People from various walks of life gathered at the intersection of McBean Parkway and Valencia Boulevard to celebrate the life of conservative political activist Charlie Kirk on Sunday afternoon.
Charlie Kirk was a 31-year-old conservative political activist and was on his “American Comeback” tour at Utah Valley University for his organization, Turning Point USA, when he was assassinated by a gunshot to the neck.
Attendees came with flags, signs and camaraderie to show support for Kirk on Sunday.
“We are here celebrating the life of Charlie Kirk and what he stood for, which is our First Amendment, which I believe all of us as American citizens need to be in unity with,” said Kendra Tally, a resident of Santa Clarita.
When asked what Tally resonated with when it came to Kirk and who he was, she said it was his patience.
“His patience. I mean, he had an astronomical amount of patience. I mean, that’s something that’s really hard,” Tally said. “I had a conversation with somebody here, is that it’s very difficult as humans, to find common ground to somebody, to find the level of patience, to find a level of understanding, and to still outpour love towards that person, rather than just straight up telling them, there’s something wrong with them, because that’s not what people need. We need a safe space.”
One woman, who was from the San Fernando Valley, came out because she could not celebrate an assassination.
“I’m here because this country needs to come together. We cannot celebrate an assassination. I am not a fan of certain politicians. I would never celebrate them being assassinated. This is not a left or right issue. This is a basic decency issue,” said Cristina Molina. “So, I’m here to support this man and his family, his memory, simply because his life was taken because of having a difference of opinion.”
Molina recalled her memory of the night of the assassination, saying her daughter, 29 years old, came to lay next to her and began sobbing.
“I was sobbing. There is an energy about what happened that is uniting strangers and people who never even met the guy feel something. Something has been stirred inside of us. I didn’t know him. I didn’t, I didn’t even follow him on social media. But, man, this has stirred something, and to come together as a community in a peaceful protest is very meaningful,” Molina said.
During the demonstration, many cars were honking, putting their thumbs up and celebrating with the attendees on the sidewalk.
Caitlyn Rodriguez had her own chapter of Turning Point USA at Valencia High School before she graduated in 2022.
Rodriguez said that before all of this happened, she had lost her faith after his grandfather’s passing.
But she continued saying that after Wednesday, she bought a Bible on Thursday, received it Friday and has been reading it since the second she got it, calling it a “spiritual awakening.”
She recalled Kirk directly impacting her life, when he sent her a public relations package.
“He made me believe that you can’t be silenced for believing in what you believe in and making sure that what you say, like, you, you have to stick up for your rights and you have to stick up for what you believe in, no matter what people believe. Nobody’s going to believe in what you believe 100%. But you can always change people who are on the flip,” Rodriguez said.
