‘We reject violence’: UNLV students honor Charlie Kirk at vigil

Hundreds of attendees honored political activist Charlie Kirk at UNLV on Monday evening, less than a week after he was fatally shot at a Utah university during a debate with students less than 400 miles north of Las Vegas.

The “Healing Vigil” was organized by UNLV’s chapter of Turning Point USA, a grassroots nonprofit founded by Kirk when he was a teenager.

People who formed long lines were screened by metal detectors Monday before entering a large Student Union ballroom, which was filled to capacity.

Alex Silva, president of UNLV’s Turning Point chapter, said the day Kirk died was “one of the darkest and most horrific moments in recent history.”

Speaking from a podium flanked by a portrait of Kirk, 31, holding up a fist, Silva said Kirk was a “true American patriot.” He described Kirk as a mentor who brought “truth, freedom and open dialogue back to American campuses.”

Silva recalled the UNLV chapter hosting Kirk in March and November 2024.

Turning Point Action organized a Trump rally in the run-up to the election.

Mostly young adults comprised the all-ages crowd. Some brought flowers. Others wore a variety of merchandise in support of President Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement.

Trump credited Kirk, his close adviser, with the inroads he made among younger voters in the 2024 election.

An organizer noted there were cards attendees could fill out, which he said were going to be sent to Kirk’s family.

Corey Gerwaski, a UNLV student body senator and Turning Point chapter board member, told attendees that it was OK to express their feelings.

He noted that they could go Monday night to a quiet room with counseling available on campus.

“What does it mean to keep Charlie’s mission alive?” Gerwaski asked.

Speaking with courage and listening with humility without dehumanizing others, he answered.

“We reject violence in word or deed,” he said. “We refuse to let it slide into cynicism and we will not let bitterness do our hearts what a weapon did to a body.”

He added: “We will chose care, we will chose courage and I think we will chose each other.”

Authorities on Friday arrested Tyler Robinson, a 22-year-old Utah resident suspected of shooting Kirk.

While a motive hasn’t emerged, officials have said Robinson carried a hatred for Kirk and ascribed to a “leftist ideology” that had grown in recent years. Robinson’s family and friends said he spent large amounts of time scrolling the “dark corners of the internet,” Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said Sunday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com.