Free speech, political violence and the need for unity were on the minds of La Plata County and Southwest Colorado residents Saturday evening in Durango’s Rotary Park, where more than 300 people gathered to mourn the assassination of Christian and right-wing icon Charlie Kirk.
Pastors, former politicians and people young and old spoke about their faith, Kirk’s impact on young minds and not allowing his murder to silence conservative voices.
“Charlie was a wonderful man of God, and I personally believe he was more martyred than assassinated for his faith and his beliefs in that God,” said Justin Gingerich, lead pastor at Recalibrate Church in Durango.
He said Kirk stood for the principles the United States was built on – principles that are being eroded – and it’s “time to stand again.”
La Plata County Sheriff Sean Smith and Durango Police Chief Brice Current spoke about political violence and the need to treat fellow human beings as neighbors, not political enemies.
Current said political division is fueled by national media, powerful politicians and their allies in left- and right-wing politics. Their attempts to sow division cannot be allowed to succeed, he said.
“Division is the cheapest tool for control, and corruption is bipartisan. They want to isolate us. We need to be mentors, we need to be coaches,” he said. “Hate is generated by the people who profit from division, and we must quit playing the outrage game. We need a community. We need a community of ‘us’ and not ‘us versus them.’”
Kirk, 31, was mid-debate on Sept. 10 at Utah Valley University, the first stop on Turning Point USA’s The American Comeback Tour, when a shooter fired from a rooftop and struck Kirk in the neck.
He was taken to Timpanogos Regional Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Smith said Kirk’s killing was the latest in a sequence of politically motivated violence.
He noted the Minnesota shootings in June targeting Democratic lawmakers and their spouses that resulted in the deaths of Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mike, and the injuries of Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette.
He reminded the crowd of the two assassination attempts on President Donald Trump and the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York City for which suspect Luigi Mangione awaits trial.
“Even coming here tonight, I was concerned that there might be protesters, violence,” Durango resident Amorine Strength said. “It’s almost like you can’t gather anymore with like-minded people without being targeted, and I say that for both sides.”
Mancos resident Rich Hunt said violence against conservatives needs to end and the hypocrisy of Kirk’s assassination is “maddening.”
“They preach that they want to be heard, they want people to accept them for who they are, and then they off the guy because he was speaking,” he said.
He clarified that some groups tried to label Kirk’s suspected killer, Tyler Robinson, a 22-year-old Utah man, a conservative.
“I don’t think that was the case,” he said. “I think he was just a mentally ill kid who followed the wrong path and was listening to the wrong clubs in his ear.”
Kirk’s assassination simultaneously evoked bipartisan condemnation of violence from Republicans and Democrats; a flurry of blame and finger-pointing from social media users, media commentators and the White House; and reflection on Kirk’s controversial presence in American political discourse.
As reported by The Journal, Montezuma-Cortez High School teacher Lindi New drew criticism from Montezuma-Cortez RE-1 School District the week of Kirk’s death for a Facebook post calling Kirk’s death karmic in light of him “being cold, racist, transphobic and hateful, inciting violence and generally being a garbage person.”
The school district called New’s statement “vile.”
Controversial statements attributed to Kirk were written on the Animas River Trail sidewalk through Rotary Park on Saturday. Passersby would occasionally stop to inspect them, some grimacing, others snapping photos.
Some speakers at the vigil said quotes attributed to Kirk and repeated by his critics are being taken out of context.
After Kirk’s death, Trump administration officials vowed to go after anyone who commits political violence and to crack down on “hate speech.”
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi faced criticism from both sides of the political aisle after she promised to “target you, go after you if you are targeting anyone with hate speech.”
She later clarified she was talking about hate speech that “crosses the line into political violence.”
The Trump administration and The Walt Disney Co. faced backlash when Disney announced the indefinite cancellation of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on ABC after Kimmel’s commentary, which was aimed more at President Donald Trump’s reactions to Kirk’s murder than Kirk himself.
Kimmel also disavowed political violence.
Republican senators, including Sen. Rand Paul, issued statements that Brendan Carr, Federal Communications Commission chair, has no business censoring Kimmel after he threatened to revoke broadcasting licenses from ABC over Kimmel’s statements.
Kimmel’s cancellation was short-lived. Disney announced Monday the late night comedian would return on Tuesday, although not to ABC affiliates owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group or Nexstar Media Group.
Durango resident Renate Eytchison said online commentary and gory details about his murder were inappropriate, but Kirk himself would have turned the other cheek, not sought retaliation.
“We’re not angry, you know. We just want to be like, ‘Hey, we love you. Jesus loves you too,’” she said.
Agnus Eytchison, Renate’s mother, said people have the right to free speech and Kirk would not have approved of threats and attempts to censor those critical of him, but also that people shouldn’t be making inappropriate comments.
She was more interested in the community that turned out on Saturday, describing the vigil “like a big family reunion” with friends, family, churchgoers and co-workers.
“Charlie Kirk represented God and country, and there we go,” she said.
Kirk represented God and country, she said, and as far as the state of the country goes, Americans need to move forward in a unifying way.
She noted something her neighbor said to the crowd earlier in the evening about him being unsure if he was still welcome in Durango because of how divisive politics has become, and him feeling reassured that he is welcome after feeling the strength of community support on Saturday.
She said community, friendliness and being welcoming is what faith is all about.
cburney@durangoherald.com
