Erika Kirk, the 36-year-old widow of slain right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, said she forgives the man accused of killing him, as she delivered a deeply religious speech at a memorial event Sunday for her deceased husband. “My husband Charlie, he wanted to save young men just like the one who took his life,” she told the crowd of more than 60,000 attendees, including US President Donald Trump, at a packed stadium in the southwestern state of Arizona. “That man, that young man. I forgive him,” Kirk said, her voice choking. “I forgive him because it was what Christ did. And it’s what Charlie would do,” she continued. “The answer to hate is not hate.” Charlie Kirk, 31, was shot and killed on September 10 during a public debate event at a Utah university campus. The activist used his millions of social media followers, the massive audience of his podcast and appearances at universities to bolster Trump with young voters and fight for a nationalist, Christian-centric political ideology. Authorities say the suspected shooter, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, justified the attack by citing the “hatred” he accused Kirk of spreading, according to investigators. Kirk advocated for conservative Christian political values, and often made vitriolic statements targeting minorities, including transgender people, Muslims, African Americans and others.Robinson faces seven charges for the shooting, including aggravated murder, and prosecutors have said they intend to seek the death penalty in his case.

US President Donald Trump on Sunday called slain right-wing activist Charlie Kirk “a giant of his generation” at a massive memorial event marked by strong Christian rhetoric and praise for the man many speakers referred to as a “martyr.”The 79-year-old Republican said Kirk was “above all a devoted husband, father, son, Christian and patriot,” adding that he “was violently killed because he spoke for freedom and justice. For God and country. For reason and for common sense.”The service drew an extraordinary level of attention and security, with the top brass of Trump’s administration joining tens of thousands in attendance, and some US media likening it to a state funeral.Ahead of Trump’s address, the crowd heard speeches from prominent cabinet members including Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.”You thought you could kill Charlie Kirk? You have made him immortal,” top Trump advisor Stephen Miller said, vowing “to save this civilization, to save the West.”Among other speakers were right-wing media personality Tucker Carlson, Trump’s Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.The event was being hosted by Turning Point USA, the hugely influential youth political campaign group founded by Kirk that is now run by his widow, Erika Kirk, who also spoke at the memorial.”That young man, I forgive him,” Kirk said of her husband’s alleged murderer, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, a gesture that drew uproarious applause from the crowd.State authorities have charged Robinson with murder and are pursuing the death penalty in the case against him.At the event, Trump was seen sitting beside billionaire backer Elon Musk, whose acrimonious departure from the White House after his brief tenure overseeing the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) was not apparent as the two men chatted.Thousands of people had lined up hours before the event began, hoping to get into the 63,000-seat American football stadium hosting the service and honor the young Republican star — a close ally of the president whose voter outreach is credited with helping Trump get reelected last year.”I look at him as a Christ martyr, definitely,” Monica Mirelez, a 44-year-old Texan who drove 12 hours to get there, said of Kirk.Jeremy Schlotman, a 21-year-old biology student, said Kirk gave him the courage to express his beliefs on campus.”For example, I think that biological men shouldn’t be in women’s sports. But I was too afraid to talk about stuff like that out loud,” Schlotman said as Christian bands played on stage and the stadium steadily filled up.- ‘Hatred’ -Kirk, 31, was shot in the neck on September 10 while speaking at a Utah university as part of his popular public debate series. Authorities arrested a suspect after a 33-hour manhunt.The killing has inflamed often acrimonious and sometimes violent political divisions in the United States.Authorities say the suspected gunman cited the “hatred” he believed was stoked by Kirk — who was a vitriolic critic of transgender people, Muslims and others.Kirk used his millions of social media followers, the massive audience of his podcast and appearances at universities to bolster Trump with young voters and fight for a nationalist, Christian-centric political ideology.Even before the alleged killer was identified or arrested, Trump called Kirk “a martyr for truth and freedom” and blamed the rhetoric of the “radical left.”- Crackdown on liberal ‘terrorism’ -In response to the killing, the White House last week declared it would crack down on what it terms “domestic terrorism” by the political left. Trump said he would designate “Antifa” — a shorthand term for “anti-fascist” used to describe diffuse far-left groups — as “a major terrorist organization,” a move he threatened in his first term.On Sunday, Trump said his government would go after alleged “networks” responsible for left-wing violence.  Prominent late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel was yanked off the air Wednesday, hours after the government threatened to cancel broadcasting licenses because of comments he made about Kirk’s killing.The moves have sparked alarm among Trump’s critics who warn of possible steps to silence dissent of his divisive right-wing White House tenure, marked by a rolling back of social justice policies and an immigration crackdown that has seen widespread complaints of rights abuses.

Donald Trump sat side-by-side with billionaire Elon Musk, a once trusted advisor with whom the US president had a spectacular public falling out, at a memorial event for right-wing leader Charlie Kirk on Sunday.Trump chatted in a manner that appeared friendly with Musk, who once led the Republican’s so-called “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE), which took a hatchet to the US federal workforce and agencies when the Republican took office for his second term.The pair sat in the stands of a stadium in Glendale, Arizona, where tens of thousands had gathered to pay tribute to Kirk, who was shot dead on September 10 at a Utah university campus.Video of the two sharing a handshake was shared by the official White House account on social media platform X, which Musk owns.Musk donated more than $270 million to Trump’s presidential campaign, barnstorming key battleground states for the Republican. After the election, he oversaw the launch of the DOGE, a controversial initiative that eliminated thousands of government jobs deemed by the agency to be part of a pattern of waste, fraud and abuse.But Musk broke with Trump over the White House’s flagship tax and spending bill, which Musk called “utterly insane and destructive.” After the falling out, Musk went as far as to announce he was launching his own “America First” party, but little has materialized so far.Musk on his X account posted an image of him and Trump sitting together at the memorial, captioning it: “For Charlie.”