President Donald Trump speaks at the Charlie Kirk memorial on Sept. 21, 2025, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale.
Tara Hall walked with a smile through the busy parking lot at State Farm Stadium in Glendale – even after she was turned away from the Charlie Kirk memorial.
The trek to Phoenix had already been an ordeal. When her flight from South Carolina was delayed, she drove three hours to the Atlanta airport, barely making it onto a flight 10 minutes before the doors closed. She arrived at her hotel at 1:30 a.m., and after an hour and a half of sleep, pulled herself out of bed so she could pay her respects to Kirk, who was fatally shot at a college event in Utah on Sept. 10.
By 3:30 a.m., she had joined tens of thousands of others hoping to make it inside the stadium.
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Inside State Farm Stadium in Glendale before the memorial service for Charlie Kirk on Sept. 21, 2025.
Tim Agne/KJZZ
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Inside State Farm Stadium in Glendale before the memorial service for Charlie Kirk in Sept. 21, 2025.
Tim Agne/KJZZ
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Inside State Farm Stadium in Glendale before the memorial service for Charlie Kirk in Sept. 21, 2025.
Tim Agne/KJZZ
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The crowd inside State Farm Stadium before the funeral of Charlie Kirk on Sept. 21, 2025.
Wayne Schutsky/KJZZ
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Mourners line up for Charlie Kirk's funeral in Glendale on Sept. 21, 2025.
Chelsey Health/KJZZ
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Mourners line up for Charlie Kirk's funeral in Glendale on Sept. 21, 2025.
Chelsey Health/KJZZ
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Mourners line up for Charlie Kirk's funeral in Glendale on Sept. 21, 2025.
Chelsey Health/KJZZ
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Mourners line up for Charlie Kirk's funeral in Glendale on Sept. 21, 2025.
Chelsey Health/KJZZ
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Mourners line up for Charlie Kirk's funeral in Glendale on Sept. 21, 2025.
Chelsey Health/KJZZ
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Mourners line up for the Charlie Kirk memorial in Glendale before 8 a.m. on Sept. 21, 2025.
Chelsey Heath/KJZZ
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Mourners line up for Charlie Kirk's funeral in Glendale on Sept. 21, 2025.
Chelsey Health/KJZZ
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Mourners line up for the Charlie Kirk memorial in Glendale before 8 a.m. on Sept. 21, 2025.
Chelsey Heath/KJZZ
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Mourners line up for the Charlie Kirk memorial in Glendale before 8 a.m. on Sept. 21, 2025.
Chelsey Heath/KJZZ
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Mourners line up for the Charlie Kirk memorial in Glendale before 8 a.m. on Sept. 21, 2025.
Chelsey Heath/KJZZ
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Mourners line up for the Charlie Kirk memorial in Glendale before 8 a.m. on Sept. 21, 2025.
Chelsey Heath/KJZZ
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Mourners line up for the Charlie Kirk memorial in Glendale before 8 a.m. on Sept. 21, 2025.
Chelsey Heath/KJZZ
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Mourners line up for the Charlie Kirk memorial in Glendale before 8 a.m. on Sept. 21, 2025.
Chelsey Heath/KJZZ
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Outside State Farm Stadium in Glendale on Sept. 21, 2025, before the funeral of conservative activst Charlie Kirk.
Tim Agne/KJZZ
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Outside State Farm Stadium in Glendale on Sept. 21, 2025, before the funeral of conservative activst Charlie Kirk.
Tim Agne/KJZZ
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Outside State Farm Stadium in Glendale on Sept. 21, 2025, before the funeral of conservative activst Charlie Kirk.
Tim Agne/KJZZ
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Outside State Farm Stadium in Glendale on Sept. 21, 2025, before the funeral of conservative activst Charlie Kirk.
Tim Agne/KJZZ
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Outside State Farm Stadium in Glendale on Sept. 21, 2025, before the funeral of conservative activst Charlie Kirk.
Tim Agne/KJZZ
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Outside State Farm Stadium in Glendale on Sept. 21, 2025, before the funeral of conservative activst Charlie Kirk.
Tim Agne/KJZZ
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Outside State Farm Stadium in Glendale on Sept. 21, 2025, before the funeral of conservative activst Charlie Kirk.
Tim Agne/KJZZ
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Outside State Farm Stadium in Glendale on Sept. 21, 2025, before the funeral of conservative activst Charlie Kirk.
Tim Agne/KJZZ
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Outside State Farm Stadium in Glendale on Sept. 21, 2025, before the funeral of conservative activst Charlie Kirk.
Tim Agne/KJZZ
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Outside State Farm Stadium in Glendale on Sept. 21, 2025, before the funeral of conservative activst Charlie Kirk.
Tim Agne/KJZZ
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Outside State Farm Stadium in Glendale on Sept. 21, 2025, before the funeral of conservative activst Charlie Kirk.
Tim Agne/KJZZ
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Outside State Farm Stadium in Glendale on Sept. 21, 2025, before the funeral of conservative activst Charlie Kirk.
Tim Agne/KJZZ
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Outside State Farm Stadium in Glendale on Sept. 21, 2025, before the funeral of conservative activst Charlie Kirk.
Tim Agne/KJZZ
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President Donald Trump speaks at the Charlie Kirk memorial on Sept. 21, 2025, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale.
Sydney Lovan/Cronkite News
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Erika Kirk, Charlie Kirk’s widow, speaks at the Charlie Kirk memorial on Sept. 21, 2025, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale.
Sydney Lovan/Cronkite News
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Erika Kirk, Charlie Kirk’s widow, speaks at the Charlie Kirk memorial on Sept. 21, 2025, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale.
Sydney Lovan/Cronkite News
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Vice President JD Vance speaks at the Charlie Kirk memorial on Sept. 21, 2025, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale.
Sydney Lovan/Cronkite News
Hall said she met many people like herself, all sharing what Kirk and his political activism and religious conviction had meant to them. Strangers shared prayer sessions and hugs. Even though she couldn’t join the throngs inside, she still thought the trip was worth the hassle.
“I’ve already got like 10 numbers, I’ve gotten 10 hugs,” Hall said. “We’re all feeling the same thing. We’re all feeling a quickening of faith, just being lifted up, and we’ve got to be bold for our faith.”
That theme of faith played out inside a packed stadium as speaker after speaker – including the biggest names in Republican politics and media – blended politics with religion as they paid tribute to the slain founder of Turning Point USA, a conservative political advocacy organization.
Pictures of Kirk hung next to American flags and Arizona Cardinals banners.
Sydney Lovan/Cronkite News
Erika Kirk, Charlie Kirk’s widow, speaks at the Charlie Kirk memorial on Sept. 21, 2025, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale.
President Donald Trump, who repeated his promise to award Kirk a posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom, was one of many speakers who described him as a martyr.
“Our greatest evangelist for American liberty became immortal. He’s a martyr now for American freedom,” Trump said. “We have to have religion brought back to America – we want to bring God back into our beautiful U.S.A. like never before.”
Those who managed to make it inside the stadium, like Kelsey Griffin, reflected on Kirk’s life and the impact he made on their lives.
“Is there any question he didn’t know the answer to? Wow,” Griffin said. “You know, like helping me learn politics and different communities, just things like I didn’t have time to sit down and research on my own, he knew the answers.”
Many speakers and attendees shared similar religious beliefs as Hall. Speakers, including Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Tucker Carlson and Donald Trump Jr. shared memories of Kirk and spoke forcefully about their Christian beliefs.
Stephen Miller, Trump’s deputy chief of staff for policy, delivered a speech that was a marked departure from the overall tone of forgiveness and grace. He described Kirk’s supporters in the stadium and around the country as “the storm” and directed an ominous threat to what he described as the nation’s enemies.
“You have nothing,” Miller said. “You are nothing. You are wickedness. You are jealousy, you are envy, you are hatred. You are nothing. You can build nothing. You can produce nothing. You can create nothing. We are the ones who build. We are the ones who create. We are the ones who lift up humanity.”
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Lucas Miles, pastor and senior director of TPUSA Faith, speaks during a candlelight vigil for Charlie Kirk at Desert Financial Arena on ASU’s Tempe campus on Monday, Sept. 15, 2025.
Tim Agne/KJZZ
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Turning Point USA Vice President of Field Operations Andrey Sypher speaks during a candlelight vigil for Charlie Kirk at Desert Financial Arena on ASU’s Tempe campus on Monday, Sept. 15, 2025.
Tim Agne/KJZZ
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Turning Point USA Chief Operating Officer Tyler Bowyer speaks during a candlelight vigil for Charlie Kirk at Desert Financial Arena on ASU’s Tempe campus on Monday, Sept. 15, 2025.
Tim Agne/KJZZ
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Jack Posobiec speaks during Turning Point USA’s candlelight vigil for Charlie Kirk at Desert Financial Arena on ASU’s Tempe campus on Monday, Sept. 15, 2025.
Tim Agne/KJZZ
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Jack Posobiec speaks during Turning Point USA’s candlelight vigil for Charlie Kirk at Desert Financial Arena on ASU’s Tempe campus on Monday, Sept. 15, 2025.
Tim Agne/KJZZ
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Center for Arizona Policy President Peter Gentala speaks during Turning Point USA’s candlelight vigil for Charlie Kirk at Desert Financial Arena on ASU’s Tempe campus on Monday, Sept. 15, 2025.
Tim Agne/KJZZ
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“MAGA Hulk” Stephen Davis speaks during Turning Point USA’s candlelight vigil for Charlie Kirk at Desert Financial Arena on ASU’s Tempe campus on Monday, Sept. 15, 2025.
Tim Agne/KJZZ
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Attendees shine their phone flashlights during Turning Point USA’s candlelight vigil for Charlie Kirk at Desert Financial Arena on ASU’s Tempe campus on Monday, Sept. 15, 2025.
Tim Agne/KJZZ
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Rob Clements, pastor and director of ASU Catholic Newman Center, speaks at Turning Point USA’s candlelight vigil for Charlie Kirk at Desert Financial Arena on ASU’s Tempe campus on Monday, Sept. 15, 2025.
Tim Agne/KJZZ
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Attendees stand during Turning Point USA’s candlelight vigil for Charlie Kirk at Desert Financial Arena on ASU’s Tempe campus on Monday, Sept. 15, 2025.
Tim Agne/KJZZ
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Signs decorate the stage at a candlelight vigil for Charlie Kirk at Desert Financial Arena on ASU’s Tempe campus on Monday, Sept. 15, 2025. COO Tyler Bowyer said the center sign was from one of Turning Point’s first events at ASU.
Tim Agne/KJZZ
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Ashlee Davis speaks to KJZZ reporter Camryn Sanchez before Turning Point USA’s candlelight vigil for Charlie Kirk at Desert Financial Arena on ASU’s Tempe campus on Monday, Sept. 15, 2025.
Tim Agne/KJZZ
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Carson Carpenter speaks to KJZZ reporter Camryn Sanchez before Turning Point USA’s candlelight vigil for Charlie Kirk at Desert Financial Arena on ASU’s Tempe campus on Monday, Sept. 15, 2025.
Tim Agne/KJZZ
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Bella Keenan speaks to KJZZ reporter Camryn Sanchez before Turning Point USA’s candlelight vigil for Charlie Kirk at Desert Financial Arena on ASU’s Tempe campus on Monday, Sept. 15, 2025.
Tim Agne/KJZZ
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Turning Point's Arizona State University chapter holds a vigil event for Charlie Kirk on the Tempe campus Monday, Sept. 15, 2025.
Tim Agne/KJZZ
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Turning Point USA staffers register voters during a candlelight vigil for Charlie Kirk at Desert Financial Arena on ASU’s Tempe campus on Monday, Sept. 15, 2025.
Tim Agne/KJZZ
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Turning Point USA staffers and volunteers wore “I am Charlie” shirts during a candlelight vigil for Charlie Kirk at Desert Financial Arena on ASU’s Tempe campus on Monday, Sept. 15, 2025.
Tim Agne/KJZZ
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A memorial outside Hansen Mortuary in Phoenix on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025, where the motorcade carrying Charlie Kirk's casket went from Phoenix Sky Harbor.
Chelsey Heath/KJZZ
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People visit a memorial for Turning Point USA CEO and Co-Founder Charlie Kirk outside the group’s headquarters in Phoenix on Sept. 11, 2025. Kirk was killed a day earlier during an event at Utah Valley University.
Alexandra Medina/Cronkite News
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Mourners stand with flags across the street from the Phoenix mortuary that received Charlie Kirk's casket on Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025.
Lindsey C. Riley/KJZZ
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A memorial outside Hansen Mortuary in Phoenix on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025, where the motorcade carrying Charlie Kirk's casket went from Phoenix Sky Harbor.
Chelsey Heath/KJZZ
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A memorial outside Hansen Mortuary in Phoenix on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025, where the motorcade carrying Charlie Kirk's casket went from Phoenix Sky Harbor.
Chelsey Heath/KJZZ
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Mourners gather to honor Charlie Kirk outside the Turning Point USA offices in Phoenix on Sept. 11, 2025.
Tim Agne/KJZZ
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Mourners gather to honor Charlie Kirk outside the Turning Point USA offices in Phoenix on Sept. 11, 2025.
Tim Agne/KJZZ
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Mourners gather to honor Charlie Kirk outside the Turning Point USA offices in Phoenix on Sept. 11, 2025.
Tim Agne/KJZZ
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People visit a memorial for Turning Point USA CEO and Co-Founder Charlie Kirk outside the group’s headquarters in Phoenix on Sept. 11, 2025. Kirk was killed a day earlier during an event at Utah Valley University.
Alexandra Medina/Cronkite News
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Mourners gather to honor Charlie Kirk outside the Turning Point USA offices in Phoenix on Sept. 11, 2025.
Tim Agne/KJZZ
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A memorial to Charlie Kirk at the Turning Point USA campus in Phoenix on Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025.
Tim Agne/KJZZ
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Charlie Kirk speaking with attendees at the 2025 Student Action Summit at the Tampa Convention Center in Tampa, Florida, on July 11, 2025.
Gage Skidmore/CC by 2.0
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People pay their respects to Charlie Kirk at a makeshift memorial at the national headquarters of Turning Point USA in Phoenix, Arizona, on Wednesday.
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The Turning Point USA campus in Phoenix on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025.
Matthew Casey/KJZZ
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Armed Phoenix police officers guard the Turning Point USA campus in Phoenix on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025, after the fatal shooting of CEO Charlie Kirk.
Matthew Casey/KJZZ
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Cars parked outside Turning Point USA's Phoenix campus to honor Charlie Kirk on Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025, after he was shot and killed on Wednesday.
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The Turning Point USA campus in Phoenix on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025.
Matthew Casey/KJZZ
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Shane Besore, a Charlie Kirk supporter, is emotional outside the Turning Point USA headquarters in Phoenix on Sept. 10, 2025. Kirk, the group’s co-founder, was shot and killed hours earlier at an event in Utah.
Sydney Lovan/Cronkite News
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Charlie Kirk speaking with attendees at the 2025 Chapter Leadership Summit at the Tampa Convention Center in Tampa, Florida, on July 11, 2025.
Gage Skidmore/CC by 2.0
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Charlie Kirk speaking with attendees at the 2025 Student Action Summit at the Tampa Convention Center in Tampa, Florida, on July 13, 2025.
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Charlie Kirk speaks at Turning Point USA's annual event, AmericaFest, on Dec. 19, 2024, at the Phoenix Convention Center.
Sam Dingman/KJZZ
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Turning Point Founder Charlie Kirk and Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance speak with attendees at a Chase the Vote rally in Mesa on Sept. 4, 2024.
In the early morning on Sunday about 200,000 people gathered to pay their respects to Kirk after his death. Many dressed in their Sunday best or in some combination of red, white and blue. The stadium was packed, with tens of thousands more unable to get in.
Thousands waited for hours in a line that police said stretched for a mile, eager to pay their respects and see Trump and others speak in person.
Some guests hoping to get inside the stadium parked two miles in residential streets away and made the pilgrimage to the stadium.
Due to the number of high-profile speakers, there was a very large security presence. Guests weren’t allowed to bring any bags or anything that could be used as a weapon. Those who brought snacks and water in plastic grocery bags for the long wait had to abandon them at the security checkpoint, leaving huge piles next to the gates.
By 9:30, long before the 11:00 start time for the event, the stadium was already full.
Tens of thousands of people like Hall who arrived as early as 3 a.m., were unable to go inside.
Meesha Fific, 26, was among those left disappointed after a long wait, though she said the tremendous turnout made her happy.
“Being an Arizona native and local, I can’t even get into an event that’s hosted in my own hometown,” she said.
The Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority owns the stadium in Glendale. An authority spokesperson says event contracts, done by a separate stadium manager, are confidential.
As word spread that the stadium had reached capacity, many of those still outside headed to Desert Diamond Arena to watch the event on a screen carried on Rumble, a video-sharing platform popular among conservatives.
The event felt more similar to a political event than a traditional memorial. A group of about seven people who disagreed with Kirk’s beliefs stood behind a metal barricade and debated with some of Kirk’s supporters – similar to the kind of debates he was known for – with both parties listening respectfully.
Inside, Trump said he disagreed with Kirk on one thing: forgiving one’s enemies. The president joked about not forgiving his enemies as Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, implored during her tearful speech.
“It was an assault on our most sacred liberties and God-given rights,” the president said in a somber moment of his speech. “The gun was pointed at him, but the bullet was aimed at all of us. That bullet was aimed at every one of us.”
The Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority owns the stadium in Glendale. An authority spokesperson says event contracts, done by a separate stadium manager, are confidential.
Charlie Kirk was like many Arizonans, an out-of-state transplant who made his home in the Valley. Here, he expanded a grassroots organization into a nationwide behemoth.
Former state lawmaker Paul Boyer penned an op-ed for The Arizona Republic calling Charlie Kirk “the best of us” despite the fact that Boyer was at odds with Kirk’s organization, Turning Point USA.
Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk will be memorialized this weekend at State Farm Stadium in Arizona. For some context on Kirk’s legacy, The Show recently spoke with someone who knew Kirk personally.
Turning Point USA, the organization Charlie Kirk founded to mobilize young, Christian conservatives, has seen a massive surge in interest and support since the activist's assassination last week.
The memorial event honoring conservative activist Charlie Kirk was held at State Farm Stadium on Sept. 21, 2025. See KJZZ's coverage from Glendale.
The Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority owns the stadium in Glendale. An authority spokesperson says event contracts, done by a separate stadium manager, are confidential.
Charlie Kirk was like many Arizonans, an out-of-state transplant who made his home in the Valley. Here, he expanded a grassroots organization into a nationwide behemoth.
Former state lawmaker Paul Boyer penned an op-ed for The Arizona Republic calling Charlie Kirk “the best of us” despite the fact that Boyer was at odds with Kirk’s organization, Turning Point USA.
Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk will be memorialized this weekend at State Farm Stadium in Arizona. For some context on Kirk’s legacy, The Show recently spoke with someone who knew Kirk personally.
Turning Point USA, the organization Charlie Kirk founded to mobilize young, Christian conservatives, has seen a massive surge in interest and support since the activist's assassination last week.
