INDIANAPOLIS — ‘We will stand with you.’ ‘We miss you.’ 'Rest in peace, Charlie.'
These phrases covered white and blue candles, which adorned the steps of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument on Thursday evening.
Dozens gathered on Monument Circle in remembrance of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Kirk was shot and killed last week, during a speaking event at Utah Valley University.
He was the founder of Turning Point USA, a right-wing political nonprofit organization that advocates for conservative politics on high school and college campuses across the U.S. — making him a major figure and voice within the young conservative movement, with millions of followers across his various social media platforms.
“I screamed. I cried, screamed," Lorene Edmunds said. “He was promoting our savior and our families and trying to give a lot of young men direction that I don’t think they’re getting.”
Asagai Barton also came to mourn a man he looked up to and respected.
“The fact that he lived, he lived his faith. It’s just a tough thing to bear that our God given right of free speech, enumerated in the Constitution... Those that can’t respect that. I don’t understand them," Barton said.
Barton has a YouTube channel where he does political commentary.
He says he wants to follow in Kirk’s footsteps.
“Charlie inspired me that I need to do more. And so started doing it. I started putting out some videos and planning to do more," he said.
A public memorial titled “Building a Legacy Remembering Charlie Kirk” is scheduled for Sunday, September 21, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale.
The event is open to the public. Doors will open at 8 a.m. and the program will begin at 11 a.m. The event is being held by Turning Point USA and aims to honor Kirk’s life and legacy.
