Lawmakers, Trump administration officials, and other dignitaries gathered at the Kennedy Center on Sunday for a prayer vigil honoring conservative pundit Charlie Kirk. The event reached full capacity.
Attendees included House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Additional vigils were held nationwide on Sunday.
Kirk was fatally shot Wednesday at a campus event in Utah.
The press release announcing the event described it as a “unifying event focused on prayer, mourning, and celebrating the life, legacy, and memory of Charlie Kirk, a national treasure whose life was cut far too short.”
“People are very saddened. They’re very angry. They’re many people are afraid,” Johnson told “Fox News Sunday.”
“It cast a shadow across the country and certainly on Capitol Hill. But as Erika [Kirk] said so well, so clearly, our friend Charlie would not want us to be consumed by despair. He would want us to carry his message forward, and that’s exactly what is going to happen,” he added.
A memorial service for Kirk is set for Sept. 21 in Glendale, Ariz., and President Trump has said he would attend.
Early in his second term, Trump reformed the Kennedy Center board, installing himself as board chair. He criticized its former programming as “out of control,” claiming it promoted “rampant political propaganda.”
This is a developing news story. Check back for updates.
