(The Center Square) – Thousands of friends, fans and family members gathered Thursday evening at Utah Valley University to remember the life and legacy of Turning Point USA founder and president Charlie Kirk.
It was on Sept. 10, 2025, that Kirk was shot and killed during a TPUSA event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. Those who knew Kirk well said the Scottsdale, Ariz. resident died doing what he loved: engaging with young people on a campus.
The audience at Thursday's memorial service included Erika Kirk, Charlie Kirk's widow and the current TPUSA chair and CEO, who didn't address the large crowd.
Dr. Frank Turek, author of “I Don’t Have Enough Faith To Be An Atheist” and the leader of the Cross Examined ministry, said Kirk was the greatest man he ever personally knew due to his humility, intellect and focus on fundamental issues.
He told the audience at the service that Kirk cared deeply about the three God-ordained institutions: government, family and the church.
"Charlie would always say, 'Politics is not our first responsibility, but it helps us achieve our first responsibility,' ” Turek said. "The biological two-parent family is what makes a civilization."
Kirk, 31, was a big proponent of marriage and often encouraged men to get married and have children.
Kirk also shared his faith in Jesus Christ, something Turek mentioned throughout his remarks.
“Charlie is not in heaven because of any good things he did,” said Turek. “Charlie is not in heaven because he died for his Savior. Charlie is in heaven because his Savior died for Charlie Kirk.”
Turek was with Kirk at the event last year when Kirk was shot.
Sage Lloyd, president of the Turning Point USA chapter at Utah Valley University, described the fear, grief and heartbreak experienced by the chapter, while emphasizing that despite the trauma, online threats and hostility, the students refused to give up or be silenced.
“Honestly, we had every reason to give up, but we did not,” Lloyd told the audience.
Lloyd added that Charlie Kirk may have been one man, but what he built will never end with just one man.
“He may never pick up the microphone again, but the millions of voices he inspired will never put theirs down,” said Lloyd.
Mikey McCoy, chief of staff at TPUSA, also spoke of Charlie’s faith and his passion for freedom and liberty.
“Freedom is not merely a possession,” said McCoy. “It’s a responsibility.”
McCoy later mentioned the assassination, saying that an assassin’s bullet cannot win an argument.
“It can only prove that the assassin never had one,” McCoy told the audience. “Violence is the tool of those who have run out of ideas.”
Daily Wire personality Michael Knowles said American politics is simply worse because Charlie Kirk was assassinated.
“The American right is less coherent, less unified and less strong,” Knowles said. “The American left is more radical, more emboldened, more openly violent.”
Knowles later noted Charlie Kirk’s name had meaning.
“It occurred to me that Charlie’s last name literally means church,” said Knowles. “And 'Charlie,' by the way, means free man.”
Critics of Kirk have argued that he was hateful, judgmental or unkind toward those who lived differently.
Glenn Beck of The Blaze disagreed.
“It wasn’t hate,” said Beck about Kirk’s overall message and purpose for TPUSA. “It was love.”
Beck encouraged those in attendance, young people especially, to follow Kirk’s lead by dedicating their life to “learning and living and speaking the truth” when and where it needs to be spoken.
“Charlie was murdered,” said Beck. “That was the action. Where is the equal and opposite reaction? You. You are the equal and opposite reaction. You are the life after his death.”