(NewsNation) — Lawmakers, Trump administration officials and other dignitaries on Sunday honored the memory of conservative pundit Charlie Kirk during a prayer vigil that reached attendance capacity at the Kennedy Center.
Among the influential figures making remarks were House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. More than 80 members of Congress were also in attendance.
“Some of the most powerful people on planet Earth are in this room tonight, all because Charlie had an indelible impact on their lives, the same way that he had on your lives,” Arizona state Sen. Jake Hoffman, a longtime friend of Kirk’s, told audience members at the beginning of the event.
Speaker Mike Johnson: ‘Live as Charlie did’
Kirk founded Turning Point USA to bring more young, conservative evangelical Christians into politics as effective activists, and he was a confidant of President Donald Trump, leading to a flood of tributes that included the vigil at the Kennedy Center and similar events across the country.
Kirk, a 31-year-old father of two, was fatally shot Wednesday at a campus event in Utah as he began a nationwide tour that was to feature him debating students with different political ideologies.
Johnson, in his remarks, said Kirk’s impact will be “immeasurable,” though his life was short. He urged people to follow Kirk’s example, not only in his following his principles but also his “approach” of reaching out to the other side.
“Charlie Kirk recruited and trained and educated a generation of happy warriors, and we’d do well to be reminded that the best way to honor his memory and honor his unmatched legacy is to live as Charlie did,” Johnson said.
Kennedy said he first met Kirk when he appeared on Kirk’s podcast. Although the two approached each other with trepidation, they ended up being “spiritual brothers” and friends, he said. Kennedy also credited Kirk with getting him closer to Trump.
During a conversation about death, Kennedy said, Kirk asked him if he was afraid to die.
“I said to him, ‘There’s a lot worse things than dying,’” he recalled. “I said, ‘Sometimes the only consolation is that we can die with our boots on.’”
Tributes emphasize Kirk’s religious faith
The vigil at the Kennedy Center was among numerous tributes to Kirk that also included moments of silence at professional sporting events and memorial events at other U.S. cities.
Peter Christos, who identified himself as a former Turning Point USA worker, was among hundreds of mourners who gathered in the Chicago suburbs where Kirk was from. Christos pushed back at some critics who have suggested Kirk was intolerant.
“I would just say that Charlie’s not a hateful person, he’s not a bigoted person. He treated everybody with respect and dignity, and anybody that says that Charlie Kirk was racist, homophobic, whatever, has no idea what they’re talking about. And they are part of the reason why he was assassinated,” he told NewsNation’s Mills Hayes.
The line of mourners in Washington wrapped around the Kennedy Center. Some people wore suits or summer dresses, while others were dressed in jeans and wore “Make America Great Again” caps.
Seventeen-year-old Domiano Maceri and his mother drove about 50 miles (80 kilometers) from Purceville, Virginia, to attend the Kennedy Center event. He said Kirk helped him find a way to better talk with friends who hold different opinions.
“I definitely feel like I was inspired in different ways,” Maceri said as he waited to get inside. “It definitely gave me confidence to speak to my friends about my beliefs more.”
A memorial service for Kirk is set for Sept. 21 in Glendale, Ariz., and President Trump has said he would attend.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.