In the hours after the assassination Wednesday afternoon of Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson held a moment of silence. When Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., asked if someone would lead the House in a spoken prayer, some Democrats erupted in objection, shouting “no” and other jeers at Republican members.
On Monday evening, however, there was a prayer in the Capitol for Kirk. House Republican leaders gathered together in the Capitol’s Statuary Hall for a vigil honoring his life.
The memorial vigil, led by Johnson, R-La., and House Republican leadership, honored Kirk, 31, with prayers and personal reflections from some of the nation’s leaders that knew Kirk best. Dozens of Republicans and a handful of Democrats—among them Reps. Tom Suozzi of New York, Debbie Dingell of Michigan, and John Larson of Connecticut—joined the Republican leaders.
“What we do know about Charlie is that he would not want us to be overcome by despair,” Johnson said to open the memorial. “He would want us to carry the message forward, to honor his memory, and to expand the legacy that he left behind.”
“I think the best way to honor the memory of Charlie Kirk is to live as he lived,” the speaker added. “What I loved about Charlie the most is, even though he could win any debate, he never held it against anyone on the other side of the table. To the contrary, he was the very first person to reach out a hand of friendship or to put his arm around the shoulder of someone who was on the complete opposite side of the political spectrum, philosophy, or ideology.”
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La.—himself a victim of political violence in a shooting rampage at a practice session for the annual charity Congressional Baseball Game eight years ago, said political violence “can never be accepted as the norm in this great country. It goes against everything that our country was founded upon.”
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., lamented a long spate of political violence leading up to the Kirk assassination, including the mid-June slaying of a Minnesota state lawmaker and her husband, and two attempts in the summer of 2024 to assassinate then-presidential candidate Donald Trump.
“A wife lost her husband, two children lost their father,” Emmer said of Kirk’s death. “A young, beautiful family has been shattered, all because an evil coward chose violence over discourse and debate.”
“The assassination of Charlie Kirk wasn’t just an attack on one individual,” Emmer continued. “It was an attack on the traditional values that make our country this great country, great values of free speech, civil discourse, public debate, the ability to think independently, voice your opinions, exchange ideas, and even disagree with one another.”
He added:
Charlie created a movement by putting these values into practice on college campuses all across this country.
The fact that he got killed for it, and many Americans consequently celebrated his murder, begs the question: How did we get so far away from the values our nation was built upon? More importantly, how do we get back?
The majority whip also exhorted Americans to practice Christian empathy in an age of digital detachment. “We live so chronically online these days that we forget that behind every idea, there’s a person, and behind every person, there’s a family who loves them, and a Creator who instills into them intrinsic value,” said Emmer, adding:
I firmly believe that Charlie’s death has providentially brought us to a turning point. We as Americans have to choose, will we continue down this path of reckless vitriol and hate, or will we carry on the legacy that Charlie Kirk left?
House Republican Conference Chairwoman Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Mich., said she appreciated Kirk for the change he made in her daughter’s life. “My own daughter got me to see Charlie’s life through a different set of eyes and eyes of a college student, 22, 21 years old, who inspired her,” McClain told those gathered. “Not only did he inspire my daughter, but he showed a lot of young Americans that love of country and faith. Those are all values that are worth fighting for.”
The Daily Signal spoke with Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., after the vigil. Biggs was a close friend of Kirk’s, as the young Phoenix-based activist had endorsed Biggs’ bid for governor and was mobilizing resources on his behalf.
“I’ve learned from Charlie that I should probably be more open and more kind when I debate,” Biggs told The Daily Signal, reflecting on the man he knew.
Kirk “was a strong, fierce debater,” Biggs said, one who refused to compromise on his principles, but treated his opponents with respect. “If you want a great example of it, just watch those Oxford debates. Man, those were brilliant and beautiful.”
With Kirk in mind, “I will try to be more open and respectful sometimes than I otherwise have been,” said Biggs.
As a Baptist pastor, Rep. Mark Harris, R-N.C., told The Daily Signal he had great respect for Kirk because “he consistently stood for the faith.”
“You can’t deny the courage he demonstrated in going into college campuses,” Harris said, “and he went just to really represent, and represent well, the conservative principles and the deep faith, Christian principles that he held,” Harris said.
“He never backed down from that,” he added.
“One of the things that got me into this arena myself was seeing a lack of leadership and a desperate need for leaders that demonstrated character, consistency, and courage,” the freshmen representative said of his decision to enter political life. “Honestly, Charlie embodied all of that in a huge way.”
On Sept. 10, Kirk was assassinated while speaking with students at Utah Valley University. The young man held in connection with the killing, a 22-year-old St. George, Utah, resident, was turned in by his father on Sept. 12, ending a 33-hour manhunt. The charges brought against Robinson include aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm, and obstruction of justice.
While investigators continue to learn more about why and how the assassination was carried out, they have uncovered crucial pieces of evidence, such as bullet casings inscribed with violent, leftist messages, that point to Robinson holding a deep-seated political animus for Kirk.
Johnson, leading the members in prayer to close, said, “Father, remind us of our better angels, as Lincoln used to say, that we can be better, and that we can end this cycle of political violence, and we can remember those virtues again.”