Kirk, 31, was gunned down by a sniper while speaking to an estimated crowd of 3,000 at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. The event was outdoors, as was Kirk’s custom, with both political allies and political enemies standing only about 15 feet away.
Kirk, a committed Christian and conservative, used his platform to engage students, many of whom would find those two belief systems confusing or offensive.
But he engaged his political enemies not only with passion but with compassion.
It’s the latter that should change, Father Calvin Robinson told show host Jenna Ellis.
“We have to find our inner strength. We all have to be Charlie Kirk now, and so that means speaking truth at all times. The enemy wants to warp truth. The enemy is fighting against God's good order, against God's creation. The enemy is warping truth left, right, and center, and it’s our job to push back against that,” Robinson said.
Video clips of Kirk calmly but relentlessly and politely answering far-left talking points from students, who take the mic to challenge him, have become common on social media.
“Charlie did it in a very nice way. He had very good manners. He always engaged with people that he disagreed with as equals – and they killed him for it,” Robinson said.
The next step in advancing conservative ideals is to become more assertive.
“We have to stop being so tolerant. We cannot tolerate evil. We have to destroy it,” he said.
The destruction of evil is no easy task with its abundant supply all around.
“When we're looking around our world, looking around our civilization, our society, and we're seeing grown people say to young boys and girls, you can become the other sex, you can mutilate your body … ”
Or you can end life in the womb.
“We’re hearing doctors say to mothers, you can kill your baby. It's your body, your choice. We're hearing so much evil being pushed every single day, whether it's Islam being pushed on Western civilization, on Christendom, or wherever we look, we're seeing evil being pushed. It's our job as Christians, our job as civilized members of a civilized society to push back against the darkness and shine that light wherever we can,” Robinson said.
After authorities on Wednesday arrested then released several suspects, Kirk’s killer was closer to being found Thursday morning. The killer's escape route has been traced, his firearm has been found, and authorities released a "person of interest" photo (pictured above) about 11 o'clock CST.
Time to reconsider outdoor events
Authorities say Kirk was killed with one gunshot from a rooftop on Wednesday. Whoever fired the gun then slipped away amid the chaos of screams and students fleeing the Utah Valley University campus.
Federal, state and local authorities were searching for an unidentified shooter early Thursday and were working what they called "multiple active crime scenes,” The Associated Press reported.
“Look, I recommend (for) conservative speakers … we need to stop for the time being with these outdoor events,” John Cardillo, a former New York City police officer now a GOP strategist, told Ellis.
“I hate to say things like that. I hate to restrict what we can do, where we can speak, but we also have to be pragmatic and realistic about security, and clearly, now we know from Butler, Pennsylvania, where the president was and from Orem, Utah, with Charlie Kirk, these outdoor events are too dangerous. We cannot effectively secure them,” Cardillo said.
The shooter, who Utah Republican Governor Spencer Cox pledged would be held accountable in a state with the death penalty, wore dark clothing and fired from a building roof some distance away, AP reported.
Security for Kirk was adequate, with guards able to stop a student who approached him, but the venue itself was close to indefensible, Cardillo said.
“He wasn't the governor. He wasn't the president. In the time I've spent in law enforcement analyzing it, covering it, I've never seen a campus speaker have the same sniper presence as a high-profile politician. So, Charlie's own detail did a great job. This was just a threat no one ever expected. It was unprecedented,” Cardillo said.
Videos that possibly include the shooter have emerged. A clean shot and composed, unhurried movement by an individual on a rooftop leave open the possibility of a professional hit, a hired assassin. There’s the look of experience.
“I wouldn’t rule that out,” Cardillo said. “They're walking across the rooftop. They're not in an adrenaline-fueled confusion rage like a first-time shooter might be. This is somebody moving with purpose, who's very calm, who knows what they're doing.”
The accountability Cox has pledged becomes far more difficult to achieve the longer the shooter remains free, said Cardillo, who said he was hopeful to see a break in the case on Thursday.
Words matter
The language of the Left is part of the problem, Robinson said.
“It’s harmful language that the mainstream media has been peddling … fascist this, fascist that. It has made it OK to harm people for a difference of opinion.”
Kirk’s death leaves a void and has shaken many of his followers. Robinson said it’s important to take strength from Kirk’s same source.
“One of the most common phrases in the Bible, in fact, it is in there 365 times, is ‘be not afraid.’ They can do what they like to our flesh, but we will have eternity in the presence of God himself.”
