Turning Point, moving forward without Charlie Kirk, makes first return to Utah since his killing

LOGAN, Utah (AP) — Thousands of supporters came together to honor Charlie Kirk Tuesday night as Turning Point USA’s college tour returned to Utah for the first time since its founder was assassinated on a college campus in the state earlier this month.

The event at Utah State University in Logan was about two hours north of Utah Valley University, where Kirk was killed Sept. 10 by a gunman who fired a single shot through the crowd while Kirk was answering student questions.

READ MORE: Suspect in Charlie Kirk assassination case faces a court hearing

Conservative podcast host Alex Clark kicked off the event, which she described as the the group’s largest on-campus tour stop.

“I’m not here to eulogize Charlie Kirk,” she said, but to “pass the torch on to every single one of you.”

Hours before the event, the Logan campus temporarily evacuated a building but later deemed it safe after a “non-explosive” device was found. Authorities are investigating but the university does not believe the package was a threat or related to the Turning Point event, school spokesperson Amanda DeRito told The Associated Press.

Security at the event was tight, with a heavy law enforcement presence surrounding the arena, a no-bag policy, metal detectors and drones overhead.

Campus police at the college where Kirk was killed didn’t fly a drone to monitor rooftops or coordinate with local law enforcement to secure the outdoor event, which lacked several key safety measures and practices that have become standard in the U.S., an AP review has found.

The assassination of a top ally of President Donald Trump and a significant figure in his Make America Great Again movement has galvanized conservatives, who have vowed to carry on Kirk’s mission of encouraging young voters to embrace conservatism and moving American politics further right. Kirk has been celebrated as a “martyr” by many on the right, and Turning Point USA has seen tens of thousands of requests to create new chapters in high schools and colleges.

Tuesday’s event, scheduled before Kirk’s death, showcased how Turning Point has been pressing forward without its charismatic leader, who headlined many of its events and drew crowds. The national tour includes some of the biggest conservative names, including Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly and Glenn Beck.

Blame game

The event featured a panel with three prominent Republicans, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona and former Rep. Jason Chaffetz of Utah, who urged students to turn their anger into action.

Chaffetz spoke with emotion about being there Sept. 10 when Kirk was killed.

“Nobody should have to witness and go through what I went through, what my family and those 3,000 people went through at UVU,” he said, choking up. “I will never unsee that. I will always feel it.”

Several speakers blamed the left for stoking rhetoric that led to the assassination, with Biggs saying it was “coming from one side.”

Cox, who has been criticized in the state as not conservative enough, was repeatedly booed by the crowd at his alma mater, including when he acknowledged that, “There are violent people on the far right.”

Still, he criticized the idea that speech equates to violence. That mindset, he said, leads people to believe that “because someone said something that you don’t like, that’s violence towards me, which justifies me being violent towards this person for speaking.”

“That’s exactly what happened in this case, and that is a destructive mind virus in our society today,” he said.

As Cox encouraged people to engage kindly with those who hold different viewpoints, Biggs countered: “The issue is the other side will not hear our voice.”

Attendees pay tribute

The school’s basketball arena was filled with red and white “MAGA” hats, chants of “USA,” and blaring country music before the event kicked off Tuesday. Volunteers handed out posters reading, “I am Charlie Kirk” and “In honor of Charlie Kirk, this is the Turning Point.”

Attendees said they’d come to pay tribute to Kirk alongside others he’d inspired and to try to heal together.

“I feel like the tension is super high, especially being in the same state where it happened. But I’m super excited for it,” said Jada Chilton, from Salt Lake City. “It’s kind of just healing my soul, kind of being that I actually get to come to a Turning Point event even though the main spirit of it isn’t here.”

Chilton said listening to Kirk on TV, in debates and on his podcast had been her “daily regimen.” She’d bought tickets to the event 30 minutes before the assassination, which left her shattered.

“I was on the floor sobbing,” she said.

She described Tuesday’s security as “insane,” with police officers “everywhere.”

“It makes you feel more comfortable, but it just is sad and disappointing, honestly, that we have to,” she said.

Susan Goldsberry, 75, of Cache Valley, Utah, didn’t know much about Kirk before the assassination, but loves everything she’s found out about him since.

“Everything he says, I just love,” she said, breaking down in tears. “It was a horrible thing that happened. I think he could have done so much more, but I hope, I hope people keep his message going.”

Kirk’s widow says, ‘We have our marching orders’

Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, has pledged to continue the organization’s work. She now oversees Turning Point and said she will lead the group as her late husband intended, closely following plans he laid out to her and to staff.

“We’re not going anywhere. We have the blueprints. We have our marching orders,” she said last week on Kirk’s podcast, which she also vowed would continue with rotating hosts and decades of clips of her husband.

“My husband’s voice will live on,” she said.

Colvin reported from New York. Associated Press writer Jonathan J. Cooper contributed to this report from Phoenix.