A Year Later, Kirk’s Supporters Gather to Remember His Legacy

APACHE JUNCTION, Ariz.—Marita Benjamin of Arizona remembers conservative commentator Charlie Kirk as the man who inspired her faith in God.

She had been going through a difficult period in her life, following Kirk on social media while campaigning for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. during his 2024 presidential bid.

But it was Kirk’s assassination on Sept. 10, 2025, that brought her from the joy of newfound faith to tears.

“I unfortunately was forced to watch his assassination” on television, Benjamin told The Epoch Times.

Benjamin was among dozens of people at a gathering in Apache Junction, Arizona, marking the first anniversary of Kirk’s assassination.

The late-afternoon event was sponsored by Turning Point USA, the conservative youth organization Kirk founded in 2012.

“This past year has been so rough with watching everything and witnessing all this evil online with people attacking him,” Benjamin said.

“I was actually kind of nervous coming here when they posted that they were going to have this event.”

Adding to the event’s somber atmosphere was the 25th anniversary of the terror attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

“I know a lot of energy is focused on the 25th anniversary,” Benjamin said. “The reverence is so heavy from that day.”

“It’s a celebration [of Kirk’s life], but yet it’s so sad,” another participant at the gathering told The Epoch Times while requesting anonymity. “He had a family, he had children.”

The woman said she was with her prayer group on the day of Kirk’s assassination a year ago. But with anything in life—and death—“it feels like you can only do so much.”

Stephanie Isler of Arizona, originally from Illinois, remembers the shock of learning of Kirk’s assassination.

“I was just hanging out with family and I found out on social media. I saw the video of it,” she told The Epoch Times.

It’s been a “very emotional” day, said Alex Morin of Arizona. “I can’t believe Charlie has been gone a year. It’s still sitting deeply with me.”

Morin said the community support has inspired him, just as Kirk’s vision did, “which I find is great.”

“I’m just blessed to be here and to see the movement in America as we stand up and become stronger.”

In honor of Kirk’s memory, organizers passed out mint choclate chip ice cream and sparklers—two things Kirk loved most in life, organizers said.

An even larger gathering took place outside TPUSA headquarters in Phoenix, where a bronze statue of Kirk was unveiled during a public commemoration.

A keynote event was held at Utah Valley University in Orem, where Kirk was shot and killed as he spoke before more than 3,000 people.

“We’re shedding some tears. It’s just heavy knowing this morning last year our lives were normal and fine,” said Marina Minas, TPUSA’s chief marketing officer, at the Phoenix gathering.

Sept. 10, 2025, began as any other day, she said.

“Charlie was going out on tour—then literally, in a split second, he was taken from us.”

“It’s still devastating. I think a lot of us just still find it hard to believe he’s completely gone.”

Minas said the first anniversary of Kirk’s death would be filled with sorrow, as well as hope, as the organization moves forward under the leadership of his widow, Erika Kirk.

“Erika knew exactly what all of us were supposed to be doing. And we’d all worked with Charlie for a long time,” Minas told The Epoch Times.

“I’m pretty blessed to say, internally, we didn’t experience the type of shakeup you usually experience when you lose a CEO.”

Since Kirk’s passing, the organization has continued to attract thousands of new members—a legacy of Kirk’s popularity and enduring message of faith and patriotism, Minas said.

If Charlie were alive today, she said, “he would be super happy the way we have carried on for him.”

In the meantime, Kirk’s alleged killer, Tyler Robinson, stands trial in Utah and could face the death penalty if convicted.

Morin said he has been following the trial off and on.

“I have been for a while,” Minas said. “I just think it should come to a close, and justice should be delivered in a way it should be deserved.

“Everyone here wants the same outcome. We want justice to be served.”