An Arizona sports stadium is getting ready to host a massive memorial for Charlie Kirk as investigators pour through online messages and engraved shell casings in their search for motive behind the shooting death of one of the country’s most prominent conservative activists.
The memorial is set for September 21 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, which seats 63,400 people – a testament to the influence of the right-wing podcaster, whose work his wife has vowed to continue.
Standing by the vacant chair where her husband used to record “The Charlie Kirk Show,” Erika Kirk pledged Friday to keep her husband’s legacy – including his campus tours and radio show – alive even after his death.
“If you thought that my husband’s mission was powerful before, you have no idea,” Erika Kirk said in her first public address following Charlie Kirk’s death on Wednesday. “You have no idea what you just have unleashed across this entire country.”
The widow’s vow comes as the suspect in Kirk’s killing, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, is set to appear in court Tuesday to face formal charges in the fatal shooting at a Utah Valley University campus event.
Robinson, a third-year student in an electrical apprenticeship program who grew up in the small suburban community of Washington, Utah, was arrested following a 33-hour manhunt that captured national attention and whipped up a frenzy of misinformation online.
As details emerge about the suspect’s background, mourners across the country are streaming to vigils to pay tribute to Kirk, a 31-year-old Trump ally and co-founder of youth organization Turning Point USA. Kirk had garnered millions of fans through his political debates and radio talk show.
It’s unclear whether President Donald Trump will attend the memorial celebrating Kirk’s “remarkable life and enduring legacy” at the home stadium of the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals. The president said on Thursday that he has “an obligation” to attend Kirk’s funeral.
Meanwhile, Robinson is being held without bail at Utah County Jail on several initial charges, including aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm and obstruction of justice, according to officials. Utah Attorney General Derek Brown would not say Friday if authorities would pursue the death penalty, but said, “everything is on the table.”
Here’s what we know about the investigation into the killing and how Kirk is being mourned.
Authorities are working to understand what led Robinson to the rooftop where he allegedly gunned down Kirk this week.
While police are still investigating the killing, authorities have pointed to what they described as anti-fascist messages engraved on bullet casings in a rifle found near the deadly shooting as potential evidence of a political motive.
One bullet was inscribed with “Hey fascist! Catch!” – a message that Cox said Friday “speaks for itself.”
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox on Friday said Robinson was radicalized “in a fairly short amount of time.”
A family member of Robinson’s told investigators that the suspected shooter “had become more political in recent years,” and had criticized Kirk at a recent family dinner, Cox said.
The messages on the bullet casings also included a mix of memes and allusions to video games. They featured a series of arrows representing the controls used to carry out an attack in the video game Helldivers 2 and lyrics of a popular Italian song linked to anti-fascists. Other engravings hinted more at connections to online trolling, including one that said, “If you read this, you are gay LMAO.”
Robinson was ultimately arrested after his father recognized him in images released to the public and persuaded his son to confide in a youth pastor, a law enforcement source told CNN. A family friend then contacted the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, officials said.
Messages Robinson is believed to have sent on messaging platform Discord were also among the clues that helped investigators zero in on him as a suspect, officials said.
The messages stated a need to retrieve a rifle from a pick-up point, leaving the rifle in a bush, watching the area where a rifle was left and having wrapped the rifle in a towel, according to the affidavit. Investigators have said they discovered a bolt-action rifle wrapped in a towel near the scene of the shooting.
The Discord messages, which Robinson’s roommate showed investigators, also refer to engraving bullets and mention a scope and rifle being unique, officials said.
And in a Discord group chat following the shooting, Robinson joked that his “doppelganger” had carried out the crime, the New York Times reported.
After the FBI released surveillance images of a man in a stairwell at the Utah Valley University campus, an acquaintance in a group chat tagged Robinson’s username and asked, “wya,” meaning where you at, the Times reported.
Robinson replied within a minute, writing his “doppelganger” was trying to “get me in trouble,” the Times report said, noting the exchange took place around 1 p.m. local time Thursday, hours before Robinson’s arrest.
CNN has not independently confirmed messages in the Discord chat.
Following his arrest, Robinson initially spoke with some law enforcement but quickly went silent Friday morning after hiring a lawyer, sources familiar with the matter previously told CNN.
Kirk’s fall tour and podcast will continue
In an emotional tribute to her husband, Erika Kirk shared a series of photos and videos on social media of her holding and kissing her husband’s hands in his open casket. In one photo, she is seen sitting in a chair and leaning over her husband’s casket.
“You have no idea the fire that you have ignited within this wife,” she said in her address Friday. “The cries of this widow will echo around the world like a battle cry.”
Charlie Kirk’s scheduled tour of university campuses, “The American Comeback Tour,” will continue as planned, Erika Kirk said.
“There will be even more tours in the years to come,” she said, noting Americafest, Turning Point USA’s annual conference, will still be held in Phoenix in December.
“It will be greater than ever,” she said. “The radio and podcast show that he was so proud of will go on.”
Erika Kirk said she has had to explain her husband’s absence to her two young children.
On Thursday night, their 3-year-old daughter asked: “Where’s Daddy?”
“Baby, Daddy loves you so much,” she responded. “Don’t you worry. He’s on a work trip with Jesus, so he can afford your blueberry budget.”
Friends, colleagues and fans also memorialized Kirk, saying he leaves behind a legacy of faith and love.
Andrew Kolvet, the executive producer of “The Charlie Kirk Show,” said his friend and colleague died doing what he loved.
“Charlie was never afraid of intellectual combat. He was willing to go into any arena, debate with anybody and discuss anything – and he loved it,” Kolvet told CNN’s Michael Smerconish on Saturday. “It energized him, he knew that those interactions were what people were hungry for.”
Kolvet said Kirk was “riveting” to watch and described the conservative political activist as spending “all of his waking moments learning and studying and trying to hone his skills.”
A memorial edition of Kirk’s radio show and podcast was hosted on Friday by Kolvet and others. Kirk’s promotion of challenging other people’s ideas through discussion and debate was at the heart of the podcast episode.
Kirk’s chair remained at the table, poignantly empty.
But seeing Kirk’s personal items, like his ties and toys left by his children, drove home the loss for Jack Posobiec, a conservative commentator who worked closely with Kirk.
“It was looking at that when it really hit me that he’s not coming back for those,” he said.
In the three days since his death, Kirk’s accounts across the internet have gained millions of followers, according to data compiled by CNN. Videos of Kirk’s political arguments, promoting President Trump and conservative priorities, have also seen a surge in viewership, with many clips being traded back and forth by fans.
The words “I AM CHARLIE KIRK” have become a rallying cry among Kirk fans on social media platforms since his death.
Kirk’s supporters paid tribute to the activist at vigils in states including New York, Wisconsin, Virginia, North Dakota and Utah. Vigils and prayer circles honoring Kirk are also set to take place this weekend in several other states, including Florida and Colorado.
“We are Charlie,” said one mourner’s sign at a vigil Friday in Provo, Utah. “And we won’t be quiet.”
“Good men must die,” another sign read. “But death can’t kill their names.”
Many of those at the vigils were young college students, a testament to his massive fanbase on college campuses. Turning Point USA, where Kirk was the executive director, has about 800 college chapters, according to the organization’s website.
One mourner, 22-year-old student Alexis Breuer, said Kirk “came around at a point in time when a lot of us were afraid to voice our beliefs, were afraid of the backlash from our peers.”
“He was … someone else that was in our age range that understood the generation that we were in,” she told Reuters at the Utah vigil. “He was an example to us that we don’t have to be afraid. We can stand up for our beliefs eloquently and peacefully, without fear.”
Another vigil attendee, 24-year-old student Dallin Webecke, said the killing was “very scary” but said supporters are clinging to one another for comfort.
“We are not alone and we are able to still keep fighting together,” he told Reuters.
At Utah Valley University, where 3,000 people had gathered to watch Kirk speak on Wednesday, many are still grappling with the shooting. Video of the incident shows students screaming and fleeing, and newly released 911 calls reveal spectators’ panic seeing Kirk be struck by the bullet.
Former Utah State Rep. Phil Lyman said Kirk continues to be a major global influence even after his death and that witnessing the shooting would “change the trajectory of” the students who were gathered at the campus for Kirk’s event.
“If Charlie’s wishes are fulfilled, then it will change it in a very positive way,” he told CNN’s Fredricka Whitfield.
Utah Valley University announced that classes would resume on Wednesday – exactly one week after the attack. Mental health counseling will also be available for students, the university said.
