Tributes to Charlie Kirk Pour in from Tennessee Leaders

Kaitlin Housler
Charlie Kirk

The assassination of Turning Point USA Co-Founder Charlie Kirk in Utah on Wednesday has prompted an outpouring of tributes from top Republican leaders in Tennessee.

Kirk died after being shot at his American Comeback Tour event held at Utah Valley University.

The suspected shooter, identified as 22-year-old Utah resident Tyler Robinson, has since been taken into custody.

President Donald Trump was the first to announce Kirk’s death on Wednesday and ordered all flags to be flown at half-staff until sunset on Sunday.

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee followed suit, announcing that flags at the Tennessee State Capitol will be lowered in memory of Kirk.

Lee said he and his wife, First Lady Maria Lee, asked Tennesseans to join them in “lifting up Charlie’s wife Erika, two children & entire family to the Lord, and to be in prayer for our Nation that is in desperate need of God’s healing.”

U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Bill Hagerty (R-TN) were among the top officials who represent Tennessee to post tributes to Kirk.

Blackburn, who noted that her eldest grandson was a fan of Kirk, said the Turning Point USA co-founder “touched the lives of countless people across America, and the movement he started changed our country for the better.”

“I am devastated by his passing, and words fail to describe how much of a loss this is for our nation. We mourn with his family, and we pray for justice to be served,” Blackburn added.

Hagerty said Kirk was a “visionary who knew that engaging in free debate was the best way to show the next generation how conservative ideals shine brighter than nihilistic Leftist values.”

“It’s unconscionable that his wife and children have to live life without him because a deranged person took his life. I cannot adequately put into words the heartbreak I feel for his family. Charlie will live on in the hearts and memories of the many, many millions of Americans and people of this world. Let us all pray for Charlie, his family, his loved ones, and know that he has been greeted by our Father in Heaven,” Hagerty added.

All members of the U.S. House representing the Volunteer State, except for Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen (TN-09), offered their prayers for Kirk and his family.

Among those at the state level who published tributes to Kirk included the Tennessee Senate Majority Caucus, which posted on X, “Charlie Kirk was a man of great integrity and unwavering devotion to America. We are heartbroken to learn of the tragedy that occurred in Utah. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends, and our nation.”

Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) said Kirk’s memory will “live long and his continued influence will never end,” while Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge) added that Kirk, “one of the most important conservative leaders of the new generation,” is now a “martyr.”

Tennessee House Majority Leader William Lamberth (R-Portland) said the death penalty is “too light a sentence for whoever did this,” adding, “Free speech doesn’t mean much if we tolerate the murder of phenomenal young voices like Charlie’s.”

Prayer vigils for Kirk were held across Tennessee on Thursday, including on the University of Tennessee – Knoxville campus, where Kirk held a Turning Point USA event in March.

Kirk’s casket was escorted aboard Air Force Two for transport to Arizona on Thursday.

Vice President JD Vance, who helped carry Kirk’s casket to Air Force Two, issued a lengthy tribute to Kirk following his death, calling him a “true friend” and attributing the Trump administration’s success to Kirk’s “ability to organize and convene.”

“You ran a good race, my friend. We’ve got it from here,” Vance said.

First Lady Melania Trump said Kirk’s life “should serve as a symbolic reminder that compassionate awareness elevates family, love, and country.”

“Charlie’s children will be raised with stories instead of memories, photographs instead of laughter, and silence where their father’s voice should have echoed,” the First Lady added.

On Thursday, Trump announced he will award Kirk the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, posthumously.

Congressional lawmakers have also proposed awarding Kirk the Congressional Gold Medal and placing a statue of him in the U.S. Capitol.

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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Charlie Kirk” by Gage Skidmore. CC BY-SA 4.0.

 

 

 

 

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