TPUSA to hold Charlie Kirk memorial at UVU on anniversary of his murder

Turning Point USA will hold a memorial service at Utah Valley University on September 10 for the one-year anniversary of Charlie Kirk's assassination. 

The event, dubbed "Freedom Built to Last," will be at the UCCU Center, according to Deseret News. A TPUSA spokesman told the outlet, “The gathering will honor Charlie as a faith-filled husband, father, and defender of free speech."

The event will be "a deliberate act of remembrance, and a call for students and supporters to continue his life’s work," the spokesman added. The event will also include various speakers, including radio host Glenn Beck, Christian apologist Frank Turek, and TPUSA field officer Andrew Sypher. Caleb Chilcutt, who was president of the UVU TPUSA chapter when Kirk was shot, will also be speaking at the event. 

“The martyrdom of Charlie Kirk is the most significant American event in the 21st century,” Beck said. “It’s an honor to stand and mark it and shame on those universities who tried to bury it or ignore it.”

An email that was sent out by UVU following the announcement from TPUSA stated that on September 10, "While campus operations will be closed on that day to provide time and space for reflection, service, and connection on the anniversary of Charlie Kirk's assassination, the UCCU Center will remain open for a privately organized event."

"As Turning Point USA announced earlier today, the organization will host its 'Freedom Built to Last' event at the UCCU Center that evening. Thank you for the care and consideration you continue to show one another as we approach this anniversary," the email added. 

A statement that was sent out by TPUSA in an email regarding the event said that they will "celebrate the impact he made, the lives he changed, and the mission that continues because of him."

There were two previous reports that had said that UVU had been in talks with TPUSA to hold an event, but that the school had stonewalled communications with TPUSA. However, only after reports of UVU withdrawing were released did the school resume communications with TPUSA to plan out the event, according to a report from The Cougar Chronicle.

TPUSA spokesman Andrew Kolvet said in a statement after the reports were released that the student organization was in "ongoing communication with the school on a fitting arrangement that allows students and the community to remember Charlie with dignity."

Kirk was assassinated on September 10 last year while speaking to students at the university. Tyler Robinson has been charged with Kirk's murder, and Judge Tony Graf is expected to rule on September 1 if the case goes to full trial.  

There was a preliminary hearing in July where evidence from the prosecution was presented, including testimony from Robinson's roommate Lance Twiggs, who said that Robinson had confessed to the crime.