“The Charlie Kirk Show” went live on Friday with Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk’s chair left empty following his assassination.
Andrew Kolvet, the founder of the ATK Company, Human Events senior editor Jack Posobiec and other friends of Kirk’s hosted his show with his chair left empty to “honor” and “commemorate” him. Kolvet, while appearing to hold back tears, told the viewers that Kirk would have wanted them to go on with the program.
“We so very badly wanted to do this show for all of you today and I wanted the friends of this show and of Charlie, the people who knew him best, the Thought Crime crew, to be here in the studio to commemorate our friend, our dear brother,” Kolvet said. “For this sacred, solemn moment that none of us have dreamed we would have to do and here we are, because Charlie would want us to be here. He would be upset if we weren’t here. And we of course have left his chair open and empty because nobody will ever fill it, nobody could ever hope to.”
Kolvet added that by doing the show, they can be more like Kirk and help the audience get to know him as they did.
“By all of us together, we want to honor him and we want to be more like him and we want to be inspired by him and we want you in the audience to know him like we knew him and to be up close and personal to the front row seat of history, to an icon and a legend that we got every single day,” Kolvet continued.
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Kirk passed away from a bullet wound to the neck on Wednesday, which devastated conservatives across the U.S. Authorities arrested his assailant, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, after his own father turned him in in the early hours of Friday morning.
Robinson confessed to his father that he killed Kirk, who then urged his son to turn himself in. After Robinson agreed, his father reported his son to a youth pastor, who contacted the U.S. Marshals, according to CBS News. He is currently in custody at a county jail and is awaiting federal charges.
Republican Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said during a press conference that Robinson’s father noticed his son become “more political” and “full of hate” in recent years. Robinson had also spoken to his family the night before about Kirk’s upcoming visit to Utah Valley University and about how much he disliked him.
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The governor further confirmed that the casings discovered by police included engraved anti-fascist messaging such as, “Hey fascist! CATCH!” and “O Bella ciao, Bella ciao, Bella ciao, Ciao, ciao!”
President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that he will award Kirk with the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his championing of liberty and his “inspiration to millions and millions of people.” Vice President J.D. Vance helped carry Kirk’s casket onto Air Force Two.
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