Students at Utah Valley University, where Charlie Kirk was assassinated during a speaking event, are planning to protest a one-year memorial event for the Turning Point USA founder.
Turning Point USA is returning to the Utah campus where Kirk was assassinated to host a memorial event on Thursday, September 10, which marks one year since the free speech martyr’s murder.
The memorial event is facing opposition from some students, who are angry over Utah Valley University’s decision to cancel classes for the day, essentially shutting down the school on the one-year anniversary of Kirk’s assassination, according to a report by the Salt Lake Tribune.
Outraged students argue that the UVU’s administration is planning to “hand over our campus” to Turning Point USA — which some may counter is the least the university can do, given that the school was effectively handed over to an assassin on that same day last year.
But the university says it is shutting down its campus in Orem to “provide time and space time for reflection” for students, staff, and faculty.
“As an institution, it’s important that we stay apolitical, that we don’t jump in the fray,” Utah Valley University President Jon Anderson said. “Any entity could’ve used that space, and they chose to have that day. And we allowed them to do that.”
Anderson also stressed that the memorial is not sponsored by UVU — but noted that the school will be providing security based on the event’s size and potential for controversy.
Meanwhile, the university’s Students for a Democratic Society club is reportedly planning to protest the memorial on Thursday, 15 minutes before it is scheduled to begin.
The leftist student group also wrote an open letter to the UVU president, declaring he “has aligned himself with the interests of Charlie Kirk’s” organization by allowing the conservative group on campus for the anniversary of his murder.
They also bizarrely accused Turning Point USA of being “openly racist and antagonistic,” and claimed the organization is using “a narrative of victimhood” by hosting a memorial for its assassinated founder.
Ironically, the left-wing students went on to push their own victim narrative by strangely claiming in their letter that — somehow — they themselves “will be further negatively affected by allowing TPUSA to occupy our campus on that day.”
Turning Point USA’s “Freedom Built to Last Memorial” will be held at the UCCU Center on UVU’s campus at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, and will be livestreamed on the organization’s social media pages.
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Pre-registration for the memorial event can be found here.
“The gathering will honor Charlie as a faith-filled husband, father, and defender of free speech with a memorial that serves as a deliberate act of remembrance and a call for students and supporters to continue his life’s work,” Turning Point USA said is a statement.
The organization added that “Americans from every corner of the country are welcome to share the moment on social media with a simple message: Charlie’s seat continues to be filled by a new generation of faith-filled believers.”
On September 10, 2025, Charlie Kirk was fatally shot while speaking with a student at his “Prove Me Wrong” campus event at Utah Valley University.
Last week, Judge Tony Graf ruled that Tyler Robinson — the 23-year-old man accused of killing the Turning Point USA founder — can stand trial for aggravated murder and six other charges.
Robinson, who could face the death penalty if convicted, will appear for a court hearing again on October 23, at which point a trial date is expected to be set.
Alana Mastrangelo-Wrask is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Facebook and X at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.