Speaker Johnson, RFK Jr., other GOPers mourn loss of Charlie Kirk at touching DC vigil: ‘Leaders of the nation have been shaken’

WASHINGTON — Top Republicans joined grassroots activists in giving a touching tribute to late conservative icon Charlie Kirk during an emotional vigil in a fully packed Kennedy Center Sunday night.

Over 85 members of Congress, multiple White House and cabinet officials, activists across the country, students, and locals in the nation’s capital joined in prayer and celebration of the Turning Point USA founder and his legacy.

“It’s as if a dark shadow was cast over our country and certainly here, even on Capitol Hill, the leaders of the nation have been shaken,” Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) reflected about the assassination of Kirk.

“In spite of that, we remember that our dear friend Charlie would never want us to be overcome by despair; he would want exactly the opposite,” the speaker stressed, commending him for training a generation of “happy warriors.”

“I think Charlie Kirk offered more productive content [in] the free marketplace of ideas than anyone in his generation and arguably in the last 100 years of US history,” he went on. “That message and that truth will go more boldly now than it did while he was here.”

Kirk, 31, founded Turning Point USA in 2012 and spent the ensuing 13 years inspiring conservative activists across the country and engaging in rigorous debate with liberals on college campuses.

In Concert Hall, which can seat up to 2,500, the reach of Kirk’s influence was palpable. Attendees wore shirts emblazoned with the word “Freedom” in a nod to the t-shirt Kirk wore when he was fatally shot last Wednesday and phrases such as “We are Charlie Kirk now.”

Speakers took turns recounting the impact Kirk had on them personally.

“I would not be in this position if not for the heroic efforts of Charlie Kirk, who turned the political tide among young people in this country and helped usher in President Trump’s historic victory,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt proclaimed.

Leavitt recounted how he was one of the few people who believed in her when she ran for a congressional seat in New Hampshire at the age of 23 during the 2022 cycle.

Another former mentee of Kirk’s, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), recalled she was about to jet off to medical school before getting a call from him that changed her trajectory.

“I was literally preparing to go to medical school, bags packed, and I kid you not, 24 hours prior, I got a call that changed my life. Hey, Anna, it’s Charlie Kirk from Turning Point USA, and I’d like to offer you a job as our National Hispanic outreach director,” she said.

“Charlie Kirk will go down in history as one of the biggest political minds and activists of our lifetime,” she added. “His impact places him alongside transformative figures like Dr Martin Luther King, John F. Kennedy, and Robert Kennedy.”

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. described Kirk as the “architect” of his unification with President Trump last year. Kennedy noted that his niece was bringing a bible to Europe for college because she wanted “to be like Charlie Kirk.”

“I had a conversation once with Charlie. We were talking about the danger that we were both challenging entrenched interests, and he asked if I was scared of dying. And I said, ‘There’s a lot worse things than dying.’”

Kennedy added that with Kirk gone, “it’s our job” to “win this battle for our country.”

During the procession, many of the speakers fought back tears and grappled with how to carry on in the wake of his assassination.

“I had a friend of mine who sent me a text the day after Charlie was killed, really distraught, and she said, ‘What do we do now? I know the answer should be love, the answer should be peace, but Charlie tried that, and it didn’t work,’” Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard recounted.

“My response to her was, ‘No, it did work. That’s why they killed him.’”

The vigil carried on with very little mention of his assassin. A day after his murder, authorities detained suspect Tyler Robinson, 22, who is expected to be charged on Tuesday.

One of the few references to Robinson came from an emotional Kari Lake, who unsuccessfully ran for governor and senator in Arizona, the state where Turning Point USA is headquartered.

“We can’t let this go on. This violence has got to stop. Our side isn’t perfect, but damnit, this is coming from the other side. How has the 22-year-old become so filled with hate?” she pondered.

“I am making a plea to mothers out there, do not send your children into these indoctrination camps,” she said to thunderous applause, referring to colleges and universities.

Robinson had enrolled in Utah State University for one semester before dropping out and attending trade school instead.

Christian recording artist Sean Feucht led the singing of religious hymns to honor Kirk during the ceremony. At the end of the vigil, attendees waved candles or flashlights on their phones in tribute to him.

“We know exactly where Charlie is right now,” Johnson had said earlier during the vigil, referring to heaven.