More than 7,000 people gathered at Colorado State University’s (CSU) stadium on Thursday for what should have been a speech by Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk — instead, it was a massive vigil for the conservative leader assassinated just one week earlier.
The event at CSU would have been the second stop of Kirk’s American Comeback Tour but was forced instead to be a memorial following Kirk’s death at Utah Valley University’s campus on Sept. 10 — the first leg of the tour. (RELATED: Student’s Charlie Kirk Tribute Trashed By Peer – But He’s The One Suspended)
Charlie Kirk was scheduled to speak at CSU in Fort Collins tonight, and 10,000 people turned out anyway.
This is deep blue Colorado.@TPUSA pic.twitter.com/rmaiFQ8YwP
— Robbie Rose (@HelloRobbieRose) September 19, 2025
A counter event hosted by Political Review, which describes itself as “The official Counter Organization to Turning Point USA,” was originally scheduled to take place at the same time as Kirk’s speech. Following his assassination, the group decided to move the event to start after the vigil ended, saying they did not want to counter the vigil or Turning Point.
BREAKING: Tens of thousands of students have shown up at Colorado State University for their Charlie Kirk Vigil.
Pray for the Kirk family.
RIP, Charlie.
pic.twitter.com/IgoRFKBqVf— Bo Loudon (@BoLoudon) September 19, 2025
BREAKING: Tens of thousands of students have shown up at Colorado State University for their Charlie Kirk Vigil.“What we are trying to do is continue the legacy of debate that Charlie endorsed,” Political Review’s CSU student chapter co-president Patrick McCabe told the Coloradoan. “We want to make sure people don’t shy away from politics.”
Did y’all know that Charlie was scheduled to speak at Colorado State University last night, an event stolen from him after a POS punk ☠️ him
BUT
— Todd With Trump (@THeinrich22) September 19, 2025
over 10,000 folks showed up anyway – in Deep Blue Territory – to let the world know that they still support his mission 
In 2024, former Vice President Kamala Harris won Colorado by a significant margin, earning 54.1% of the vote compared to President Donald Trump’s 43.1%.
Dozens of reports have come out in the last week revealing members of academia — including students, educators and administrators — have taken to celebrating Kirk’s assassination. Several have since been suspended, fired or expelled for comments made in public and on social media.
Some have even faced punishment not for deriding Kirk, but for honoring the slain conservative activist.
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