US President Donald Trump announced that assassinated conservative activist Charlie Kirk would receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously.
Speaking at a September 11 memorial event at the Pentagon today (Thursday), Trump declared: “I’m pleased to announce that I will soon be awarding Charlie Kirk posthumously the Presidential Medal of Freedom.”
“Charlie was a giant of his generation, a champion of liberty and an inspiration to millions and millions of people," the President said.
Our prayers are with his wonderful wife Erika and his beautiful children,” he added. “The date of the ceremony will be announced, and I can only guarantee you one thing, that we will have a very big crowd. Very, very big.”
Kirk was assassinated while speaking at an outdoor event at Utah Valley University yesterday (Wednesday). He was shot in the neck and was declared dead at Timpanogos Regional Hospital.
Authorities continue to search for the killer, whose rifle has been found. Investigators reported that the shooter arrived at the Utah Valley University campus at 11:52 a.m. on Wednesday, carrying out the assassination roughly 30 minutes later. Kirk was struck with a single bullet at around 12:20 p.m.
The assassin is described as a college-aged individual and chose a site from which he could make a quick escape into a nearby neighborhood from which to shoot Kirk.