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\n An Arizona sports stadium is getting ready to host a massive memorial for Charlie Kirk<\/a> as investigators pour through online messages and engraved shell casings in their search for motive behind the shooting death of one of the country\u2019s most prominent conservative activists.\n <\/p>\n \n The memorial is set for September 21 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, which seats 63,400 people \u2013 a testament to the influence of the right-wing podcaster, whose work his wife has vowed to continue.\n <\/p>\n \n Standing by the vacant chair where her husband used to record \u201cThe Charlie Kirk Show,\u201d Erika Kirk pledged<\/a> Friday to keep her husband\u2019s legacy \u2013 including his campus tours and radio show \u2013 alive even after his death.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cIf you thought that my husband\u2019s mission was powerful before, you have no idea,\u201d Erika Kirk said in her first public address <\/a>following Charlie Kirk\u2019s<\/a> death on Wednesday. \u201cYou have no idea what you just have unleashed across this entire country.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n The widow\u2019s vow comes as the suspect in Kirk\u2019s killing, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, is set to appear in court Tuesday<\/a> to face formal charges in the fatal shooting at a Utah Valley University campus event<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n \n Robinson, a third-year student in an electrical apprenticeship program who grew up in the small suburban community of Washington, Utah, was arrested following a 33-hour manhunt<\/a> that captured national attention and whipped up a frenzy of misinformation<\/a> online.\n <\/p>\n \n As details emerge about the suspect\u2019s background, mourners across the country are streaming to vigils<\/a> to pay tribute to Kirk, a 31-year-old Trump ally and co-founder of youth organization Turning Point USA<\/a>. Kirk had garnered millions of fans through his political debates and radio talk show.\n <\/p>\n \n It\u2019s unclear whether President Donald Trump will attend the memorial celebrating Kirk\u2019s \u201cremarkable life and enduring legacy\u201d at the home stadium of the NFL\u2019s Arizona Cardinals. The president said on Thursday that he has \u201can obligation\u201d to attend<\/a> Kirk\u2019s funeral.\n <\/p>\n \n Meanwhile, Robinson is being held without bail<\/a> at Utah County Jail on several initial charges, including aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm and obstruction of justice, according to officials. Utah Attorney General Derek Brown would not say Friday if authorities would pursue the death penalty<\/a>, but said, \u201ceverything is on the table.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Here\u2019s what we know about the investigation into the killing and how Kirk is being mourned.\n <\/p>\n \n Authorities are working to understand what led Robinson to the rooftop<\/a> where he allegedly gunned down Kirk this week.\n <\/p>\n \n While police are still investigating the killing, authorities have pointed to what they described as anti-fascist messages<\/a> engraved on bullet casings in a rifle found near the deadly shooting as potential evidence of a political motive.\n <\/p>\n \n One bullet was inscribed with \u201cHey fascist! Catch!\u201d \u2013 a message that Cox said Friday \u201cspeaks for itself.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Utah Gov. Spencer Cox on Friday said Robinson was radicalized \u201cin a fairly short amount of time.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n A family member of Robinson\u2019s told investigators that the suspected shooter \u201chad become more political in recent years,\u201d and had criticized Kirk at a recent family dinner, Cox said.\n <\/p>\n \n The messages on the bullet casings also included a mix of memes and allusions to video games. They featured a series of arrows representing the controls used to carry out an attack in the video game Helldivers 2 and lyrics of a popular Italian song linked to anti-fascists. Other engravings hinted more at connections to online trolling, including one that said, \u201cIf you read this, you are gay LMAO.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Robinson was ultimately arrested after his father recognized him<\/a> in images released to the public and persuaded his son to confide in a youth pastor, a law enforcement source told CNN. A family friend then contacted the Washington County Sheriff\u2019s Office, officials said.\n <\/p>\n \n Messages Robinson is believed to have sent on messaging platform Discord were also among the clues that helped investigators zero in on him as a suspect, officials said.\n <\/p>\n \n The messages stated a need to retrieve a rifle from a pick-up point, leaving the rifle in a bush, watching the area where a rifle was left and having wrapped the rifle in a towel, according to the affidavit. Investigators have said they discovered a bolt-action rifle wrapped in a towel near the scene of the shooting.\n <\/p>\n \n The Discord messages, which Robinson\u2019s roommate showed investigators, also refer to engraving bullets and mention a scope and rifle being unique, officials said.\n <\/p>\n \n And in a Discord group chat following the shooting, Robinson joked that his \u201cdoppelganger\u201d had carried out the crime, the New York Times<\/a> reported.\n <\/p>\n \n After the FBI released surveillance images<\/a> of a man in a stairwell at the Utah Valley University campus, an acquaintance in a group chat tagged Robinson\u2019s username and asked, \u201cwya,\u201d meaning where you at, the Times reported.\n <\/p>\n \n Robinson replied within a minute, writing his \u201cdoppelganger\u201d was trying to \u201cget me in trouble,\u201d the Times report said, noting the exchange took place around 1 p.m. local time Thursday, hours before Robinson\u2019s arrest.\n <\/p>\n \n CNN has not independently confirmed messages in the Discord chat.\n <\/p>\n \n Following his arrest, Robinson initially spoke with some law enforcement but quickly went silent Friday morning after hiring a lawyer, sources familiar with the matter previously told CNN.\n <\/p>\n Kirk\u2019s fall tour and podcast will continue<\/p>\n \n In an emotional tribute<\/a> to her husband, Erika Kirk shared a series of photos and videos on social media of her holding and kissing her husband\u2019s hands in his open casket. In one photo, she is seen sitting in a chair and leaning over her husband\u2019s casket.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cYou have no idea the fire that you have ignited within this wife,\u201d she said in her address Friday. \u201cThe cries of this widow will echo around the world like a battle cry.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Charlie Kirk\u2019s scheduled tour of university campuses, \u201cThe American Comeback Tour,\u201d will continue as planned, Erika Kirk said<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cThere will be even more tours in the years to come,\u201d she said, noting Americafest, Turning Point USA\u2019s annual conference, will still be held in Phoenix in December.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cIt will be greater than ever,\u201d she said. \u201cThe radio and podcast show that he was so proud of will go on.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Erika Kirk said she has had to explain her husband\u2019s absence to her two young children.\n <\/p>\n \n On Thursday night, their 3-year-old daughter asked: \u201cWhere\u2019s Daddy?\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cBaby, Daddy loves you so much,\u201d she responded. \u201cDon\u2019t you worry. He\u2019s on a work trip with Jesus, so he can afford your blueberry budget.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Friends, colleagues and fans also memorialized Kirk, saying he leaves behind a legacy of faith and love.\n <\/p>\n \n Andrew Kolvet, the executive producer of \u201cThe Charlie Kirk Show,\u201d said his friend and colleague died doing what he loved.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cCharlie was never afraid of intellectual combat. He was willing to go into any arena, debate with anybody and discuss anything \u2013 and he loved it,\u201d Kolvet told CNN\u2019s Michael Smerconish on Saturday. \u201cIt energized him, he knew that those interactions were what people were hungry for.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Kolvet said Kirk was \u201criveting\u201d to watch and described the conservative political activist as spending \u201call of his waking moments learning and studying and trying to hone his skills.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n A memorial edition of Kirk\u2019s radio show and podcast was hosted on Friday by Kolvet and others. Kirk\u2019s promotion of challenging other people\u2019s ideas through discussion and debate was at the heart of the podcast episode.\n <\/p>\n \n Kirk\u2019s chair remained at the table, poignantly empty.\n <\/p>\n \n But seeing Kirk\u2019s personal items, like his ties and toys left by his children, drove home the loss for Jack Posobiec<\/a>, a conservative commentator who worked closely with Kirk.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cIt was looking at that when it really hit me that he\u2019s not coming back for those,\u201d he said.\n <\/p>\n \n In the three days since his death, Kirk\u2019s accounts across the internet have gained millions of followers, according to data compiled by CNN<\/a>. Videos of Kirk\u2019s political arguments, promoting President Trump and conservative priorities, have also seen a surge in viewership, with many clips being traded back and forth by fans.\n <\/p>\n \n The words \u201cI AM CHARLIE KIRK\u201d have become a rallying cry among Kirk fans on social media platforms since his death.\n <\/p>\n \n Kirk\u2019s supporters paid tribute to the activist at vigils in states including New York, Wisconsin, Virginia, North Dakota and Utah. Vigils and prayer circles honoring Kirk are also set to take place this weekend in several other states, including Florida and Colorado.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cWe are Charlie,\u201d said one mourner\u2019s sign at a vigil Friday in Provo, Utah. \u201cAnd we won\u2019t be quiet.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cGood men must die,\u201d another sign read. \u201cBut death can\u2019t kill their names.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Many of those at the vigils were young college students, a testament to his massive fanbase on college campuses. Turning Point USA, where Kirk was the executive director, has about 800 college chapters, according to the organization\u2019s website.\n <\/p>\n \n One mourner, 22-year-old student Alexis Breuer, said Kirk \u201ccame around at a point in time when a lot of us were afraid to voice our beliefs, were afraid of the backlash from our peers.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cHe was \u2026 someone else that was in our age range that understood the generation that we were in,\u201d she told Reuters at the Utah vigil. \u201cHe was an example to us that we don\u2019t have to be afraid. We can stand up for our beliefs eloquently and peacefully, without fear.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Another vigil attendee, 24-year-old student Dallin Webecke, said the killing was \u201cvery scary\u201d but said supporters are clinging to one another for comfort.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cWe are not alone and we are able to still keep fighting together,\u201d he told Reuters.\n <\/p>\n \n At Utah Valley University, where 3,000 people<\/a> had gathered to watch Kirk<\/a> speak on Wednesday, many are still grappling with the shooting. Video of the incident shows students screaming and fleeing, and newly released 911 calls reveal spectators\u2019 panic seeing Kirk be struck by the bullet.\n <\/p>\n \n Former Utah State Rep. Phil Lyman said Kirk continues to be a major global influence even after his death and that witnessing the shooting would \u201cchange the trajectory of\u201d the students who were gathered at the campus for Kirk\u2019s event.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cIf Charlie\u2019s wishes are fulfilled, then it will change it in a very positive way,\u201d he told CNN\u2019s Fredricka Whitfield.\n <\/p>\n \n Utah Valley University announced that classes would resume<\/a> on Wednesday \u2013 exactly one week after the attack. Mental health counseling will also be available for students, the university said.\n <\/p>\n ![\"Charlie](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/still-21944816-1760975-508-still.jpg\")
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