A year after Charlie Kirk was assassinated at Utah Valley University, several people who were standing only feet away when he was killed returned to the Orem campus Thursday night for an event Turning Point USA said was meant to “reclaim” the site in his memory.
“We’re doing an event in Utah right now at UVU, a deliberate act reclaiming that space in his honor and for his legacy,” TPUSA spokesman and “The Charlie Kirk Show” Executive Producer Andrew Kolvet said Thursday during an appearance on Fox News with host Jesse Watters.
Andrew Sypher, Turning Point USA’s chief field officer, told attendees at Utah Valley University that he had been positioned roughly 10 feet to Kirk’s left when the fatal shot was fired on Sept. 10, 2025.
A view of the site where Charlie Kirk was shot one year earlier. (Alec Thornock for News Outlet)
“Steps from these doors is the ground where evil unfolded,” Sypher said, addressing the crowd. “We did not come back to rehearse the crime scene.”
Rather, Sypher said, the group returned because “this is where they tried to end him” and because “this is where we refuse to let the last word be a gunshot.”
For members of UVU’s Turning Point USA chapter, the anniversary carried a deeply personal weight, bringing them back to the same campus where some had witnessed Kirk’s assassination firsthand.
“A year ago, our lives changed forever,” chapter President Sage Lloyd told those gathered.
Lloyd said students experienced “fear, grief, confusion, and heartbreak” and had every reason to walk away.
People gather around a large wooden cross on a grass lawn in a campus courtyard at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, Thursday. Turning Point USA hosted its “Freedom Built to Last” memorial service to mark the first anniversary of founder Charlie Kirk’s death at the courtyard site. (Getty Images)
“We could have packed our bags. We could have stepped away,” she said.
Despite the tragedy, the TPUSA chapter stayed.
“The same students who witnessed a political assassination are willing to stand up, speak out and keep moving forward,” Lloyd said.
“We can let it define us through fear, or we can let it strengthen us through courage,” she added. “The Turning Point chapter at UVU has made our decision, and we chose courage.”
Sypher also revealed what he said was a text Kirk sent him on the morning he was assassinated.
Floral tributes and a prayer vigil sign are placed next to large concrete planters at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, Thursday, at the exact campus location where Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk was fatally shot one year ago. (Getty Images)
“Andrew, I’m not here to pick a fight. I am here to show them kindness,” Kirk wrote, according to Sypher.
“That was the assignment this time,” Sypher said. “To talk with students who hate you. To share the truth, and to not become cruel doing it.”
Soon afterward, Kirk was fatally shot.
“Charlie’s assassination did not put our faith to death,” Sypher told the crowd. “It woke it up.”
The service was marked with worship performances and video tributes to the fallen conservative leader, as well as an unveiling of a new statue to stay on campus at UVU.
Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, separately marked the anniversary with a black-and-white photograph from their wedding showing the couple holding hands.
Across the image were two words: “…until Heaven.”
The university closed its campus for the one-year anniversary. UVU itself did not organize the memorial, but university President Dr. Jon Anderson previously told News Outlet the school supported TPUSA using campus space for its event.
Lloyd closed her remarks with a message about what returning to UVU meant for Kirk’s student movement.
“Our chapter is still here, we are still speaking, and we are nowhere near done,” she said. “And that is how his voice lives on.”
