CHARLIE Kirk’s grieving widow told thousands of mourners she forgives the man who assassinated her husband.
A distraught Erika Kirk broke down in tears in front of mourners as she took to the stage at her husband’s memorial in Glendale, Arizona.
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The tragedy of the loss hit home hard as Erika addressed the thousands assembled at the packed stadium.
Seeing his family up on stage – who have been cruelly robbed of a husband and a father – brought a tear to the crowd’s eye.
Dressed in a white blazer and matching trousers, Erika thanked attendees for travelling from across the globe to celebrate her late husband.
“Thank you to people from all over the world who came to celebrate my Charlie,” she said.
She told mourners she was living through a “heartache I never knew existed” as she delivered her moving tribute.
Remembering the tragic day of her husband’s assassination, Erika said: “On the afternoon of September 10th, I arrived at a Utah hospital to do the unthinkable: To look directly at my husband’s murdered body.
“I saw the wound that ended his life.”
But she stunned mourners saying she forgave her late husband’s killer.
“I forgive him,” she said, breaking down in tears.
“The answer to hate is not hate, the answer we know from the gospel is love and always love.”
“After Charlie’s assassination, we didn’t see violence, we didn’t see rioting, we didn’t see revolution.
“Instead, we saw what my husband always prayed he would see in this country. We saw revival [of Christian faith].”
Erika added: “I will miss him so much.”
The heartbroken widow would end her emotional speech by speaking directly to her late husband in a touching moment.
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She said: “I love you Charlie, baby. I will make you so proud.”
President Donald Trump, his Vice President JD Vance and billionaire Elon Musk were also at the huge memorial service at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona — home of the Arizona Cardinals American football team.
Musk told reporters: “Charlie was someone who believed in dialogue and open debate. He was a man of ideas. He spoke eloquently and basically never raised his voice. He was a man of peace and now he has been murdered in cold blood.
“He was killed because his voice made a difference.
“He was showing people the Light and he was killed by the Dark.”
Vice President JD Vance described Kirk as having built a movement that has “changed the course of American history”.
He told Mr Kirk’s sea of supporters: “They tried to silence my friend Charlie Kirk but we are spreading his message loudly.”
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Mr Vance, whose Catholicism has been central to his own political rise and mission, added: “We must remember that he is a hero to the United States of America — and he is a martyr for the Christian faith.”
He noted that the Trump administration was at the memorial not just because of their relationship with Kirk, but because “we wouldn’t be here without him”.
Kirk was buried on Saturday at a private funeral in Arizona attended by friends and family.
Tearful fans queued up for 12 hours for the first-come, first-admitted service organised by Turning Point USA, the high school organisation set up by Kirk to help spread conservative politics on campuses.
Some wore black, others attended in flag-emblazoned T-shirts and Make America Great Again hats.
Sporting a Trump T-shirt, Aaron Knight, 28, from Houston, Texas, reckoned: “Charlie Kirk was a godly Christian man.
“He provided a sacrifice for this country and the fight for free speech. We are here in mourning but also celebration for the incredible man he was.”
Ashley January, 35, brought her seven-month-old baby Theodore from Kansas to “witness history”. She said she and husband Skylar “fell in love with Charlie after seeing him in Kansas.”
She added: “We want to raise our son to have the same morals as him. It’s going to be something Theo will read in his history books and he can say he was there.”
A man said he had camped out from 8pm the night before.
One woman even brought a buggy full of puppies with her.
I was at the Charlie Kirk memorial
There wasn’t a dry eye in the stadium when Charlie’s widow Erika spoke about her love for the husband she lost.
We had already been confronted with a picture of her and Charlie at the doors of the stadium but hearing her speak made it hit home.
Seeing his family up on stage – who have been cruelly robbed of a husband and a father – brought a tear to the crowd’s eye.
One lady said being a part of it was special as she got to witness how loved Charlie was. The mood shifted from defiance when JD Vance was speaking to one of tenderness and sadness.
Those who were cheering at other speeches and chanting ‘USA’ fell silent when Erika spoke.
A hush fell when Trump came on stage. His speech is more personal than most presidential speeches revealing how close the pair really were. Aides say he had a lot of input in writing the speech.
The nearby Desert Diamond Arena served as overflow for an additional 19,000 people who watched the event on TV screens.
Kirk, 31, was shot dead while giving a speech at Utah Valley University earlier this month.
Tyler Robinson, 22, is charged with aggravated murder.
He is in custody and could face the death penalty if convicted.
Yesterday Mrs Kirk told the New York Times she could not say if he deserved to die as well.
She said: “I told our lawyer, I want the government to decide this. I do not want that man’s blood on my ledger.
“When I get to heaven, and Jesus is like, ‘Uh, eye for an eye? Is that how we do it?’.
“And that keeps me from being in heaven, from being with Charlie?”
Before the service started, photos of Kirk were projected on big screens accompanied by a playlist of praise and worship songs.
Among those paying respects and giving speeches were President Trump’s eldest son Donald Trump Jr, right-wing political commentator Tucker Carlson and homeland security adviser and White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller.
Kirk founded Turning Point USA — whose headquarters are in Phoenix — in 2012, at the age of 18.
Mrs Kirk has been unanimously elected to succeed her late husband as CEO of the organisation.
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