ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. — Thousands of people in Charlie Kirk’s hometown gathered at North School Park to honor the man who founded Turning Point USA and who was atrociously killed at a campus event in Utah last week.
Charlie was born in Arlington Heights and raised in the suburbs of Chicago. He graduated from Wheeling High School and started TPUSA out his parents’ garage. As the organization grew, the headquarters was moved to Lemont, where early backer and support Bill Montgomery lived and worked. TPUSA’s headquarters eventually was uprooted from Illinois and moved to Phoenix, Arizona.
‘Charlie was a courageous warrior for Christ, and politics was second with him.’
Kirk became a worldwide phenomenon through his activism. The people who gathered on Sunday were proud that he came from their town.
Victoria Karalis brought her family to Sunday’s vigil and told Blaze News she admired the work Kirk did for the nation’s youth.
“Those are my children there. This is the future of America, and they’re being taught what is right and wrong and what is constitutionally correct and accurate. And Charlie was a proponent of that. He loved people, he loved this country, and he especially loves the youth to make it great for the future of the whole world,” she said.
“His death is his life beginning with the Lord,” Karalis added.
The crowd sang “Amazing Grace” and “God Bless America” and chanted “USA! USA! USA!” throughout the vigil.
One man who wished to remain anonymous told Blaze News that while he is saddened over Charlie’s death, he feels hope “seeing a crowd come out, especially from his hometown. … There’s different levels that are emotional right now with how deep this goes for me personally.
“And I just think that Charlie was a courageous warrior for Christ, and politics was second with him, and it’s becoming more and more evident. And I think everybody needs to carry on that message: We are all Charlie Kirk,” he continued.
RELATED: Erika Kirk makes first public remarks since the death of her husband, Charlie Kirk
Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images
“I think it’s a wonderful demasking,” Karalis said about people on the left celebrating Charlie’s murder. “So that people in general finally understand that those vile remarks show a vile heart that can only be cured by our Lord. And we need to have pity on them and pray for them.”
Charlie’s public memorial service will take place at State Farm Stadium, the home of the Arizona Cardinals, in Glendale, Arizona, on Sunday. President Donald Trump and many members of his administration are expected to be in attendance.
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