Memorials Mark One Year After Charlie Kirk’s Killing as Dallas Convention Pays Tribute

Thursday is the first anniversary of Charlie Kirk’s assassination at Utah Valley University. Turning Point USA will hold a “Freedom Built to Last” memorial that night at the UCCU Center on the same campus, a short walk from the outdoor amphitheater where he was shot Sept. 10, 2025. The first-ever GOP midterm convention opening Wednesday in Dallas lists a Kirk tribute in its two-night program, overlapping the anniversary week. Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, now leads the organization he co-founded.

The UVU memorial begins at 6:30 p.m. Mountain Time, with doors at 4 p.m. Listed speakers include Glenn Beck, Christian apologist Frank Turek, TPUSA Chief Field Officer Andrew Sypher, and Caleb Chilcutt, the former UVU chapter chair who was nearby when Kirk was killed. Turek was standing feet from Kirk. The event will stream on YouTube, X, Facebook, and Rumble. UVU is closing regular campus operations Thursday for reflection and service; the arena stays open for the private gathering. Security screening and metal detectors are planned. Admission is first-come after pre-registration. TPUSA Faith is separately asking churches to invite someone to services beginning Sept. 13. Some UVU students have organized a protest, arguing the campus closure and memorial amount to an endorsement of Turning Point. UVU has a committee working on a permanent campus memorial. Erika Kirk has been in Utah for court hearings and has written that “suffering does not get the last word.”

In Dallas, President Trump is scheduled to speak both nights at American Airlines Center; Vice President JD Vance delivers Thursday’s keynote. The convention is a turnout and agenda rally, not a nominating meeting. Organizers placed a Kirk segment on the program as the anniversary arrives.

The legal case is already past the bind-over stage. On Sept. 1, Fourth District Judge Tony Graf in Provo found probable cause on all seven counts against Tyler Robinson, 23, including aggravated murder, and kept the death penalty available. Robinson pleaded not guilty. Graf cited the positions of people under and around the canopy where Kirk was speaking as support for the aggravating element that the shot created a great risk of death to someone other than the intended victim. Utah law allows a capital sentence, including by firing squad, if that element is later proved at trial. A pretrial conference is set for Oct. 23. Kirk, 31, was shot in the neck while addressing a large crowd on the first stop of Turning Point’s American Comeback Tour. Robinson turned himself in the next day. His lawyers have not offered an alternative account of who fired. The family called the September ruling “an important step in our family’s pursuit of justice.” Robinson remains in custody.