US Secret Service leads massive security presence, while conservatives demand punishment of those who disparaged rightwing ‘youth whisperer’

Thousands were gathering in Arizona on Sunday for a public memorial honoring Charlie Kirk, the rightwing youth organizer who was fatally shot during an event at a Utah college.

Donald Trump, his vice-president, JD Vance, and Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, were among a long list of prominent officials and figures expected to pay tribute to the slain activist, a reflection of his deep imprint on the president’s Make America Great Again (Maga) movement.

The memorial service was being held at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, a 63,000-seat home of the Arizona Cardinals football team and the venue where Taylor Swift launched her Eras tour. A massive security presence, led by the US Secret Service, was in place, with the event expected to receive security on par with the Super Bowl. A man armed with a gun and a knife was detained on Saturday at the venue, with inactive law enforcement credentials and claims that he was providing private security.

A spokesperson for Kirk’s Turning Point USA organization said the man was doing “advance security for a known guest” but it wasn’t properly coordinated with the Secret Service or Turning Point. The spokesperson also said it was not believed the man was “attempting anything nefarious”.

Americans are grappling with the brutal killing and complicated legacy of the 31-year-old conservative “youth whisperer”, Trump ally and podcasting provocateur, who was gunned down on 10 September in a brazen act of what prosecutors have labeled political violence – and which has deepened fears about the trajectory of a profoundly divided nation.

Kirk was struck by a single bullet in broad daylight as he spoke before a crowd of 3,000 mostly college students at Utah Valley University, the first stop on his national “American Comeback” campus tour. Prosecutors have charged Tyler Robinson, 22, with capital murder in Kirk’s killing and said they will seek the death penalty.

In the wake of Kirk’s death, Trump and his advisers have sought to cast blame on Democrats, even though elected leaders and party officials have uniformly condemned the killing. Officials have said they believe the suspect acted alone.

Prosecutors have said that they suspect Robinson killed Kirk because he personally had become sick of what he perceived to be Kirk’s “hatred”. But, citing three sources familiar with the investigation into Kirk’s killing, NBC reported Saturday that federal authorities have not found any link between Robinson and leftwing groups, on which the Trump administration has threatened to crack down after the deadly shooting.

Fueled by an outpouring of grief and rage on the right, conservatives are demanding punishment for those who mocked or disparaged Kirk – a campaign of retribution critics say mirrors the very cancel culture he railed against. Since his death, teachers, students, journalists and late-night show host Jimmy Kimmel have been fired, suspended or disciplined over comments related to Kirk or his death, in a clampdown that free speech advocates, democracy scholars and other comedians say amounts to government censorship.

The speaker program underscores Kirk’s personal relationship with Trump, the president’s family and other prominent Republicans. Vance traveled to Utah after Kirk’s death to fly his casket to Phoenix aboard Air Force Two. After the 2024 presidential election, Kirk was a frequent presence at Mar-a-Lago as Trump put together his cabinet and had a prime seat for his second inauguration in January.

Kirk founded Turning Point USA in 2012, at the age of 18, to organize young conservatives. Over the course of 13 years, he transformed it into a rightwing juggernaut with a deep reach into high schools, colleges – and social media feeds.

On Thursday, the board announced that Erika Kirk was unanimously elected to succeed her husband as CEO and chairperson of Turning Point’s board of directors.