A soft breeze rustled the flowers placed on the State House plaza as Gabriella Killinger crouched down, gently placing a Starbucks cup next to the other offerings.
It was a Mint Majesty green tea with two honeys, she said — Charlie Kirk’s favorite.
Killinger, a young woman from Concord, first came across his videos on social media a year ago and felt drawn in. Like many people, she also saw the videos surface online Wednesday afternoon when Kirk was shot while speaking at a college campus in Utah.
“He was just so easy to listen to and just so humble,” Killinger said. “He never snapped back at people. He’d ask them probing questions. Charlie was also interested in hearing what they had to say, too, and I was like, ‘Wow, this guy is one of the real ones.'”
She and hundreds of other people gathered in front of the State House on Friday evening as the sun set. Christian music played over a speaker as misty-eyed members of the crowd laid down flowers next to a picture of Kirk.
The 31-year-old conservative firebrand, credited with igniting the right-wing youth movement in America, founded Turning Point USA, an advocacy group focusing on recruiting young people to the Republican cause, specifically at college campuses.
Kirk’s assassination is the latest in a sequence of political violence that has swept the U.S. in recent months, spanning various ideologies. Two Minnesota lawmakers were shot earlier this summer. In April, the Pennsylvania governor’s residence was targeted by arson, and President Donald Trump was the target of two assassination attempts last year.
Kirk had amassed a large online following and advocated for the Second Amendment, condemned abortion, criticized LGBTQ advocacy and promoted other conservative views.
What stuck with the crowd attending Friday’s vigil, though, was what they revered as Kirk’s ability to answer any question and debate any topic.
Brandon Beck, from Salisbury, held a large green candle and had tears in his eyes as he recalled being drawn in by Kirk’s intelligent speeches and his way of interacting with people of all generations. Beck described him as “a good soul, a good heart.”
“He had no fear. He had no fear whatsoever,” Beck said. “He put his faith in God, and it made my faith even stronger. He was a real one.”
Lilly Grosky, a teenager from Atkinson, said Kirk reminded her of her dad, Jason: a good man.
“I’m very shocked, and it’s very sad that this could happen in our country,” Lilly said. “It’s a letdown to everybody.”
Killinger and Taylor Georgopolous, who came to the vigil with her, are concerned about what Kirk’s assassination means for the world their kids are growing up in — and what they’ll “endure for speaking out.”
“Every single thing that we teach our kids to do was Charlie Kirk,” Georgopolous said. “We teach them to be honest, we teach them to stand up for what they believe in … We teach them to have a voice, and that was everything that he was.”
The two young moms are grappling with the variety of reactions they’ve seen to Kirk’s death, and the treatment they’ve received. Georgopolous said someone wished childhood cancer on her kids after she reposted Kirk’s messages online.
“It’s brought us together, but we’ve also been exposed to a lot of hate just for mourning, and it’s tragic to have to witness that,” Georgopolous said.
A more impromptu gathering occupied the State House plaza on Thursday evening, drawing about 50 people. State Sen. Victoria Sullivan of Manchester and Rep. Kim Rice of Hudson, both Republicans, said they wanted to create a space for people to share their feelings without drawing protests or unwanted attention.
“We all really want what’s best for the state of New Hampshire,” Rice said. “We just have different ways of going about it, but none of us hate this state and wish bad things on anyone. And that’s what I think there has to be more of, because the rhetoric is just out of control. And this is what happens.”
As Rice called for unity, others called for war.
Jacob Coughlan, a young man from Derry, said he sees Kirk as a symbol representing his conservative beliefs. He condemned social media posts from people on the political left that have celebrated Kirk’s death and encouraged Thursday’s crowd to fight because, as Coughlan put it, their God, their families and their nation are under attack.
“Charlie Kirk is us. That wasn’t just Charlie Kirk in that seat. That was every single one of us,” Coughlan said. “They’re taking joy in this because they’re not just after Charlie Kirk. They’re after each and every one of us, and it is important that we internalize that, we realize that and we prepare ourselves to fight.”
Earlier in the day, New Hampshire Democratic Party Chairman Ray Buckley, a vocal critic of Republican policies and officials, said political violence has no place in society.
“The horrific assassination that took place this week should force all of us to remember the values of American democracy, which are rooted in civil discourse,” he said in a statement. “Elected officials and citizens from all political beliefs must come together to condemn these acts of violence and commit to toning down the charged rhetoric that has defined the last decade of politics in America.”
Rachel Wachman, Sruthi Gopalakrishnan and Geoff Forester contributed reporting for this story.