Vigil for Charlie Kirk draws hundreds at Purdue, St. Tom’s
‘We’ll just keep going,’ campus member of Kirk’s Turning Point USA says.
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VIGIL FOR CHARLIE KIRK DRAWS HUNDREDS AT PURDUE, ST. TOM’S
Hundreds of students and community members gathered Tuesday at Purdue for a vigil for Charlie Kirk, vowing to continue the activism of the conservative commentator who was murdered a week earlier during a visit to a Utah campus.
Several people wore white hats emblazoned with a gold “47” – ones celebrating Donald Trump’s second presidency that the Turning Point USA founder tossed to the crowd in April during a similar visit to the West Lafayette campus to catalyze Purdue students – as they marched quietly from the Unfinished Block P sculpture on campus to St. Thomas Aquinas Church for a prayer service.. Later they moved back outside to light candles and sing a mix of “Way Maker” by Leeland and “God Bless the USA” from Lee Greenwood on the Memorial Mall lawn.
“I’m still in a bit of shock,” Neil Campbell said. He’d come to campus from neighboring Carroll County after a friend from church pointed him to announcements about the vigil on the Purdue chapter of Turning Point USA’s social media pages.
“I needed this, I think,” Campbell said. “Looks like I wasn’t the only one.”
The vigil came hours after charges were filed against Tyler Robinson, a 22-year-old Utah man accused of shooting and killing Kirk from a perch on a Utah Valley University building rooftop as Kirk was holding one of his signature debates in a crowded campus event.
On Tuesday, prosecutors said they planned to seek the death penalty, revealing with charges allegations that Robinson left a note before the shooting that he “had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I’m going to take it,” and texted a confession to his roommate afterward that he had “had enough of (Kirk’s) hatred.”
“We just wanted to give people the chance to say goodbye,” Katherine Walters, a sophomore and an officer with the Turning Point USA chapter at Purdue, said as she helped direct foot traffic across Mitch Daniels Boulevard to St. Tom’s.
Walters had been on Krach Lawn at Purdue in April, helping when Kirk’s “American Comeback Tour” came to campus to rally conservative students and set up debates meant to have liberals try to prove him wrong on issues ranging from diversity, the Second Amendment and other hot button issues. (That tour stop drew a sizable crowd to the muddy field to both celebrate and protest Kirk’s appearance and message.)
Walters said that after Kirk’s murder she’d been trying not to think about the similarities between what the two events were intended to be, one at Purdue and the other in Orem, Utah. She said it still all seemed too fresh. She said the campus reaction she’d heard in the past week was a mixed bag about Kirk, the assassination and his legacy.
“I’ve had a lot more positivity pushed toward me, especially as we worked on this event,” Walters said. “There are a lot of people who didn’t appreciate Charlie, and we understand that and we can respect that. We’ll just keep going. … We just want to provide something amazing for people here at Purdue to honor our founder and someone we had as our leader.”
In a half-hour service, with roughly three-quarters of the St. Tom’s pews filled and a conspicuous police officer presence, Fr. Andy McAlpin eulogized Kirk with passages of the Sermon on the Mount from the Gospel of Matthew and praised Kirk for putting his faith at the center of his work.
McAlpin also noted that since last week, media reports had shown Turning Point USA had tens of thousands of people asking for affiliations or to start new chapters on campuses. That line drew applause in the sanctuary in what otherwise had been a somber scene.
“What will be we do? How will we respond? How will be continue on?” McAlpin said. “Brothers and sisters, something’s afoot, something’s happening. … This movement will reach to the heavens.”
During the service, Radman Zarbock, vice president of Purdue’s Turning Point USA, read a statement from the campus affiliate. Here it is, in full:
“Last week, Charlie Kirk’s life was taken from us in an abhorrent act of political violence. Within minutes, many of us heard and saw how our founder was gruesomely assassinated in broad daylight by a coward too afraid of the truth to speak to a man who had dedicated his life to defending it. These actions and the sentiments of all those who condone violence against people exercising their God-given first amendment right to freedom of speech have no place in civilized society.
“Charlie was more than a political visionary – he was a servant of God, a loving husband and father, an advocate for goodness, truth, and beauty, and an inspirational role model for us all. At TPUSA Purdue, we got to witness his unmatched love and compassion for America’s youth firsthand. He fought for all of us, for our country, for our future, on our campus, and on hundreds of others. Armed with just his voice and his faith, he gave everything he had and laid down his life that we might have a better tomorrow.
“Charlie’s loss has been an inconceivable shock to all of us. In our mourning, we raise our prayers to the same God with whom we know Charlie is right now, and we ask that all Americans join us in praying for him and his wife and kids. But this tragedy is not the end. Charlie made the ultimate sacrifice because he believed in us, he believed in the power of goodness and truth, and he believed in America. And while there is still breath in the lungs of those who stand for the same, we will continue his work, with more zeal than ever before. Yesterday, Charlie fought for us. Today, we fight for Charlie.”
How Turning Point USA’s numbers have moved for the Purdue chapter or any other local affiliates in the past week weren’t immediately clear.
“Look at how many people are out here talking and praying and all that,” Campbell said after lighting a candle on the Memorial Mall lawn. “Tonight’s not for debating or stuff like that. But Charlie Kirk was the real deal. People aren’t going to stop now.”
OTHER READS …
Washington Post reporter had details of Tyler Robinson’s first court appearance Tuesday, as charges were filed against him: “Charlie Kirk shooting suspect appears in court after being charged with murder.”
NBC News reporter Christian Orozco had this: “The Trump administration's suggestion that a secret network of violent left-wing extremists was behind the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk stood in contrast to the evidence presented by law enforcement. Text messages from the suspect, Tyler Robinson, to his roommate revealed a confession and an explanation, officials said, but made no link to any groups.” More here: “Kirk evidence contrasts with White House claims over 'radical left' groups.”
Indianapolis Star reporters Cate Charron and Marissa Meador tracked the number of teachers and educators who have lost their jobs for comments since Kirk’s murders. From that report:
“Following the assassination of Charlie Kirk, some fellow conservatives and prominent social media accounts have gone after educators who made posts that were critical of Kirk or made light of his death. As public and political pressure mounts, schools must decide whether to back their teachers' or professors' right to speak freely or drop staff a couple of months into the school year. Their decisions could result in additional public scrutiny, including from elected officials, or risk violating their employees' First Amendment rights, which could lead to litigation. In Indiana, IndyStar has confirmed two school districts parted ways with teachers following their comments. However, a handful of schools and colleges stood by their employees' right to freedom of speech while under pressure from right-wing politicians and personalities.” Here’s the rest: “Indiana schools, universities face added pressure after Charlie Kirk assassination.”Indianapolis Star columnist James Briggs had this on efforts to root out people who posted comments being singled out by Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita and other conservative officials in the state: “I find it hard to empathize with people who in 2025 are unaware that saying inflammatory things on the internet carries social and professional risks. But everyone has a right to say those things, and we’d all be better off taking less offense to others’ free speech — as conservatives such as Rokita have long asserted. Now that Republicans control the Bureau of Speech Compliance, it's not clear where the goalposts stand within a party that restored the pejorative R-word and sanctioned "grab them by the p----" as appropriate humor befitting the nation's highest office.” Read the rest here: “Charlie Kirk's death fuels Indiana Republicans' online fantasy of warfare.”
Thanks, again, for support for this edition from Purdue’s Presidential Lecture Series. Pacers Sports & Entertainment CEO Mel Raines will join Purdue President Mung Chiang for a conversation on leadership, business and the power of sports at 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 2, in Stewart Center’s Fowler Hall. Details and free tickets here.
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