Top US officials joined thousands of mourners in Arizona on Sunday for a memorial honoring the late right-wing activist Charlie Kirk.
President Donald Trump was set to headline the event, where Vice President JD Vance and multiple Cabinet members also spoke, requiring an immense level of security.
The memorial — part religious ceremony, part political rally — celebrated Kirk as a modern-day Christian martyr, “reflecting how conservative Christianity has fused with Republican politics in the Trump era,” a New York Times religion reporter wrote.
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Republicans hope to expand Kirk’s movement in the wake of his assassination: Trump and his allies have advocated for a government crackdown on speech and the left, but some conservatives worry such an aggressive response could backfire.
