RALEIGH — Hundreds turned out in Raleigh’s Moore Square on Monday for a memorial held in honor of Charlie Kirk, the Turning Point USA’s 31-year-old leader who was assassinated on the Utah Valley University Campus last Wednesday.
The event, organized on Facebook by Raleigh citizen Kyle Stogoski, featured speakers such as former NC-13 Congressional candidates Kenny Xu and Fred Von Canon, as well as former Turning Point USA members Duane Ford and Anna Scott Marsh.
“I saw that there was no event created on Facebook, so I just sat down after work, made the page, shared it around and it started blowing up from there,” Stogoski told North State Journal ahead of the event.
“I think that he stood for truth,” said Stogoski. “He was someone who wanted to engage in debate — something that a lot of people don’t really care for anymore. And he was the perfect example of how I think a lot of conservatives and Christians should be.”
Attendees of the memorial came from all walks of life and all ages, from small children to the elderly. Many were from the towns around the Raleigh area such as Clayton, Knightdale, Wake Forest and Willow Springs, as well as individuals from Johnston and Moore counties.
Ashley Miller and Taylor Bowman made the trip from Clayton, carrying signs that read “One life ended, but his mission multiplied,” and “Justice for Charlie Kirk.”
“Charlie has had such a big impact on my life,” Miller told North State Journal. She said when she was involved in politics in high school she was “slandered, mocked, harassed, bullied.”
Miller said she learned a lot from Kirk and tearfully said his death was “very devastating,” but that she was glad to see so many people come out to support him.
The memorial event ran for more than two hours and was only interrupted once, before its start.
Raleigh Police officers stopped a man wearing a motorcycle helmet whose face was completely covered by a pair of goggles and a facemask bearing a skeleton design.
The individual was escorted off the venue by the officers after he refused to remove his mask. State law prohibits concealment of one’s identity using a mask at a protest or large gathering like the memorial event.
Xu led the crowd in prayer before describing Kirk as having a “testimony like a lot of young people” for “facing rejection, mockery and harassment for his beliefs.”
“Unlike his killer, he used his talents for something greater. He used his talents to inspire America,” said Xu. He later asked the crowd how they would “step up to the plate” and honor Kirk’s mission.
Von Canon spoke about having the privilege of meeting Kirk and described him as a “happy warrior.”
“The one word that comes to mind when I think of Charlie Kirk is courageous,” Von Canon said. He added Kirk was courageous for the things that mattered, for “Christ, for the Gospels… courageous for his country and his family.”
“Charlie started and ended with a Christian world view,” said Von Canon, adding that all of Kirk’s videos embodied that view and Kirk often recited scripture in them.
Von Canon also said he believes “we are at a turning point spiritually,” and “now is time for a revival.”
Marsh, who was the first recipient of a Turning Point USA scholarship, spoke about meeting Kirk at the CPAC in 2015 while she was still in high school.
“First and foremost, we are here to honor Charlie and reflect on his memory,” said Marsh. “I cannot tell you how happy this gathering right here would have made him.”
As the individuals leading the event began addressing the crowd, the speaker system being used was not loud enough for all to hear as the speaker in use was sitting on the ground and not projecting sound very well.
The remedy to the audio problem involved Stogoski lifting the speaker onto his shoulder so the sound would travel across Moore Square. Multiple men from within the audience lent a hand by taking turns holding up the speaker so all could hear.
Marsh described all of the help Kirk had given her over their years before turning to addressing “the lies” people might be reading about Kirk.
“As somebody who knew him, I cannot dispel enough some of the things being said about him,” said Marsh.
“He was called a bigot and sexist. Believing in traditional family values does not make you a bigot or a sexist,” said Marsh. “Charlie was also called a racist. Combatting harmful DEI policies does not make you a racist. Charlie was also called transphobic. Questioning gender affirming care for children does not make you transphobic either.
“One of the most disheartening things I have seen is that Charlie deserved it because he believed in gun rights. Believing in protecting yourself does not earn you a senseless murder at the hands of somebody who believed in the transgender lifestyle.”
Marsh said one her favorite quotes from Kirk is, “I am far more interested in what God wants from me than what I want from God.” She encouraged attendees to reach out to young people and get them involved.
Ford, a board member for Turning Point USA’s NC State University chapter, spoke about Kirk and his organization building up the next generation of conservative leaders.
As of right now, we obviously see that most conservative leaders are about four times our age,” said Ford. “No offense to anybody here that’s got a little age on them, but somebody’s got to step up to the plate in the future. And if we want somebody to step up and represent our beliefs, our faith, what better way to do that than to step into the arena ourselves.”
Ford called the memorial a “beautiful sight” and said he saw “a lot of Charlie Kirks” the crowd.
