Later, through tears, Erika Kirk cited the prayer said to have been uttered by Jesus Christ on the cross: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
Then, her voice dropped to a whisper, and she said of her husband’s assassin: “That man. That young man. I forgive him.”
Erika Kirk reacts as she prepares to speak at the memorial.Credit: AP
White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller roused the crowd with a loud, fiery speech in which he said the angels’ tears over Kirk’s death had turned into “a fire that burns with a righteous fury that our enemies cannot comprehend or understand”.
“You are nothing. You are wickedness, you are jealousy, you are envy, you are hatred. You can build nothing. You can produce nothing. You can create nothing,” Miller said of the MAGA foes.
“We are the ones who build. We are the ones who create. We are the ones who lift up humanity. You thought you could kill Charlie Kirk? You have made him immortal.
“You have no idea the dragon you have awakened. You have no idea how determined we will be to save this civilisation, to save the West, to save this republic.”
White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller speaks at a memorial for conservative activist Charlie Kirk.Credit: AP
President Donald Trump acknowledges the crowd at the memorial.Credit: Getty Images
Vance, who was a close friend of Kirk, drew attention to the young activist’s success building a conservative juggernaut that appealed to young people – on campus, in the media and in election campaigns.
“From this desert, Charlie Kirk built a movement,” Vance said. “He transformed the face of conservatism in our own time, and in doing so he changed the course of American history.”
The vice president also credited Kirk with the Trump administration’s success with young voters at least year’s election. “We know we wouldn’t be here without him.”
Vice President JD Vance said Charlie Kirk changed the course of American history.Credit: AP
As Kirk did in his life and work, the ceremony straddled religion and politics. It began with a bagpipe rendition of Amazing Grace – Kirk loved the instrument – and had the atmosphere of a MAGA rally combined with a Hillsong service.
“Charlie looked at politics as an on-ramp to Jesus,” said Kirk’s pastor Rob McCoy, co-chair of TPUSA Faith. “He knew if he could get all of you rowing in the streams of liberty, you’d come to its source, and that’s the lord.”
Mikey McCoy, who was Kirk’s chief of staff, quoted 19th century Danish theologian Søren Kierkegaard when he said: “The tyrant dies, and his rule is over. The martyr dies, and his rule has just begun.”
Supporters attend the memorial service on Sunday.Credit: AP
Secretary of State Marco Rubio.Credit: AP
Alt-right activist Jack Posobiec said Kirk’s assassination had revealed an ugliness and an evil that would be overcome by love and prayer.
“We will never ever let the left, the media or the democrats forget the name of Charlie Kirk,” he said to raucous applause.
Standing ovations were common. At various times, members of the crowd stood up and raised their arms to the sky, thanking God or Jesus.
The memorial has been likened in scale to a Super Bowl or a presidential funeral.Credit: Bloomberg
Jack Posobiec arrives on stage to speak.Credit: AP
Up the front, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, Attorney-General Pam Bondi and Homeland Security Secretary Tulsi Gabbard were among the members of Trump’s cabinet who attended, along with many other prominent politicians, media figures and business leaders, including Elon Musk.
Trump flew in from Washington and landed at a nearby Air Force base while the memorial was underway. He entered the arena just before 1pm (5am AEST) to sustained cheers and applause, and took his seat behind a bulletproof shield.
Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White sat next to Trump. Later, they were briefly joined by billionaire Tesla chief executive Elon Musk, who sat beside Trump, shook hands and chatted while Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth spoke on stage.
Trump with Elon Musk.Credit: AP
An Arizona state trooper walks past a large cross ahead of the memorial service.Credit: Bloomberg
The meeting appeared to rekindle a friendship between the two men after their spectacular falling out earlier this year as Musk left his White House position.
Outside, long and chaotic lines of people waiting to clear security caused mass confusion as people waited in stifling Arizona heat. There was no signage or information about which lines to join, where they led, or whether people could expect to get inside.
A man in the crowd raises his arms.Credit: AP
More to come
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