On Thursday, UC Berkeley students turned out both to celebrate and to mourn the one-year anniversary of conservative political activist and Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk’s death.
The day’s activities, which began mournfully but ended with a separate celebration of Kirk’s death by students who opposed his politics, also drew attention from the federal government.
Saturday evening, Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau replied to a post on X calling for the deportation of some campus students who attended a “Kirkversary” event with: “Thanks. On it!”
The State Department controls visas and does not carry out deportations. Further, it is unclear if any of the students identified are international students.
“People in the United States on visas are guests in this country, and we will not tolerate people here on visas who break our laws, support terrorism, or unlawfully incite violence, which ultimately led to the horrific assassination of an American,” said Department of State Spokesperson Tommy Pigott. “That is not only common sense, it’s an essential component of our national security.”
Starting at noon, members of TPUSA at UC Berkeley gave speeches and tabled on Sproul Plaza in commemoration of Kirk’s legacy. The chapter placed a large portrait of Kirk front and center on its table, surrounded by posters with various themes of freedom and American patriotism.
“A year ago from today, we saw the assassination of Charlie Kirk, a heinous action when a bullet flew through the air and assassinated a man who lived with courage and with his faith,” said John Paul Leon, president of TPUSA at UC Berkeley, at the event. “You don’t have to agree with everything he said, but when you support the literal political violence and action against this man, that is an act of moral depravity.”
For most of the event’s duration, the speeches, highlighting the importance of free speech and the danger of political censorship, were attended by one person, and were otherwise marked by boos from passersby on Sproul.
TPUSA at UC Berkeley declined to comment to The Daily Californian, citing the need for approval from TPUSA upper management.
A few hours later, at 6 p.m., a bustling crowd of students gathered on the glade for the “Kirkversary.” The event, advertised by the Instagram account @berkeleyrankings, brought students together to sing, cheer and boo at Kirk’s memory.
The crowd kicked off the Kirkversary by singing a rendition of the viral AI-generated anthem, “We Are Charlie Kirk.” Students, some of whom came dressed in Kirk-related costumes, also chanted slogans such as “Jerk for Kirk,” while one student brought a “Kirk-ified” drawing of the “Mona Lisa,” in which the painting’s original face had been replaced with Kirk’s own.
“I think the whole event is just super funny because it’s celebrating the anniversary of a bad person’s death,” said junior Sihan Cheng, who attended the Kirkversary. “It’s just so funny because Charlie Kirk has kind of transcended this idea of him being a real person and it’s become more of a meme on the internet.”
The “memeification” of Kirk has become a viral cultural phenomenon since his death, with Kirk appearing in various, often AI-generated, memes online. Cheng said the memeification of Kirk serves as a way to prevent him from becoming a “martyr” for the right-wing causes he supported.
Many students, such as Cheng, senior Nadia Pai and freshman Emily Salib, though outspoken about their disagreement with Kirk’s politics, also described great concern with the idea that someone could be killed for exercising their right to free speech.
Salib said political violence “shouldn’t be normalized” and that it pushes the country onto a dangerous path in its current polarized state.
“I do think it’s interesting how much he’s mocked by the same people who, for anyone else, would say this is terrible,” Pai said at the event. “I think (the memeification of Kirk) is slop, and I think it is all about the subjugation of the American people and pulling them into it, just scrolling all day and not taking these things seriously. They did the same thing with (Jeffrey) Epstein, so I think that’s kind of what’s going on here.”
Though the Kirkversary was marked by satirical humor, junior Joanna Chu said she felt that it represented something much deeper.
“People are seeking connection,” Chu said. “They feel cynical. That’s why they’re taking such a morbid event to celebrate, and they want to connect with other people who they may feel similarly disillusioned with.”
Update 09/14/2026: This article was updated to include comments from the U.S. State Department.