Charlie Kirk will receive the presidential medal of La Libertad after her death
President Donald Trump will posthumously grant Charlie Kirk with the presidential medal of La Libertad, the highest civil prize in the United States.
“Charlie was a giant of his generation, a champion of freedom and an inspiration for millions and millions of people,” Trump said during a commemoration of September 11 on Thursday in the Pentagon. “Our prayers are with his wonderful wife, Erika, and his beautiful children.”
Kirk’s family will receive the award at a later date, Trump said.
On Wednesday, Kirk, a 31 -year -old activist and right -wing podcaster, was spent a deadly shot while talking at an event at Utah Valley University. The shooter is still released, but on Thursday morning, the FBI said the authorities believed they had recovered the weapon used in the shooting, as well as a “footwear impression, a palm footprint and forearm footprints for the analysis.”
Anadolu through Getty Images
Trump confirmed Kirk’s death only a few hours after the shooting.
“The great and even legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead,” Trump wrote on Wednesday about Truth Social. “No one understood or had the heart of young people in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by all, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my sympathies come out with their beautiful wife Erika and his family. Charlie, we love you!”
Trump ordered that all US flags fly halfway to half the staff until Sunday night. Several democratic politicians, including former President Joe Biden and representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (DN.Y.), also condemned the shooting.
The previous winners of the Presidential Medal of La Libertad have included the judge of the Supreme Court of Barrera Thurgood Marshall, the Mexican -American labor activist César Chávez, the poet and civil rights activist Mayau Angelou and the LGBTQ Harvey Milk icon.
Kirk, meanwhile, founded the conservative non -profit organization Turning Point USA, which promotes right -wing beliefs to university students. He was known for celebrating events at the University Campus where he would discuss issues such as mass shootings, race and gender, expressing racist, sexist, trans -trans -trans -and nationalist ideas.
Josh Edelson through Getty Images
Kirk recently went viral for opinions about his podcast that pop star Taylor Swift should “under his fiance, NFL player Travis Kelce. Before his event on Wednesday, a petition with almost 1,000 signatures asked the University of Utah Valley not to allow Kirk to speak on the campus.
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“We advocate the speakers who inspire inclusion and unity, instead of division,” says the request. “Universities are intended to be places of learning, growth and unity. Give someone a platform whose views are in direct opposition to these UVU’s commitment to be” a place for you. “
Since his death, many of Kirk’s inflammatory comments have resurfaced, including his comment that defending the second amendment at the expense of some US lives is a “prudent agreement.” He opposed abortion rights, including exceptions for violation.