success. “Honestly couldn’t have imagined for it to go better!”
In Arizona on Sunday—where Turning Point USA is based—tens of thousands flocked to State Farm Stadium in a memorial service for Kirk. Speakers included President Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, as well as other prominent conservatives and administration officials.
“Charlie’s murder was not just an attack on one man or one movement. It was an attack on our entire nation,” President Trump said, as reported by CBS. “The gun was pointed at him, but the bullet was aimed at all of us.”
“Charlie was killed for expressing the very ideas that virtually everyone in this arena and most other places throughout our country deeply believed in,” the president said. “The assassin failed because Charlie’s message has not been silenced, but it now is bigger and better and stronger than ever before.”