A multi-generational crowd of Alaskans nearly filled the University of Alaska Anchorage’s Wendy Williamson Auditorium on Sept. 25. They came to honor the late Charlie Kirk, thank God for his extraordinary life, and firmly resolve to continue Kirk’s work of advancing religious freedom, traditional family values and personal liberty.

Kirk was fatally shot in the neck during a Sept. 10 campus speaking event in Utah. The gathering at UAA was the latest Alaska event to honor Kirk, who founded Turning Point USA, and became a leading young conservative force in American politics.

Kirk combined a deep love for Jesus Christ with a tireless defense of traditional values and conservative politics.

The Anchorage vigil was originally scheduled at the much smaller Student Union area of campus, but organizers had to switch gears in anticipation of a much larger crowd.

Prior to the event, roughly a dozen campus security guards were stationed throughout the auditorium, as were a number of armed Anchorage police officers.

Outside, various groups handed out miniature Bibles, passed out flyers for conservative causes and gathered signatures to repeal ranked-choice voting.

As attendees entered the auditorium they had a chance to register to vote.

Once inside, contemporary Christian music echoed from the rafters as people poured into the auditorium. A large screen displayed images of Charlie Kirk with his wife Erica and their two young children.

In addition to hundreds of college students, the attendees included elected officials, gubernatorial candidates, aspiring politicians, retired lawmakers, prominent pastors and a host of political and social movers and shakers. The crowd was multi-generational and extremely diverse.

Jack Thompson, the 18-year-old freshman who leads the Turning Point USA chapter at UAA, kicked off the evening just after 6 p.m., telling the crowd that Kirk’s passion to stand and defend truth in college campuses around the nation was a calling from God.

“Charlie took his convictions into arenas where they were not merely unwelcome, but despised,” Thompson said. “He lived as a man who was aware that his days were not his own.”

Thompson had agreed to be president of the small UAA Turning Point chapter just two weeks before Kirk’s death. With the murder of their national leader, interest in Turning Point has exploded in Alaska and around the nation.

Addressing the largest crowd of his young life, Thompson praised Kirk for “speaking with moral clarity in this world addicted to ambiguity.”

After a video message was played by U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, Alaska Family Council President Jim Minnery led the assembly in an opening prayer, confessing that everyone needs God’s forgiveness and grace. He thanked God for Kirk’s defense of virtue and morality – asking for God to revive the hearts and minds of both Christians and unbelievers alike, so they might forgive others, grow in wisdom and become vehicles of Christ’s love in the world.

Denali Tshibaka, daughter of former U.S. Senate candidate Kelly Tshibaka, then gave a rousing speech, urging Alaskans to stand strong for truth, even when they are reviled by the world.

“Labels and scare tactics did not stop Charlie Kirk,” she said. “They will not stop me, and I hope everyone in this room feels the same way.”

Tshibaka warned that the worst thing conservatives can do in the wake of Kirk’s murder, is to fall silent.

“I urge us all to stand stronger and louder – more now than ever before,” she implored, adding that we must forgive our enemies, while doubling down on defending and promoting truth.

Tshibaka’s talk drew a standing ovation.

Next up was Zach Young from Alaska Young Republicans. He said Kirk’s death was a “gut punch,” but urged everyone in attendance to stay the course, even in the face of such a tragedy.

He highlighted the fact that Kirk’s main drive was to enter the “marketplace of ideas” in order to have “real conversations” with people who genuinely disagreed with him.

“That’s what the shooter was trying to stop,” Young noted. “But what the enemy meant for evil, God will use for good.”

Quincy Azimi-Tabrizi, a former Americans For Prosperity employee who is extremely active in local and statewide politics, was next. She noted that Kirk’s widely-celebrated work has left an undeniable mark on American conservativism.

She then shared that in her own work traveling across the country to enlist young people in the conservative movement, she has seen how Kirk impacted the coming generation of leaders.

“I used to ask the students, ‘What made you get involved?’ Azimi-Tabrizi said. “Over and over again, the answer is the same: ‘Well, I watched this Charlie Kirk video…”

She noted that Gen-Z is increasingly less likely to identify as “liberal,” thanks in part to Kirk’s work.

“Charlie has helped inspire that turning point in our nation,” Azimi-Tabrizi concluded. “Even in death, Charlie is inspiring people to action. Charlie’s death and the way he lived his life was a turning point for many of us. In just eight days after his assassination, 62,000 young people have signed up to volunteer for Turning Point USA.”

Toward the end of the evening, Alaska Attorney General Stephen Cox spoke, noting that he met Kirk a decade ago.

“I met him almost 10 years ago this month,” he said. “He was 21, about to turn 22 a couple of days later, and he was just so, so impressive. He was already making waves.”

Cox called Kirk “a friend whose life was a testament to civil debate, to speaking the truth, to courage and faith.”

“He was an old soul, but he was 21,” Cox added. “He had so much profound faith – not just in his country, but in his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

Cox lauded Kirk’s ability to walk into a hostile room and proclaim the truth, even when it was uncomfortable and threatening. He also recalled the extraordinary moment last week, when Kirk’s widow, Erica, publicly forgave the man who assassinated her young husband.

“I don’t think any of us could do that,” Cox said. “She called for love and revival, and it’s a powerful example of forgiveness forged in faith.”

Free speech, he added, must be protected and guarded. Cox called on Alaskans to stand firm in defense of the First Amendment – never shying away from the truth, even when it comes with a price.

“We should never allow an assassin’s veto to dictate who gets to speak in the public square,” he said. “Charlie showed us that defending the truth comes at a cost.”

Alaska Republican Party Chairman Carmela Warfield echoed some of these sentiments, noting that Kirk answered the call “when the cost was high.”

“He was a warrior for truth in an age that sometimes ran from it,” she said, adding that his death leaves a “gaping hole.”

“But the fact is, his story is not over,” she emphasized. “Because we are here and we will be standing tall.”

Warfield implored Alaskans to join their local Turning Point chapters and honor Kirk’s legacy by engaging in open debate with the other side.

She ended by reading a new proclamation by Gov. Mike Dunleavy, which establishes Oct. 14, 2025 (Kirk’s birthday) as “Charlie Kirk Day” in Alaska.

This drew the largest applause of the night.

Mountain City Pastor Ron Hoffman closed out the evening with a final prayer and a challenge to forgive enemies and be willing to lay down one’s life for God.

TAKING ACTION

— Those who wish to find out more about the Turning Point chapter at UAA can follow the group’s announcements on Instagram here.

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