- Turning Point USA will hold a memorial on Sept. 10 marking one year since Charlie Kirk's assassination.
- The event will be at Utah Valley University, the site of the campus shooting that took Kirk's life.
- Speakers will include Glenn Beck, Frank Turek, Andrew Sypher, Caleb Chilcutt, and others.
Turning Point USA, the largest conservative youth organization in America, announced it will hold a memorial to commemorate its founder, Charlie Kirk, at Utah Valley University on the first anniversary of his Sept. 10 assassination.
The “Freedom Built to Last” event will take place at the UCCU Center, a 5-minute walk from the amphitheater where Kirk was shot last year while engaging with thousands of students during the first stop of his “All-American Comeback Tour.”
“The gathering will honor Charlie as a faith-filled husband, father, and defender of free speech,” Turning Point USA said, describing it “as a deliberate act of remembrance, and a call for students and supporters to continue his life’s work.”
Speakers will include Glenn Beck, one of the nation’s top-rated talk-show hosts and founder of Blaze Media; Frank Turek, a prominent Christian apologist and mentor to Kirk; and Andrew Sypher, Turning Point USA’s chief field officer.
Turek was standing just feet from Kirk when he was shot, as was Caleb Chilcutt, TPUSA’s UVU chapter chair at the time. Chilcutt, who is now working as TPUSA’s Beehive representative, is also scheduled to speak on Sept. 10.
Other speakers may still be announced. In statements to the Deseret News, all four confirmed speakers reflected on the profound impact Kirk had on them, building the conservative movement and influencing the direction of the country.
“The martyrdom of Charlie Kirk is the most significant American event in the 21st century,” Beck said. “It’s an honor to stand and mark it and shame on those universities who tried to bury it or ignore it.”
Kirk became the face of one of the most prominent youth outreach efforts in America. Since Kirk’s death, Turning Point USA grew even more to include more than 1 million members in thousands of high school and college chapters.
Did UVU back out?
Friday’s announcement follows reports from two campus news outlets that UVU had withdrawn from plans to hold an event memorializing the slain Republican organizer. Deseret News reporting and Turning Point USA disputed those claims.
On Aug. 7, UVU told students that the university would be closed on Sept. 10 “to provide time and space for reflection, service and connection.” But sources told the Deseret News that conversations were ongoing between UVU and TPUSA.
In an email sent to students on Friday, UVU clarified that while campus operations will shut down on Sept. 10, the “UCCU Center will remain open for a privately organized event,” which it later clarified will be put on by Turning Point USA.
“Utah Valley University seeks to foster healing for our community following the assassination of Charlie Kirk,” said Sharon Turner, senior director of public relations at UVU Marketing and Communications, in a statement to the Deseret News.
“Turning Point USA has engaged Utah Valley University to use the UCCU Center on September 10 for a private event,” she said. “UVU will continue listening, collaborating, and taking the time to thoughtfully support the needs of our campus community.”
It is especially significant to recognize the tragic anniversary of Kirk’s death at UVU, where Kirk had selected to start his fall semester “Prove Me Wrong” program, according to Sypher, who oversees the campus events core to TPUSA’s mission.
“One year later, we return to the very site where that evil occurred,” Sypher said. “I pray this memorial offers healing to the UVU community and to everyone who loved Charlie the way we did. The responsibility now rests with us to carry forward his lasting legacy.”
Talks ongoing for campus memorial
State leaders have called on UVU to take more permanent steps to commemorate Kirk. Less than two weeks after the shooting, the university announced the creation of a committee to develop a memorial to be built on campus.
Multiple ideas for statues have been submitted to the committee, but it has not publicly released any plans. As a former student there, Chilcutt said “Charlie’s spirit lives on in every student who is courageous enough to speak out about their beliefs and argue rather than simply walk away.”
“The philosophy of Turning Point USA is rooted in one core principle: that future generations should have their voices heard rather than suppressed,” he said. “As a former Chapter President, I had the privilege to witness this movement firsthand. As long as we continue to disagree agreeably, Charlie’s message and memory live on.”
A focus on faith
The Sept. 10 event at UVU is a separate event from Turning Point’s campus tours this fall. It forms part of a special “week of remembrance” that includes community prayer outside of TPUSA’s Phoenix headquarters with the staff.
In an in-depth interview with the Deseret News three weeks before his death, Kirk said his Christian faith undergirded his political activism. While he was known for his viral debate videos, Kirk said his goal was to return young people to religion.
He tried to do this through social media encounters with students, which racked up 15 billion views in 2024 alone; a daily radio show focused on current events; and books about being a responsible young person and honoring the Sabbath.
Kirk was a “once in a generation leader,” according to Turek. Kirk stood out for devoting himself to connecting with members of Generation Z who disagreed with him, “the very kind of person that is on trial for murdering him,” Turek said.
“We are coming together one year after that evil deed not in despair but to celebrate the example he set and the Lord he served,” Turek said. “Charlie, who is now absent from the body but present with the Lord, would want us to continue to make Heaven crowded. That’s what 9-10-2026 is all about.”
The week of remembrance will coincide with a nationwide initiative led by TPUSA Faith, inviting Christians of all traditions to honor Kirk by inviting a friend or a family member to church in September, beginning on Sept. 13.
As Americans turn their attention to the anniversary of the high-profile political assassination, the Utah court system continues to slowly process incriminating evidence against St. George resident Tyler Robinson.
After hearing arguments from the prosecution and defense one more time, Judge Tony Graf is expected to rule on Sept. 1 as to whether the case will proceed to a full trial, following a preliminary hearing in July, attended by Kirk’s widow, Erika.