Charlie Kirk’s fans and friends hope for change after killing

By Meena Duerson, Matthew J. Friedman, CNN

Phoenix, Arizona (CNN) — Prayer beads hang over a banner with Charlie Kirk’s face and the exhortation: “May Charlie be received into the merciful arms of Jesus, our loving Savior.”

Flowers and US flags are laid beneath, outside the Turning Point USA headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona, and a steady stream of mourners come to bear witness and pay their respects.

A prayer circle forms as those present contemplate the assassination of the influential conservative activist, and what comes next.

“I just had to come out today because this was a really heartless act, and I feel so sad,” said Jenna Gill, 20, struggling to contain her emotion.

She said she was buoyed by seeing other fans of Kirk, and it gave her strength to speak up.

“I think we need to band together and start speaking the truth and never back down from what we believe in,” she said. “Because we can be a strong country if we band together, and we are not strong right now. This is a very broken country.”

Patriotism and Christianity were on full display, much in line with Kirk’s own persona.

Jonathan Ellis attended the growing memorial carrying a US flag as a symbol of freedom, especially the freedom of speech.

He said the killing of Kirk at Utah Valley University hit especially close to home for him, as he is a graduate of that school and it was there he first went to an event to see and hear Kirk.

“I hope that people can be united and just learn from this that it’s OK to have a difference of opinion,” Ellis said. “I really hope that we continue to talk, especially on college campuses, but in the workplace, and have civil conversations and debate.”

Inside the Turning Point USA building, Kirk’s promotion of challenging other people’s ideas through discussion and debate was at the heart of a memorial edition of his radio show and podcast. It was hosted on Friday by the show’s executive producer Andrew Kolvet with Turning Point’s Tyler Bowyer; Blake Neff, a former writer for Tucker Carlson; and Jack Posobiec, a conservative commentator who worked closely with Kirk and launched his own podcast from the TPUSA studio.

The four reminisced how if someone disagreed with Kirk, he always wanted them to come to the front of any event and debate, as well as his love of the 90s sitcom “Seinfeld.”

Afterwards, Posobiec told CNN he had steeled himself to do the show where Kirk’s chair remained at the table, poignantly empty.

But seeing Kirk’s personal items, like his ties and toys left by his children, drove home the loss.

“It was looking at that when it really hit me that he’s not coming back for those,” he said.

While not wanting to get ahead of the investigation and prosecution of the suspect in Kirk’s shooting, Posobiec said more had to be done in general.

“We used to — in this country — believe that we can argue with our voices and we can argue with their ideas, but we don’t cross the line. And that line is crossed,” he said.

He talked of having a federal response, perhaps using FBI profilers to identify extremists and allow for intervention.

“One of the reasons that we do need a robust law enforcement response to any violent individuals or violent groups — when people see that the government is keeping them safe, and the government can keep them safe and the government is responding to threats, and dealing with them appropriately, that’s when people feel they can trust their government,” he said. “But when people feel that the government is not keeping them safe, when you look historically, that’s when these problems arise. Obviously, Charlie was not kept safe, and that needs to change. It absolutely needs to change.”

He urged people to “be like Charlie.” “The Charlie Kirk spirit was love, it is love. The Charlie Kirk spirit is activism. And the Charlie Kirk spirit is is truth. So make sure whatever you’re doing, you lead with truth. And I understand people want justice. I want justice. We need justice, and justice will come, and we do want to push for justice, but at the same time, we need to make sure that we’re always on the side of truth.”

But the anger is clear.

“My friend’s in a box right now, and it wasn’t an accident,” Posobiec said. “It wasn’t something that happened while he was driving, or a plane crash. Somebody did that.”

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