Arizona, September 22, 2025 (Epoch Times reporter in Arizona) – “I want to pay tribute to Charlie!” Matthew Smith, who flew from Nebraska to Arizona specifically to attend the memorial service for Charlie Kirk on September 21, said.
Smith expressed, “I was completely shocked when I heard about the tragedy!” He couldn’t believe it was real. He said, “I never thought this would happen. Remember I spent a whole day, stopped everything I was doing, feeling like the whole world had come to a halt.”
Kirk was a conservative activist in the United States, the founder of the conservative organization “Turning Point USA”. Smith introduced himself as a loyal follower of Kirk, who has been closely following all of Kirk’s activities on TikTok and YouTube. After Kirk was assassinated, he watched various reports and gathered information.
In a choked voice, Smith said, “Now I know, he’s gone, this is real.” He said, “I am 30 years old, close to his age. He had a family, but he was killed because of his speech.”
“We disagree! There will always be differing opinions, but such senseless acts should not happen, no one should be killed because of speech.” He continued, “Although there may be differences, we do not resort to killing because of them.”
“Charlie is obviously a spiritual leader. Just look at how many people are here, and you’ll know,” he said. “This stadium holds 65,000 people, there are many people outside on the streets, both left and right-wing supporters, people are still coming.”
Smith believes, “Charlie is a man of faith, that’s the most important thing. He fears no one except for his Lord. That’s the most important.” He said, “He didn’t wear a bulletproof vest, nothing. He went to campuses, knowing where he needed to go, knowing that every day could be his last.” He continued, “He fears no one except the Lord. That’s something we should respect.”
“At the end of the day, he was also a member of a family, he loved everyone. People say he would come out and talk to you like your best friend.”
“At the end of the day, he was our brother, a family member. I think there are many reasons why more people feel sad, we saw what happened, because we witnessed it all.”
“Unfortunately, there are many among us who cannot see, or do not want to see,” he said, which is why Smith wanted to be here. “As a member of the family, as a proponent of free speech, a man of faith, a brother in Christ, I feel I can at least pay my respects to him here.”
Smith said he also posted content about Kirk on social media, “On my personal page, basically 90% of the responses are positive.” He said, although he knows there are also people saying negative things, for him, that’s wrong. But he said, “Free speech, that’s everything, that’s why I like him.”
He wanted to tell those who still don’t understand the truth, “Charlie was a man of faith, not divine, he feared no one except for his Lord and Savior.” Of course, he said, “The downside is when someone finds certain words offensive, they may react in various ways; but when people are uncomfortable and offended, they will tell you the truth.”
“One day you’ll find out, I lost two friends on Facebook or 20 followers. Why? Who knows? Of course, this is the framework of free speech, I posted some content they didn’t like, so they felt offended and blocked me.”
Smith believes Kirk’s death will have a huge impact, “Absolutely, now his birthday will be a national day of remembrance; over 54,000 new chapters are set to be established, this is not over yet. Even President Trump has said he (Kirk) may one day become president.”
He said, “When it comes to issues like free speech, he has always been a spiritual leader.” “Of course, this comes with controversy. But you can’t just stop because there’s controversy; free speech needs to be practiced.”