(Minghui.org) The day before the 24th anniversary of the September 11 attack, an incident occurred that shook the United States and the world.
Charlie Kirk, 31, was assassinated on September 10, 2025, during a public debate at Utah Valley University. On September 18, the US Senate unanimously passed a resolution marking October 14, 2025 (Kirk’s birthday) as a “National Day of Remembrance for Charlie Kirk.” The House of Representatives also approved the resolution the next day.
One of Kirk’s photographers posted a video about him that was widely circulated on the social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter): “Being there and seeing all these things in person, I can honestly tell you, this is not a left versus right issue, this is not a Republican versus Democrat issue, this is not a conservative versus liberal issue, it is so much deeper than that. This is an issue of the heart.
“Because [there] are a lot of people in this world, because life is hard, there are lots of people in this world that are struggling. We don’t know each other’s story,” he continued, “Even though we may not agree on everything, we have different cultural backgrounds and different beliefs, at the end of the day, you and I are still human beings, you matter, I matter, you are worthy of love, and I am worthy of love, and we should be able to have conversations. Charlie tried to display all the time that we should be able to have loving conversations.
“And even at the end of the day, [if] we don’t agree on anything, we can still treat each other with love and respect.”
Born in October 1993, in a suburb of Chicago, Illinois, Kirk was only 31 years old when he was murdered. He was a gifted man with a deep love for his country. He applied to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, but was not accepted. Although he was accepted by Baylor University in Waco, Texas, he chose to attend Harper College in suburban Chicago.
At 18, Kirk founded Turning Point USA (TPUSA), an organization dedicated to restoring American conservatism in high schools and colleges. He held open debates and forums on campuses nationwide, providing a platform for discussion with those who disagreed with him, opposed his views, or were prejudiced against him. His compassion for humanity, his pragmatic approach, his emphasis on logic, his erudition, and his sharp opinions, coupled with his humor and gentlemanly demeanor, earned him the respect and affection of many American youths, his peers, and society in general.
On September 10, 2025, while on stage at Utah Valley University in Orem as part of “The American Comeback Tour,” Kirk was fatally shot in the neck. The shooting took place about 20 minutes into the event, at 12:23 p.m. local time (or 2:23 p.m. eastern time), in front of an audience of about 3,000 people.
At the time, Kirk was debating mass shootings in the United States. A Utah Valley University undergraduate student asked, “Do you know how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years?”
“Too many,” Kirk responded.
“Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years?” continued the student.
“Counting or not counting gang violence?” Kirk responded just before he was shot. His death was announced at 2:40 p.m.
“Charlie Kirk was, first and foremost, a husband and a dad to two young children,” said Utah Governor Spencer Cox on the day of Kirk’s murder. “We mourn with his wife, his children, his family, his friends. We mourn as a nation.
“Charlie believed in the power of free speech and debate, to shape ideas and to persuade people,” the governor continued. “Historically, our university campuses in this nation and here in the state of Utah, have been the place where truth and ideas are formulated and debated. And that’s what he does. He comes on college campuses and he debates.
“And when someone takes the life of a person because of their ideas or their ideals, then that very constitutional foundation is threatened,” Governor Cox said.
After he learned of Kirk’s assassination, President Donald Trump said, “Charlie was a patriot who devoted his life to the cause of open debate and the country that he loved so much, the United States of America. He fought for liberty, democracy, justice, and the American people.”
President Trump continued, “This is a dark moment for America. Charlie Kirk traveled the nation, joyfully engaging with everyone interested in good faith debate. His mission was to bring young people into the political process—which he did better than anybody ever—share his love of country, and to spread the simple words of common sense on campuses nationwide. He championed his ideas with courage, logic, humor, and grace.
“It's long past time for all Americans and the media to confront the fact that violence and murder are the tragic consequence of demonizing those with whom you disagree day after day, year after year, in the most hateful and despicable way possible.
“For years, those on the radical left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the world's worst mass murderers and criminals. This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that we're seeing in our country today, and it must stop right now.”
Toward the end of his speech, Trump asked “all Americans to commit themselves to the American values for which Charlie Kirk lived and died: the values of free speech, citizenship, the rule of law, and the patriotic devotion and love of God.”
Thirty-three hours after the incident, the suspect who allegedly shot and killed Kirk was arrested. He faces multiple felony counts, including aggravated murder, obstruction of justice, and witness tampering.
Kirk’s death sparked widespread shock, grief, and outcry in high schools and colleges across the country, as well as with the wider public in more than a dozen countries, including the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, France, Spain, and South Korea. Within a week of the killing, people held spontaneous memorial services on major campuses, at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., in churches, and elsewhere across the U.S. Churches were unusually packed. Turning Point USA received tens of thousands of applications to join from students. Applicants expressed their desire to live like Charlie did, and to uphold their faith, their families, and America.
Kirk’s death not only brought deep pain and sparked strong condemnation of political violence across the political spectrum, but also showed how much American schools need people like him. The alleged gunman is a 22-year-old from a conservative family. Five years ago, he was a high-achieving student with close family ties, who donated to President Trump’s campaign. Within a year of entering college, however, he dropped out, transferred to another school, and lived with his partner who was undergoing gender transition. The suspect developed a deep hatred for Kirk.
After Kirk was killed for exercising his right to free speech, some people cheered and celebrated. Such a response reflects an appalling loss of humanity and morality. These are the very people Kirk respected and cared about, and endeavored to reach out to through peaceful debate.
In the days following the assassination, some government agencies and private employers suspended or fired employees who publicly celebrated Kirk’s death. Most Americans believe that one is free to disagree with someone’s views but agree that we cannot resort to violence. Gloating over someone’s murder, slandering the deceased, and inciting hatred toward his family and supporters, all reveal a profound lack of humanity.
Kirk’s tragic death also reminds me of what’s happening in China to millions of Falun Gong practitioners. By following the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, practitioners strive to become better citizens within their families, schools, and society. Yet the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has persecuted Falun Gong for over two decades. The regime has deployed all of China’s propaganda tools and incited such deep hatred of Falun Gong practitioners, that much of the country looks the other way when practitioners around them are arrested, tortured, and even killed for practicing their faith.
Despite the violence they are subjected to, Falun Gong practitioners have only countered the persecution through peaceful means. Practitioners outside China often hold community events and have managed to change the minds of many formerly prejudiced people through civil, amicable conversations.
Meanwhile, practitioners in China persist in speaking out about the persecution, at great personal risk. Even when they face perpetrators of the persecution, practitioners treat them with compassion because they know these people have been misled by the CCP’s propaganda and political pressure. Falun Gong practitioners’ painstaking efforts deserve wider public recognition and support.
Conventional wisdom says that freedom of speech is a universal right bestowed by the Creator, and only within the context of humanity and moral boundaries can humankind enjoy true freedom. Once a person abandons their humanity, they are easily overtaken by hatred.
The assassination of Charlie Kirk puts each person’s true realm of thought and morality on display. It has brought out the best and worst, as well as many who fall somewhere in the middle. In the aftermath of this tragedy, everyone would benefit from a moment of self-reflection. Striving to reach a higher moral realm will bring one closer to the Creator’s side, while abandoning humanity may leave society drowning in hatred and violence.