{"id":16418,"date":"2025-09-23T23:27:11","date_gmt":"2025-09-23T23:27:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/candlelight-vigil-for-charlie-kirk-held-in-durango-calls-for-unity-rejects-political-violence\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T03:57:11","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T03:57:11","slug":"candlelight-vigil-for-charlie-kirk-held-in-durango-calls-for-unity-rejects-political-violence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/candlelight-vigil-for-charlie-kirk-held-in-durango-calls-for-unity-rejects-political-violence\/","title":{"rendered":"Candlelight vigil for Charlie Kirk held in Durango calls for unity, rejects political violence"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Speakers
Speakers talked about faith, community and unification at a candlelight vigil Saturday in Durango\u2019s Rotary Park to mourn the death of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk. More than 300 people attended. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Free speech, political violence and the need for unity were on the minds of La Plata County and Southwest Colorado residents Saturday evening in Durango\u2019s Rotary Park, where more than 300 people gathered to mourn the assassination of Christian and right-wing icon Charlie Kirk.<\/p>\n

Pastors, former politicians and people young and old spoke about their faith, Kirk\u2019s impact on young minds and not allowing his murder to silence conservative voices.<\/p>\n

\u201cCharlie was a wonderful man of God, and I personally believe he was more martyred than assassinated for his faith and his beliefs in that God,\u201d said Justin Gingerich, lead pastor at Recalibrate Church in Durango.<\/p>\n

He said Kirk stood for the principles the United States was built on \u2013 principles that are being eroded \u2013 and it\u2019s \u201ctime to stand again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"La
La Plata County Sheriff Sean Smith spoke against political violence at a candlelight vigil for Charlie Kirk at Rotary Park on Saturday attended by more than 300 people. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

La Plata County Sheriff Sean Smith and Durango Police Chief Brice Current spoke about political violence and the need to treat fellow human beings as neighbors, not political enemies.<\/p>\n

Current said political division is fueled by national media, powerful politicians and their allies in left- and right-wing politics. Their attempts to sow division cannot be allowed to succeed, he said.<\/p>\n

\"Turning
Turning Point USA Founder Charlie Kirk\u00a0speaks during a campaign rally on Oct. 24, 2024, in Las Vegas. (John Locher\/Associated Press file)<\/span>dur-i-syn<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cDivision is the cheapest tool for control, and corruption is bipartisan. They want to isolate us. We need to be mentors, we need to be coaches,\u201d he said. \u201cHate is generated by the people who profit from division, and we must quit playing the outrage game. We need a community. We need a community of \u2018us\u2019 and not \u2018us versus them.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirk, 31, was mid-debate on Sept. 10 at Utah Valley University, the first stop on Turning Point USA\u2019s The American Comeback Tour, when a shooter fired from a rooftop and struck Kirk in the neck.<\/p>\n

He was taken to Timpanogos Regional Hospital where he was pronounced dead.<\/p>\n

Smith said Kirk\u2019s killing was the latest in a sequence of politically motivated violence.<\/p>\n

\"Speakers
Speakers at a candlelight vigil for conservative commentator Charlie Kirk advocated for community over division Saturday in Rotary Park in Durango. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

He noted the Minnesota shootings in June targeting Democratic lawmakers and their spouses that resulted in the deaths of Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mike, and the injuries of Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette.<\/p>\n

He reminded the crowd of the two assassination attempts on President Donald Trump and the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York City for which suspect Luigi Mangione awaits trial.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven coming here tonight, I was concerned that there might be protesters, violence,\u201d Durango resident Amorine Strength said. \u201cIt\u2019s almost like you can\u2019t gather anymore with like-minded people without being targeted, and I say that for both sides.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mancos resident Rich Hunt said violence against conservatives needs to end and the hypocrisy of Kirk\u2019s assassination is \u201cmaddening.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Recalibrate
Recalibrate Church Pastor Justin Gingerich delivers an opening speech at a candlelight vigil for Charlie Kirk at Rotary Park on Saturday in Durango. He said Kirk was a man of God and has become a martyr for Christians after his assassination on Sept. 10. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cThey preach that they want to be heard, they want people to accept them for who they are, and then they off the guy because he was speaking,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He clarified that some groups tried to label Kirk\u2019s suspected killer, Tyler Robinson, a 22-year-old Utah man, a conservative.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think that was the case,\u201d he said. \u201cI think he was just a mentally ill kid who followed the wrong path and was listening to the wrong clubs in his ear.\u201d<\/p>\n

Free speech amid political turmoil<\/div>\n

Kirk\u2019s assassination simultaneously evoked bipartisan condemnation of violence from Republicans and Democrats; a flurry of blame and finger-pointing from social media users, media commentators and the White House; and reflection on Kirk\u2019s controversial presence in American political discourse.<\/p>\n

As reported by The Journal<\/em><\/a>, Montezuma-Cortez High School teacher Lindi New drew criticism from Montezuma-Cortez RE-1 School District the week of Kirk\u2019s death for a Facebook post calling Kirk\u2019s death karmic in light of him \u201cbeing cold, racist, transphobic and hateful, inciting violence and generally being a garbage person.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Candles
Candles and phones glowed in Rotary Park on Saturday during a candlelight vigil for Charlie Kirk, which had over 300 attendees and numerous speakers. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The school district called New\u2019s statement \u201cvile.\u201d<\/p>\n

Controversial statements attributed to Kirk were written on the Animas River Trail sidewalk through Rotary Park on Saturday. Passersby would occasionally stop to inspect them, some grimacing, others snapping photos.<\/p>\n

Some speakers at the vigil said quotes attributed to Kirk and repeated by his critics are being taken out of context.<\/p>\n

After Kirk\u2019s death, Trump administration officials vowed to go after anyone who commits political violence and to crack down on \u201chate speech.\u201d<\/p>\n

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi faced criticism from both sides of the political aisle after she promised to \u201ctarget you, go after you if you are targeting anyone with hate speech.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Durango
Durango Police Chief Brice Current said at a candlelight vigil for Charlie Kirk in Rotary Park on Saturday that holders of power are intentionally trying to divide Americans, and community is needed to resist such division. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

She later clarified she was talking about hate speech that \u201ccrosses the line into political violence.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Trump administration and The Walt Disney Co. faced backlash when Disney announced the indefinite cancellation of \u201cJimmy Kimmel Live!\u201d on ABC after Kimmel\u2019s commentary, which was aimed more at President Donald Trump\u2019s reactions<\/a> to Kirk\u2019s murder than Kirk himself.<\/p>\n

Kimmel also disavowed political violence.<\/p>\n

Republican senators, including Sen. Rand Paul, issued statements that Brendan Carr, Federal Communications Commission chair, has no business censoring Kimmel<\/a> after he threatened to revoke broadcasting licenses from ABC over Kimmel\u2019s statements.<\/p>\n

Kimmel\u2019s cancellation was short-lived. Disney announced Monday the late night comedian would return on Tuesday, although not to ABC affiliates owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group or Nexstar Media Group.<\/p>\n

\"Former
Former Colorado House District 59 Rep. J. Paul Brown speaks at a candlelight vigil for Charlie Kirk at Rotary Park on Saturday. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Durango resident Renate Eytchison said online commentary and gory details about his murder were inappropriate, but Kirk himself would have turned the other cheek, not sought retaliation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not angry, you know. We just want to be like, \u2018Hey, we love you. Jesus loves you too,\u2019\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Agnus Eytchison, Renate\u2019s mother, said people have the right to free speech and Kirk would not have approved of threats and attempts to censor those critical of him, but also that people shouldn\u2019t be making inappropriate comments.<\/p>\n

She was more interested in the community that turned out on Saturday, describing the vigil \u201clike a big family reunion\u201d with friends, family, churchgoers and co-workers.<\/p>\n

\u201cCharlie Kirk represented God and country, and there we go,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Kirk represented God and country, she said, and as far as the state of the country goes, Americans need to move forward in a unifying way.<\/p>\n

She noted something her neighbor said to the crowd earlier in the evening about him being unsure if he was still welcome in Durango because of how divisive politics has become, and him feeling reassured that he is welcome after feeling the strength of community support on Saturday.<\/p>\n

She said community, friendliness and being welcoming is what faith is all about.<\/p>\n

cburney@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\"Former
Former Colorado House District 59 Rep. J. Paul Brown speaks at a candlelight vigil for Charlie Kirk at Rotary Park on Saturday. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Candles
Candles and phones glow in Rotary Park during the Charlie Kirk vigil on Saturday. More than 300 people attended the event. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"More
More than 300 people attended a Charlie Kirk vigil on Saturday in Rotary Park. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"La
La Plata County Sheriff Sean Smith speaks at the Charlie Kirk vigil on Saturday at Rotary Park. More than 300 people attended the event. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Candles
Candles and phones glow in Rotary Park during the Charlie Kirk vigil on Saturday. More than 300 people attended the event. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Conservative commentator held as martyr, right-leaning voices determined to not be silenced<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16419,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[1357,255,950,150,28,265],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-16418","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-contests","tag-death-and-dying","tag-durango","tag-firearms","tag-headlines","tag-politics"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16418","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16418"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16418\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20190,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16418\/revisions\/20190"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16419"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16418"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16418"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16418"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=16418"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}