A bronze statue of murdered Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk was unveiled in New York's Times Square on Thursday. The ceremony was timed to coincide with the first anniversary of his murder.
Kirk was killed on September 10 while speaking at Utah Valley University. The activist and blogger was shot in the neck as he debated with an audience member about the number of transgender people who have ever committed a mass shooting in the United States.
Student Tyler Robinson was arrested as the primary suspect approximately 33 hours after the crime. He has been charged with a total of seven counts, including murder, causing grievous bodily harm, obstruction of justice, and tampering with witnesses. As aggravating circumstances, the prosecutor's office points to the alleged political motive of the crime, as well as the fact that it was committed in the presence of children. The prosecutor's office intends to seek the death penalty for the defendant.
The Times Square statue was unveiled on Thursday at 2:23 pm Eastern Time (ET) – which is the same time as 12:23 pm local time in Utah when the shot was fired a year earlier. Kirk is shown sitting with a microphone in his hand and wearing a T-shirt with the word “Freedom” written on it.
The nearly 6ft 5in (about 1.96m) life-size sculpture is not mounted on a pedestal – as part of a temporary promotion, it was placed in the back of a truck to be visible above the gathered crowd. Where it will be moved next is not specified.
The cost of the sculpture is estimated at approximately $100 thousand. However, taking into account the time spent, the real amount may be even higher. Its author, Sergio Furnari, financed the work from his own funds and, according to him, even sold his apartment to pay for the creation of the monument.
To offset the costs, the sculptor launched an online fundraiser. At the time of writing, Furnari had raised $12,950 of his $150,000 goal.
In an interview with The Guardian in July, he admitted that he had hoped to sell the statue for “millions of dollars” but had not yet received such offers. He stated that, on the contrary, he faced threats against him. The Italian native claims that he was not a fan of Kirk and disagreed with him, for example, on the issue of Palestine, but decided to create a statue in honor of freedom of speech in the United States and in support of his family.
Another monument to Kirk was erected by Turning Point USA near its headquarters in Phoenix (Arizona). The bronze statue, which is about 8 feet (2.4 m) tall, remains outside for now, but plans to move it inside the building by the end of the week for safety reasons, Fox 10 reported.
US President Donald Trump paid tribute to Kirk during the first-ever Republican Party convention ahead of the midterm elections. According to Trump, many were shocked not only by the murder itself, but also by the reaction of some people to Kirk's death, who, as the president put it, “tried to justify what happened and even rejoiced at it.”
Before leaving Dallas (Texas), Trump, in a conversation with reporters, called Kirk’s murder “a sad cloud over the country” and noted that he was very popular among young people, for whom “no one has done more than him.”
“The young people loved him and continue to love him,” Trump said.
Vice President J.D. Vance addressed Kirk's children, now four and two, at the convention, saying their father “will go down in history as a great man.” Vance also noted Kirk's ability to unite people within the conservative movement and urged party members not to let internal divisions split the Republican Party.
Utah Governor Spencer Cox declared September 10th Charlie Kirk Day. In the message, he stressed that the activist's “life and work” will serve as a reminder of the importance of “open and meaningful public debate” and called on Americans to strengthen “community ties and preserve the spirit of freedom of expression.”
