More than 100 people gathered in the Osprey Shelter at Stanley Park Sunday night with candles, prayers, and music for a memorial vigil for Charlie Kirk, a conservative political activist and Christian evangelist, who was shot and killed on Wednesday, Sept. 10, on the campus of Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, while speaking about gun violence.
The vigil was one of hundreds held across the country and around the world over the past few days to mourn Kirk, 31, a firebrand known for his outspoken rhetoric.
The gathering in Estes Park began with a prayer led by Larry Strong, a chaplain with the Estes Park Police Department. This was followed by several speakers, more prayer, and a song composed and recorded in Kirk’s honor.
One woman with blue hair who asked to speak during the vigil identified herself as an 18-year-old conservative. “Charlie Kirk gave me my voice. He let me know I was not alone.”
Another woman who stood by a group gathered at one picnic table in the shelter at Stanley Park said she felt intimidated to speak out about her conservative values and Christian beliefs because of intimidation by many in Estes Park.
One organizer told the group that Kirk was killed not because he brandished a weapon but because of his words. “This is a turning point,” the speaker said, drawing on the name of Kirk’s organization, Turning Point USA, a conservative political organization that held events on high school, college, and university campuses, which was founded in 2012 by Charlie Kirk and the late Bill Montgomery, a businessman and conservative activist.
Franco Wederski, the newest member of the Estes Park School District Board of Directors, promised the crowd he would bring a Turning Point USA chapter to the school. Wederski also said he thought divine intervention allowed him to ascend to the school board without spending money on an election. There were three open seats and only three candidates, so the Nov. 4 election was called off, and the three candidates were elected by acclamation.
News of the vigil spread by word of mouth as organizers said they were not allowed to advertise the gathering because it was not an officially permitted event.
I don’t like what happened to this man, but I don’t like the assassination of anyone. That having been said, I wish him more peace in death than he espoused for people who simply didn’t agree with him in life. This entire situation never needed to exist, no matter who the players were.