The State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, was packed as the Charlie Kirk memorial was held on Sunday.
Several prominent speakers, including President Donald Trump, were present to bid their final goodbyes to the conservative influencer, and among them was his widow, Erika. In a heartbreaking speech to the full stadium, Erika said she forgives her husband’s killer. Here’s why.
State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, was filled to its limit as Charlie Kirk was honored with a memorial on Sunday. As per The New York Post, as many as 200,000 people have gathered to pay their respects to the conservative influencer, who was shot dead at an event at Utah Valley University almost two weeks ago.
Speakers at the memorial included President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance. While others decided to keep their speeches non-political, Trump – perhaps predictably – went down a different route.
He blamed the “radical left” for the assassination of Kirk, criticized his political opponents, and even teased upcoming announcements from the White House regarding autism.
“Charlie’s murder was not just an attack on one man or one movement. It was an attack on our entire nation,” Trump said. “The gun was pointed at him, but the bullet was aimed at all of us.”
He added: “Charlie was killed for expressing the very ideas that virtually everyone in this arena and most other places throughout our country deeply believed in. The assassin failed because Charlie’s message has not been silenced, but it now is bigger and better and stronger than ever before.”
Charlie Kirk’s widow Erika Kirk says she forgives the shooter that killed her husband
Kirk’s widow, Erika, also spoke at the packed stadium in Arizona. In a heartbreaking speech, Kirk recalled seeing her husband after his passing at the hospital.
“I saw the wound that ended his life. I felt everything that you would expect to feel,” Erika Kirk said. “I felt a level of heartache that I didn’t know existed, but there was something else, too. Even in death, I could see the man that I loved.”
She continued: “I also saw on his lips the faintest smile. And that told me something important. It revealed to me a great mercy from God from this tragedy. When I saw that, it told me Charlie didn’t suffer.”
The rage over the killing of Kirk has been felt worldwide. Suspected killer Tyler Robinson is under arrest, and President Donald Trump has even called for the death penalty.
Meanwhile, when Erika took the stage on Sunday, Charlie Kirk’s widow said she forgave the shooter who killed her husband.
“My husband, he wanted to save young men, just like the one who took his life. That man, that young man, I forgive him. I forgive him because it was what Christ did and it is what Charlie would do,” Erika stated.
“The answer to hate is not hate,” she added. “The answer we know from the gospel is love and always love, love for our enemies and love for those who persecute us.”
