Charlie Kirk’s memorial: Speakers pay homage, hail activist as a ‘martyr in the true Christian tradition’

The memorial service for slain Conservative activist Charlie Kirk was high on emotions from the start, as every mention of his widow, Erika Kirk, who has been named CEO of Turning Point USA, drew a big response from the crowd at the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, a suburb of Phoenix. Speakers hailed Charlie and recalled their experiences and the ways in which he transformed their lives. The crowd erupted in chants of "USA! USA!" when President Donald Trump arrived at the State Farm Stadium.

Conservative political commentator Benny Johnson, paying his homage, said Charlie Kirk was a martyr whose influence will live on. “You cut down a martyr, his power grows,” Johnson said.

Johnson said he was “a degenerate loser” who was addicted to alcohol when he met Kirk. “I had nothing going for me,” he said, adding, “After 10 years working with Charlie Kirk… I have become a Christ-centered man.”

‘Charlie was never afraid, he knew his life was secure in the hand of God’

Rob McCoy, the pastor emeritus of Godspeak Calvary Chapel in California, who said Charlie Kirk considered him his pastor, remembered the conservative activist as a devoted Christian.

“Charlie was never afraid, because he knew his life was secure in the hand of God,” McCoy, an evangelical pastor and vocal supporter of President Donald Trump, said.

Pastor Rob McCoy was the first speaker to take the stage and opened Kirk’s memorial service with an altar call, asking people to stand if they want to receive Jesus as their Lord and Saviour.

Mikey McCoy, Kirk’s former chief of staff, drew one of the largest cheers from the crowd with a quote from the Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard.

“The tyrant dies and his rule is over; the martyr dies and his rule begins,” he said, to loud cheers from the stadium.

Dr. Larry Arnn, president of Hillsdale College, a conservative Christian school in Michigan, announced that they will award an honorary degree to Charlie and Erika Kirk.

“Charlie lives on. The assassin will die,” Arnn said, adding that Kirk can’t be replaced.

‘Charlie galvanized young voters, made the winning difference’

White House chief of staff Susie Wiles said that she was “blessed” to work with Charlie Kirk over the last few years and praised him for building “the most powerful youth movement in our time.”

Wiles, who served as a campaign manager for Donald Trump’s successful presidential 2024 bid, also praised Kirk for galvanizing young voters in the last election, calling them “Charlie’s army.”

“They out-hustled and outperformed everyone else. Charlie just didn’t help; he made the winning difference,” said Wiles.

Billionaire Elon Musk, the former top adviser to Trump, was also among those in attendance for Kirk’s memorial service.

Podcast producer says continuing the show ‘excruciating’

Andrew Kolvet, the executive producer of Kirk’s podcast, ‘The Charlie Kirk Show’, said it was “excruciating” to continue recording the show in the week after Kirk’s death and said his staff “heroically” carried on.

Kolvet remembered Kirk as a hard worker, telling the audience that the conservative activist read every single email he received from fans and often debated his audience.

Earlier, tens of thousands of people began to arrive at the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, for the memorial service for Charlie Kirk, even before sunrise. They came wearing red ties, flag prints, and MAGA merchandise, from as far away as Idaho, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Mississippi.