Hundreds of mourners gather in Iowa vigil for slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk

Hundreds of mourners gathered in West Des Moines on Friday, Sept. 12 for a vigil in honor of slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

Attendees filled a parking lot, many sitting on lawn chairs they brought with them, and lit candles in Kirk’s memory. A few couples held hands, and children waved small American flags.

Organizers erected a stage with flags, pictures of Kirk and his family and screens that showed TikToks of Kirk speaking on his podcast and of supporters mourning his death.

Kirk, the 31-year-old founder of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot in the neck while speaking at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah on Sept. 10.

Police have arrested 22-year-old Tyler Robinsin in connection with the shooting and charged him with aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm and obstruction of justice.

The Iowa event began with a video of a speech made by Erica Kirk, Charlie Kirk’s widow, who pledged that his conservative movement would continue to grow.

“If you’re in high school or if you’re in college, go find your local Turning Point USA chapter. Join it. Stay involved,” she said. “He wants you to make a difference — and you can. You can. The movement’s not going anywhere, and it will only grow stronger when you join it.”

Many of the speakers emphasized Kirk’s Christian faith.

Deborah Yanna, one of the vigil’s organizers, led the crowd in prayer, promising to continue Kirk’s legacy.

“We ask that you would be with us tonight, that we would leave this place changed, stronger in our faith, stronger in our love for this country,” she prayed. “We ask that you would strengthen us, God. No matter how old we are, you have a plan for us. And so, God, we take that torch and we carry it. and we will continue to carry the light of Charlie Kirk.”

Oliver Bardwell, a Republican candidate for Dallas County supervisor, told the crowd, “Charlie was a voice for courage and conviction.”

“To thousands of students and parents and patriots, Charlie was more than a leader,” he said. “He was a friend, a brother and a mentor. He gave people hope that one voice, lifted with conviction, could change the world.”

“Tonight we mourn his passing, but tomorrow we must rise,” Bardwell added. “Because Charlie’s work is not finished. His torch has been passed to us, and it’s up to us now to carry it with the same faith, the same courage and the same love for truth and freedom that he carried with him every single day.”

State Rep. Samantha Fett, R-Carlisle, told the crowd she is heartbroken.

“Not even knowing him personally, you’re affected,” she said. “And I know that this crowd feels that way too.”

Iowa elected leaders say they hope after Kirk’s death Americans will ‘come together as a country’

Iowa politicians of both political parties have condemned Kirk’s slaying and said they are praying for his family.

At an event in Earlham earlier in the day, Republican U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn told reporters that political violence is a form of extremism that’s taking root in the country.

“I think the overall violence that’s happened both with Charlie Kirk’s death, with the killing of children at a church in Minnesota, with the execution of state legislators in Minnesota — this is not one side or the other,” he said. “This is an extremism that has started to take hold, and there’s an opportunity here for us not only to reset the conversation but candidly come together as a country in the way that we did after 9/11. I hope that’s truly what takes place.”

Democratic Minnesota House of Representatives speaker emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband were shot and killed on June 14, and the shooter also shot and wounded Democratic Minnesota state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife.

Nunn noted the recent 24th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks and said he hopes the country can find a way to come together.

“Today, we mourn Charlie Kirk’s loss,” Nunn said. “Today, we also find that we are able to hold his killer accountable. And going forward, I hope we find that we can come back to the table and have meaningful, important, hard conversations, but do it in a way that makes our country stronger, not weaker.”

Also on Friday, state Sen. Zach Wahls, a Democrat from Coralville who is running for U.S. Senate, condemned the violence and called on political leaders to lower the temperature.

“I condemn the political violence in the strongest possible terms,” he said. “My prayers are with his widow and his two young children. You know, this is a country where we resolve our arguments with words and debate, not with weapons and violence, and we absolutely need leaders who are going to work to try and lower the temperature.”

Des Moines Register Chief Politics Reporter Brianne Pfannenstiel and USA Today contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Hundreds of Iowans gather in vigil to mourn Charlie Kirk