Hundreds gather to remember Charlie Kirk on Sunday at WA Capitol Campus vigil
An estimated 500 people gathered Sunday afternoon on the Washington state Capitol Campus in Olympia to remember the life of Charlie Kirk, the founder of conservative youth nonprofit Turning Point USA.
Kirk was shot and killed earlier this month in Utah, sending shockwaves throughout the country about political violence. His memorial was held Sunday in Arizona.
“We want a stop to political violence in our communities and in our nation,” said organizer Corey Gauny, a former Olympia City Council candidate, as he addressed the crowd gathered near Tivoli Fountain.
In his opening comments, Gauny included the recent death of Minnesota state lawmaker Melissa Hortman, who was shot and killed in her home in June.
“He didn’t require others to believe what he believed,” Gauny said about Kirk. “He just wanted to expose them to his beliefs and a discussion that always ended respectfully and gracefully. ... It is easy for us to point the finger and say the assassin was far right-wing, or far left-wing, or an agent from some third country, some provocateur. We don’t need to point fingers.”
Gauny was one of many speakers on Sunday. He said he reached out to several faith and community leaders and a number of them responded, including Lacey City Council member Nic Dunning and Republican state Reps. Matt Marshall and Jim Walsh. In all, about 12 people were scheduled to speak.
In addition to raising concerns about political violence, Kirk’s death has ushered in a new debate about the boundaries of free speech. Some who have criticized Kirk, including TV talk show host Jimmy Kimmel, have suffered consequences. The ABC network has suspended Kimmel’s show.
Dunning has experienced some of that free-speech blowback, he told the audience.
“Since Charlie’s passing, I’ve made several (social media) posts about my feelings,” he said. “As a result of that, I’ve been told to shut up by elected officials, by party associates. I’ve been told I can’t say those things, that I need to take my posts down. I’ve been called a fascist and a neo-Nazi, and that if I don’t want to get elected again, just keep saying what I’m saying.
“And lastly, I’ve been told I’m going to get hurt,” he said. “And I’ve been a Democrat my whole life. I’ve been a moderate. I’m anti-war, I’m anti-pharmaceutical company, I’m anti-murder, but above all, I am pro free-speech.”
Diane Rademacher said she drove down from Kent on Sunday to participate in the vigil.
“He was strong and loving and fair and a listener and just true to who he was, true to what he believed, true to this country, and just wanted what was best for the youth, for the future,” she said about Kirk.
Matt Christensen drove up from Centralia.
“Even for me, I didn’t know him super-well,” he said. “I wasn’t super-plugged into him, but the more I’ve seen him and researched him, I think he’ll leave a legacy that will be here and we’ll remember in many years to come.”
Carmen Thompson came from Yelm.
“He was a leader,” she said. “He was fearless. He was an advocate for the church, for country, for freedom. So you can’t deny that. You can’t turn your back away from that.
“I think I watched everything that he put out on social media. He just, you know, he opened a dialogue with everybody and gave you a microphone to voice your opinion, whether he agreed with it or not. And I think that was, that was what took a lot of people in, because he gave you that microphone, you know, he didn’t want to not hear it. He welcomed it, yeah, so, yeah, I watched everything he put out.”