Saturday evening, a group of mourners attended a Charlie Kirk vigil hosted by the Whitman Young Republicans at Reaney Park.

About 150 people, including students, alumni and residents from both Washington and Idaho, gathered with lit candles and listened to a speech given by Jay Sani, an engineering student who was assaulted in February for wearing a pro-Trump hat.

Sani emphasized in his speech how dangerous college politics are in contrast to other forms of political work.

“I could say that [Charlie Kirk] didn’t deserve to die, but he paid the ultimate sacrifice,” Sani said. “This is the cost of doing college politics compared to a real-life politician. We don’t get security, we don’t get paid and our lives are very stressful.”

Sani also drew parallels between President Donald Trump’s attempted assasination on July 13 and Kirk’s assasination on Sept. 10. 

“Before Charlie, Trump also took a bullet for us,” Sani said. “It emboldened us.”

Sani brought forward the notion that Charlie Kirk was killed for his beliefs, which was supported by various other speakers at the vigil.

“He’s a martyr,” Sani said. “[His death] caused 1,000 more Charlie Kirk’s . . . and of course, we feel upset and also angry, but now we also feel more motivated to do our mission.” 

The mission Sani mentioned is the promotion of conservative politics, with a focus on the policies that uphold the constitution. 

Sani said that the guns were not the problem when it comes to gun violence, and it is instead the people. He also mentioned that Utah Valley University’s security was not enough to prevent violence, and that when Charlie Kirk came to WSU, the security was partially why the event went well.

“Death threats were not new to Charlie,” said Sani. “[But] we had the strongest security on that day . . . and guess what? It went very smooth. There was no chaos and the protesters were very small. It was ignored. I wish that this happened in Utah.”

Kirk’s death was, for many in the crowd, a symbol of the shifting political landscape. Nathan Lau, a speaker at the vigil, elaborated on this and received applause following his statement.

“[Charlie Kirk] has awoken us,” said Lau. “This is the turning point of the United States of America.”

The speaker for the vigil’s call to action, Lindsay Todd, also reflected a similar sentiment in her own speech.

“We will not let his passion, his legacy, his purpose and his life dwindle,” Todd said. “[We will] let it set a fire in us.” 

Tucker Senter, a social studies major at WSU who had previously been a candidate for county commissioner, spoke more on Kirk’s impact on public debate. He also spoke on starting more public debates in the community. 

“We need to be Charlie Kirk. We need to open public debate,” said Senter. “I myself am already working on public discussions and debates here in our community. It’s time for us to do our part.”

Senter mentioned that he will be doing this, in part, to carry on Charlie Kirk’s legacy. 

“He’s someone who inspired me to go out on the internet and speak the truth,” Senter said. “He’s also the first individual who I looked up to [and] shared a room with. Just four months ago I stood next to him, and so [his death] hit me pretty hard.”

Kirk’s impact was both on the young and the old, as several older people from around the Palouse gave comments on Charlie Kirk.

Brandon Hassun, an attendee at the vigil, showcased a worry for the younger generations without Charlie Kirk.

“He would take the youth under his arms and speak to them in a loving and kind manner, faithfully and politically, to revive what’s broken in the United States of America. That’s what we need, we need to be revived,” said Hassun. 

When asked to elaborate on what’s broken in the United States, Hassun said that it was the lack of masculinity within men.

“It starts at a young age,” Hassun said. “[Men] have been castrated to the degree where they don’t know what true masculinity is . . . When there’s conflict or somebody’s hurting somebody else, don’t stand by with your little cell phone filming it. You confront it and intervene as a man and that’s what Charlie did.”

Chris Blue, another attendee, spoke on the celebratory comments some people are making on Charlie Kirk’s death.

“It makes me feel like how I’ve felt my whole life, that there are a lot of broken and hurt people out there,” Blue said. “They don’t have the same foundation that I do, [which] tells you to love people, reach out to people and not view your enemies as your enemies but as potential friends.”

Following the speeches given by Sani, Lau, Senter and Todd, Jaren Briscoe led the crowd in a prayer for Charlie Kirk. 

The vigil ended with a moment of silence followed by two songs, ‘A Thousand Hallelujahs’ and ‘Amazing Grace‘, where Sani encouraged the crowd to sing.