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About 135 people gathered at Abbot Hall on Sunday afternoon for a vigil honoring Charlie Kirk, the conservative activist who was fatally shot 11 days earlier while speaking at an Utah college.
The 12:30 p.m. memorial service took place as thousands attended a larger tribute to Kirk in Arizona, where President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance were among those paying respects to the 31-year-old founder of Turning Point USA.
Kirk was struck by a single bullet on Sept. 10 while addressing 3,000 students at Utah Valley University during the first stop of his “American Comeback” campus tour. Prosecutors have charged Tyler Robinson, 22, with capital murder and are seeking the death penalty.
The Marblehead gathering reflected a community grappling with the broader implications of political violence in America. Attendees ranged from teenagers to elderly residents, many carrying American flags and gathering around the steps of the town hall.
Emily DeJoy, who organized the Marblehead vigil, opened the service by addressing what she called the broader implications of Kirk’s assassination.
“Political violence is never the answer,” DeJoy said in prepared remarks. “It strikes at the heart of our nation, it tears at the very fabric of our society, and it leaves wounds that no words can truly heal. But today, by gathering here, we take a stand against that darkness. We choose faith over fear, prayer over hate, and unity over division.”
Many residents expressed concern about escalating divisions in American political discourse. Eve Magen, a local high school student, delivered remarks emphasizing the importance of civil disagreement.
“Despite what you thought of him, he was murdered for having a different opinion. He didn’t deserve to die,” she said, reading from a text message she had sent to friends. “How sad is it that the death of a young man is controversial and too political.”
Magen continued with a pointed critique of her generation’s approach to political disagreement.
“Charlie Kirk did nothing But use his freedom of speech to speak his mind and respectfully debate others,” she said. “When he disagreed, he did not shoot them. He listened to them. I believe my generation has lost that skill of listening when we disagree with someone, rather than having a conversation with them, we kill them and call them a racist bigot.”
Her mother, Yael Magen, said she disagreed with many of Kirk’s positions but respected his approach to debate.
“You didn’t have to agree with everything he said. I did not agree with everything he said. In fact, a lot of things I did not agree with, but with that, I respected him a lot,” she said. “I respected him for the way that he wanted to debate, for the way that he wanted to bring forward conversations and knowledge.”
Sharon Randall, a Marblehead resident, described being contacted about Kirk’s death and her immediate reaction.
“I was in complete shock and disbelief, and it was actually Emily DeJoy who called me,” Randall said. “Or she texted me and said, ‘Have you heard the news? Charlie Kirk was shot.’ And once I saw the video, unfortunately, I knew that it would, it was fatal.”
Randall described Kirk’s impact on young conservatives as providing them “a voice” and “a way to challenge their own beliefs.”
“He backed up his point of view with scripture, with facts and with history,” Randall said. “His fountain of knowledge” was impressive. She noted Kirk’s largely self-taught education: “He just he was so well read, so well spoken.”
Randall expressed concern about young people’s ability to handle political disagreement, saying they may lack “the coping skills or coping tools to deal with their conflicted thoughts and opinions, because, again, they will listen and perhaps adopt other people’s opinions, but they’re not necessarily mature enough to have thought it through and come up with their own opinions.”
Dr. Ron Plotka, and his wife Jean, drew parallels to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
“I felt devastated. I thought someone stole something from my soul and from my heart and from the country,” he said. “He was such a proponent for the democratic way and freedom of speech, and cared about America.”
Jean Plotka said she “cried” when she first heard about the assassination, describing the killer as “a hurt soul” who “did not know what he was doing.”
When asked about the broader implications of political violence, Ron Plotka said the killing reflected national divisions.
Randolph Stark, representing St. Michael’s Church, read from Psalm 46, noting its particular significance to Kirk’s final moments.
“It turns out the first verse from Psalm 46 was one of the last things that Charlie corrected into his wife, Erica, before he was shot,” Stark said. “So this psalm takes on, I think, a little bit more significance.”
Stark read the full psalm, including the verses: “God is our refuge and our strength, an ever present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea.”
Stark reflected on the psalm’s meaning in the context of Kirk’s death: “These words speak to me now as I grieve the loss of a great soul in Charlie Kirk and the daily growing darkness that seeks to consume our civility and even our humanity.”
He noted the psalm’s traditional context as a celebration of victory rather than mourning.
Kirk founded Turning Point USA in 2012 at age 18 and built it into a significant conservative organization focused on high school and college students. He was a frequent presence at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort after the 2024 election and had a prominent seat at Trump’s January inauguration.
Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, was unanimously elected Thursday to succeed him as CEO and chairperson of the organization’s board of directors.
The Marblehead vigil concluded with calls for residents to reach across political divides, echoing what organizers said was Kirk’s own message.
Yael Magen urged attendees to “reach out to a person you l disagree with politically and find a common thing that you do agree upon, because that is really what Charlie was all about.“
