Tens of thousands of people, along with President Donald Trump and White House staff, are in Arizona today for Charlie Kirk’s funeral.
The Trump ally and Turning Point USA founder was shot dead while speaking at a college in Utah last week.
His funeral is being held at the State Farm Stadium, which has a capacity of 63,000. Each seat in the stadium has a ‘We Are Charlie Kirk’ bracelet placed on it, and posters reading Isaiah 6:8, ”Here I am, Lord, send me,’ are dotted around.
Ahead of the service, Trump said: ”We want to look at as a time of healing. That something like this could have happened is not even believable so we will have a very interesting day, a very tough day.’
JD Vance wrote: ‘Last week, we brought my dear friend Charlie Kirk home one last time. Today, we return to Arizona to remember Charlie and honor his sacrifice. May he eternally rest in peace, and may God watch over Erika and their beautiful children.’
Mourners are decked out in red, white and blue, as requested by Kirk’s widow, Erika, with some donning MAGA gear.
Doors for the service open at 8am local time (4pm BST), with the ceremony due to start at 11am local time (7pm BST).
The event is called ‘Building a Legacy, Remembering Charlie Kirk’, and is expected to draw so many people that a nearby 20,000-capacity stadium has also been allocated as an overflow area.
Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, White House Chief of Staff, Susie Wiles, and Deputy Chief of Staff, Stephen Miller, will all give remarks.
Also expected to speak are conservative commentator Tucker Carlson and Donald Trump Jr, who were both close to Kirk.
Security for the event is extremely high, designated by the Secret Service as a SEAR Level 1 event.
This rating is normally given to other major events like the Super Bowl, and given the size of the funeral and the politicians attending, it makes sense.
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