On September 13, Turning Point USA announced plans for Kirk's memorial service.[8] The service took place on September 21 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, and was attended by Erika, President Trump, Vice President Vance, and Elon Musk, among others.[1] Turning Point USA reportedly covered the cost of renting the stadium, while city workers such as sanitation and the Glendale Police force had their overtime covered by the city's budget.[9] Mosaic Pro Events were tasked by Turning Point USA to design and produce the memorial at the State Farm Stadium, which reportedly used 37 semi-trucks, and hundreds of crews, vendors and other partners.[10]
The Glendale Police Department anticipated that more than 100,000 people would attend the memorial service.[11] Turning Point USA required those who planned to attend to register, requiring a full name, email address, phone number, and ZIP code.[12] Attendees were directed by Turning Point USA to not wear funeral black to the service, but to instead wear their Sunday best or anything patriotic following a red, white and blue theme.[13]
Security was led by the U.S. Secret Service, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security designated the service as a "Special Event Assessment Rating Level 1 event", which has been given to other large events such as the Super Bowl and the Boston Marathon. Federal law enforcement agencies announced prior to the service that they were tracking several threats of unknown credibility against attendees.[14][15] On September 20, an armed man was arrested by the Secret Service at State Farm Stadium and charged with police impersonation.[16] It was later announced by Turning Point USA that the man was doing advanced security screening for a known guest that was not properly coordinated with the Secret Service or Turning Point.[17]
Funeral
The crowd at the memorial service
Prior to the service, hours of contemporary Christian music were played for the crowd, with many standing holding their arms up in worship.[18] Singers such as Brandon Lake, Chris Tomlin, Phil Wickham, Kari Jobe, Cody Carnes, and Lee Greenwood all performed during the service for attendees.[19] The event was described as an evangelical revival blending religion and politics, with its size, intensity and patriotic pageantry invoking a Trump campaign rally on a larger scale. Merchandise was sold in the hallways of the stadium, including red hats emblazoned with "KIRK" on the front similar to the red MAGA hats sold by Trump.[20] During the service there were multiple calls from attendees for assistance, which the majority were categorized as people feeling dizzy or fainting due to dehydration, heat and lack of sleep.[9]
Trump sat next to Elon Musk at the funeral, in their first public meeting since the beginning of their feud earlier in the year. Kirk was a friend of both, and had publicly called for their reconciliation.[21] There were more than two dozen speeches planned for the memorial service, including Erika, Vance, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, with Trump scheduled to be the last speaker.[17] Fireworks went off as Erika Kirk and President Trump came to speak.[22] During her speech, Erika said she forgave Tyler Robinson, the man accused of murdering Charlie Kirk.[23] The speeches were displayed on two giant electronic screens with U.S. flags posted on either side.[20]
President Donald Trump on the stage with fireworks
Many of the speeches said that Kirk had become a martyr, with conservative commentator Benny Johnson stating "his power will only grow", Trump saying that Kirk had died for American freedom, and Vance telling the crowd that Kirk had become "a martyr for the Christian faith".[18] Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stated that Kirk was a warrior for both the United States and Christ, and died speaking the truth.[24] In his eulogy, Robert Kennedy Jr. praised Kirk as a champion of free speech.[25]
Miller used religious and combative language during his speech, claiming that Kirk's "army" had risen due to his death and that they would prove worthy of his sacrifice.[26] Miller also espoused the idea, that Trump and others had pushed shortly after Kirk's death, that an unnamed terrorist network was responsible for the shooting, while stating, "We are on the side of goodness. We are on the side of God".[26][27]
Trump's speech focused on pointing the blame of Kirk's death on the left and the Democratic Party, while acknowledging a litany of problems affecting the country across party lines. He argued that "the violence largely comes from the left", making his speech more partisan than other speakers.[28] He also referred to Erika's prior statement of not meeting hate with hate, stating: "[Charlie] did not hate his opponents. He wanted the best for them. That's where I disagreed with Charlie. I hate my opponent, and I don't want the best for them. I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Erika. But now Erika can talk to me and the whole group, and maybe they can convince me that that's not right, but I can't stand my opponent."[29] Trump also teased an announcement regarding autism would occur the next day,[30] stating "I think we found an answer to autism."[31][32][33]
The service has been described as a political rally and Christian revival with calls for forgiveness and retribution.[34][35] Many noted the religious theming of the service, with a reporter from BBC News indicating that the decorations and theming were like evangelist Billy Graham's tent crusade from early in his career. Those speaking at the event also celebrated Kirk's Christianity while promising a new enthusiasm among young Americans for more traditional evangelical values.[36]CNN expressed concerns about Christian nationalism and the move away from the separation of church and state due to the heavy religious invoking by top Trump administration members.[27]
Others felt that the political unity shown by top Republicans speaking in honor of Kirk may unify and fortify the Trump administration and the Republican Party.[37] Some commentators felt that the service showed how the loss of Kirk and his ability to unify many under Trump and Republican and conservative values would be missed, while also showcasing those that may step into political power after Trump.[38] One reporter claimed that the memorial showed the collapse of Trump's popularity as he was allegedly overshadowed by speakers such as Tucker Carlson and Stephen Miller.[39]
I can just sort of picture the scene in a lamp-lit room with a bunch of guys sitting around eating hummus, thinking about what to do about this guy telling the truth about us. We must make him stop talking. And there's always one guy with the bright idea, and I could just hear him say, 'I've got an idea. Why don't we just kill him? That'll shut him up.'[40]
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