Hundreds gather at SUU candlelight vigil to honor Charlie Kirk3 min read

By Tracie Sullivan, For Iron County Today

They came with flags and handmade signs. They came with longboards and backpacks, fresh from class. They came with children in strollers and grandparents leaning on canes.

By the time the first prayer was spoken, more than 650 people had filled the courtyard at Southern Utah University Thursday night, most of them holding a candle against the September night. They had come to mourn Charlie Kirk, the conservative influencer who was assassinated two days earlier while speaking at Utah Valley University.

Some signs read “We ♥ Charlie.” Others carried scripture: “Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul.” A boy in a ball cap hoisted an American flag above the crowd while students linked arms and sang America the Beautiful. The glow stretched across the campus, flickering on faces wet with tears.

Mari Eddy, chair of the Iron County Republican Party, organized the vigil with SUU’s chapter of Turning Point USA, the student organization Kirk founded in 2012.

“I immediately ordered 600 candles and thought that would be way overkill,” Eddy said. “But at 7 o’clock people just poured in, and we used all of them — not everyone even got one. I was shocked, because I knew people were scared. And yet, they came.”

Eddy described the night as “spiritual, moving, uplifting.” The event drew people from across the political spectrum. She said she invited local Democrat and Cedar City Councilman Scott Phillips, who attended.

“This isn’t about Republican or Democrat,” she said. “This is an American issue. We as Americans should be heartbroken. We should all be able to speak without getting shot or being in fear. No American should ever be in fear of speaking.”

Even students who hadn’t planned on being there stumbled upon the gathering and stayed, Eddy said. “We had a cute boy ride up on a longboard and say, ‘I’m not political, but I can’t stand by. What happened yesterday was wrong,’” she said. “That is the movement Charlie Kirk created.”

While there was a strong police presence at the event — with SUU campus police, Cedar City Police and the Iron County Sheriff’s Office on site — Sheriff Ken Carpenter said the vigil went forward without incident.

“Social media shows the worst of people,” Carpenter said. “What I saw last night was the best of Utah — a community that stands together, that reflects who we really are.”

The vigil closed with Kirk’s own words: “Good men must die, but death can’t kill their names.” Even after the music faded, people lingered. They stood in circles, shared memories, and embraced one another. The candles burned low, but the message carried on.

“I left at 9 and there were students still standing around talking to each other,” Carpenter said.

In a statement, the Iron County Republican Party described the night as “both solemn and hopeful: a community united in grief, yet determined to honor Charlie’s legacy by standing firm in truth, liberty, and love of country.”

Eddy believes Kirk’s voice will only grow louder in his absence. “I do believe that what happened will be turned for good,” she said. “Charlie did not deserve to die. But I think this will amplify his message. My husband said it reminded him of how people must have felt when Martin Luther King was killed. That’s how big this is.”

On campus, students described the vigil as a moment of healing. The SUU student newspaper reported that many were moved to tears, especially during the hymns and candle lighting.

While the candles burned, no one knew what the next day would bring and that within hours police would arrest the man responsible for Kirk’s death. What they did know was the heaviness of loss and the need to stand together.

For those who gathered, the vigil was more than a remembrance. It was a statement — and a hope for a better tomorrow.

“Anyone who was there walked away changed and with so much hope for the future,” Eddy said.