If the assassination of Charlie Kirk was an attempt to silence American conservatives, then his memorial service marked a stunning repudiation of that plan.

On Sunday, a small stretch of Arizona briefly became the centre of the political universe, with Donald Trump and almost every other major figure in the US government flying in to pay tribute to the conservative influencer in Glendale’s State Farm Stadium.

Tens of thousands of Kirk’s fans waited hours in the desert sun to pay their respects, some taking their spots in the queue the evening before. 

Thousands more could not get in, the gargantuan stadium, normally home to American football games or hosting A-List pop stars, quickly filled to its capacity of 63,400.

Kirk was killed by an assassin’s bullet 11 days ago, shot in the throat as he addressed students at a college campus in Utah.

But it was on Sunday that he was immortalised as a symbol of the American Right. Emerging from the confusion, shock and terror of the first few days after his death, figures from all over the Maga-sphere came together, united, to honour their friend.