LANSING — The Michigan Republican Party is organizing a Capitol rally on Monday, Sept. 15, to honor slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
State Sen. Jim Runestad, R-White Lake, the chair of the state GOP, said in a Sept. 11 news release that the 4 p.m. rally on the lawn around the east steps of the Capitol in Lansing is intended to “celebrate (Kirk’s) phenomenal achievements, to grieve together, and to commit ourselves to carrying forward the mission he championed so fiercely.”
Kirk, 31, was killed by a rifle shot during an outdoor Sept. 10 event at Utah Valley University.
Runestad said he was calling on “patriots from every corner of our state to stand shoulder to shoulder at this gathering.”
Kirk, a close ally of Republican President Donald Trump, was a co-founder of the group Turning Point USA, which staged events like the one in Utah to mobilize college-age Republicans. Kirk’s survivors include his wife and two children.
Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer was among Michigan elected officials of all political stripes to condemn political violence following Kirk’s killing.
On Sept. 11, students from Michigan State University’s Turning Point USA chapter held a vigil to remember Kirk. The vigil was held outside Wells Hall, where Kirk spoke to students in April.
The vigil was attended by MSU Trustee Mike Barlow as well as Rep. Gina Johnson, R-Lake Odessa, as well as members of MSU’s Turning Point USA chapter.
Alex Bitzan, president of the Turning Point USA chapter at MSU, addressed the crowd at the vigil.
“It’s hard to come to really come to terms with the fact that the man we saw, 50 feet that way, four months ago, spending longer than he was scheduled to spend, debating students here on campus, with a smile, with jokes, will never do that again,” Bitzan said.
The Lansing State Journal contributed and Detroit Free Press reporter John Wisely contributed. Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan Republicans planning Capitol rally to honor Charlie Kirk
Reporting by Paul Egan, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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