Moving between moments of sorrow and celebration, several hundred supporters of fallen GOP activist Charlie Kirk gathered on the University of New Hampshire campus Wednesday night for a vigil honoring his legacy.
“He embodied the kind of man that I want to be,” Pastor Silas Thompson of Dover Baptist Church told the crowd. “He embodied the kind of man that I want my sons to grow up into. He embodied the kind of man that every young man here today should desire to be.”
Attendees lit candles, sang patriotic songs, and — when an angry protester began screaming in an attempt to disrupt the vigil — burst into chants of “Charlie!” and “USA!”
While there were many UNH students in attendance, a solid majority of the participants were from off campus, and many were well beyond their college years. But they all said Charlie Kirk and his message of faith, patriotism, and dialogue touched them.
“He spread a message of hope, and he showed us that, even though we might feel like we’re alone, we’re not,” said high school student Anthony Henry of Derry. Henry was so inspired by Kirk, whom he met when he was 13, that he started his own podcast.
The speakers at the event reflected the two sides of Kirk and his message. Several — including state Sen. Dan Innis (R-Bradford) — talked about politics and engaging young voters, while others discussed Kirk’s very public religious faith.
“Let me tell you what I saw a year ago in my classes,” said Innis, who teaches at UNH. “Starting in September, as my students began to move to the right. I watched it happen. It came from Turning Point USA and the great people they have working on campus to change the narrative, to change hearts and minds.
“As we learned in high school, energy can be neither created nor destroyed,” Innis added. “They tried to take Charlie’s energy from us. They didn’t destroy his energy. What did they do? They amplified it.”
The impact of Kirk’s murder continues to resonate beyond campus rallies and remembrances from well-wishers.
ABC announced Wednesday evening that it was suspending “indefinitely” Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night talk show after the former comedian falsely claimed Kirk was assassinated by a shooter who shared conservative, MAGA views.
A protester shows up to disrupt the Charlie Kirk vigil at the University of New Hampshire on Sept. 17, 2025.
“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them, and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel said.
Several speakers at the UNH vigil criticized the media’s coverage of Kirk and conservatives in general. But most focused on the slain activist and his life.
Rep. Lisa Mazur (R-Goffstown) told of being hired by TPUSA and meeting Kirk just weeks before his assassination.
“I went out to Arizona and met Charlie two weeks ago. I told him I was from New Hampshire, and his eyes lit up. He was like a little kid. ‘I can’t wait to get to New Hampshire.’ And he was scheduled to be here in a few weeks to do a debate. It just breaks my heart,” Mazur said.
“But I know we’re all here because we’re heartbroken.”
Rep. Brian Cole (R-Manchester) was one of the Republicans who hadn’t been familiar with Kirk before his death and said he’s been impressed by his influence.
“I’m here for our young people,” said Cole, who’s running in the NH-01 GOP primary. “He had a great message, and he really knew how to connect with college crowds.”
While many GOP legislators and candidates attended, no Democrats participated in the vigil. Rep. Sam Farrington (R-Rochester), one of the event organizers, said he reached out to several prominent Democrats, but none showed up.
“Charlie Kirk spoke about politics, but he spoke about ideas that weren’t Republican ideas or Democrat ideas. They were fundamentally American ideas, ideas like hard work puts you ahead in life. It’s not the government’s job.
“Charlie Kirk was a believer that America is the greatest nation in the history of the world, and he believed that the Constitution was the greatest political document in the history of the world,” Farrington added.
“His death really rocked me,” said Melinda Hannah of Somersworth. “It rocked some of my friends.”
Asked what part of Kirk’s message touched her, Hannah said the 31-year-old speaker and organizer gave her “the ability to maybe say things a little quieter, but still say them boldly. And I think that for me now, I’ve always been a loud person, but I will be louder, probably, and more bold.”
