![\"Trump](\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/afp_68d0ab00a39f-1758505728.jpg?w=770&resize=770%2C518&quality=80\")
People began lining up before dawn to secure a spot inside the stadium, which is located west of Phoenix, where Kirk\u2019s Turning Point organisation is based. The speakers, including US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense Peter Hegseth, delivered their tributes from behind bulletproof glass.<\/p>\n
Billionaire Elon Musk, who has in recent years advocated for several far-right causes, was also in attendance, sitting next to Trump, months after leaving his role in the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).<\/p>\n
\u201cCharlie joined a long line of courageous men and women who were martyred for what they believe,\u201d said Donald Trump Jr, the president\u2019s son, who had a close relationship with Kirk.<\/p>\n
\u201cCharlie was my brother. Charlie was my commanding officer,\u201d added Jack Posobiec, a right-wing influencer, in his tribute. \u201cAnd we will never, ever let the left, the media or the Democrats forget the name of Charlie Kirk.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kirk, 31, was killed on September 10 during a university event in Utah. Police charged a 22-year-old suspect with murder, saying he carried out the attack alone and killed Kirk because he had had \u201cenough of his [Kirk\u2019s] hate\u201d.<\/p>\n
Kirk was a polarising figure, who called for the use of tear gas, rubber bullets and whips against immigrants at the US-Mexico border, suggested Islam was a danger to American society, and claimed there was \u201cno factual data to back up global warming\u201d.<\/p>\n
The US right wing viewed Kirk as a major figure in the Trump movement, who played a pivotal role in building support for the US president and conservative causes among young people.<\/p>\n
\u201cSocial media plays such an integral role in politics, and Charlie Kirk was seen as somebody who really managed to pull in the youth vote through this, managing to leverage and use TikTok to spread his message,\u201d Lavelle, the Al Jazeera spoke with outside the service, said.<\/p>\n
Jennifer Nicoll Victor, an associate professor of political science at George Mason University, told Al Jazeera that the memorial was marked by \u201ca lot of rhetoric about Kirk himself, and a lot of Christian rhetoric\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a little unusual to see so much Christian mythology combined with patriotism and nationalism.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the intersection where Charlie Kirk fit within the Republican Party and the movement he was building,\u201d she said, noting that \u201chigh-profile funerals historically can become lightning rods\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe political grief, and the conservative mobilisation around it, risk pushing us towards escalation rather than reconciliation,\u201d Victor added.<\/p>\n
Trump has been accused of exploiting Kirk\u2019s murder for political gain by linking the killing to what he calls \u201cleft-wing extremism\u201d, despite law enforcement dismissing claims of a wider alleged assassination plot. His remarks have drawn criticism from opponents who accused him of inflaming political divisions.<\/p>\n
Kirk established Turning Point USA in 2012 at the age of 18. The organisation has grown into one of the largest right-wing groups in the US, with influence across high schools, universities and social media platforms.<\/p>\n
A staunch supporter of Israel, Kirk\u2019s death has also been mourned by Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who described him as a \u201clion-hearted friend of Israel\u201d, in a social media post shared on the day he was shot.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
President Donald Trump praises Kirk as an \u2018American martyr\u2019 in his address at the Arizona service.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":96886,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[3786,188,3787,108,3788,706,3789,3534,3790],"class_list":["post-96883","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hot-news","tag-conflict","tag-donald-trump","tag-gun-violence","tag-news","tag-obituaries","tag-politics","tag-the-far-right","tag-united-states","tag-us-canada"],"yoast_head":"\n