BENNINGTON — A vigil for Charlie Kirk was held at the Bennington Four Corners in the late afternoon and evening of Saturday, September 27, with approximately 100 people in attendance.
Kirk – conservative activist and author, entrepreneur and radio talk show personality, and founder Turning Point USA – was shot and killed on Sept. 10 while speaking at one of his "American Comeback Tour" events at Utah Valley University. Kirk was a staunch supporter of the Trump administration and Christian nationalist movement.
Critics of Kirk's platform have taken issue with statements denigrating Black people, immigrants, women, Muslims and LGBTQ+ people.
“Any reflection on the legacy of Kirk cannot gloss over the pain and suffering that Kirk inflicted on innumerable people through his harsh, divisive and combative rhetoric,” wrote John Grosso, digital editor for The National Catholic Reporter, in the wake of Kirk's assassination.
There is, however, widespread agreement that Kirk did not deserve to die for his ideas — a sentiment shared by many in Bennington on Saturday.
Hannah Jones, out with her mother-in-law Lori Jones, said attending was a step "out of her comfort zone," but that it felt important to do so.
"This is what I believe in. This is what I support," Jones said. "I love my country, and I feel like I want to show my support without feeling like I have to fear for what I feel. And, I think a lot of people feel that he just died for an unjust reason."
"I didn't agree with everything he said," she clarified, "But, I firmly believed that he had the right to speak how he felt – and, even if people disagreed, it didn't have to come to violence."
For Kayla Best, attending the vigil at the Four Corners was about showing support.
"I tend to lean conservative," said Best, adding that she saw the event on Facebook.
Best said that she attended the event herself to join others, to gather in Kirk's honor, to "come to the Lord in prayer." Best added that she felt it was important to "just remember how Charlie brought a lot of us together in the faith, and was very bold about sharing his faith and encouraging us to do the same. I think a lot of us – especially young people – really took heart to that, and were really moved by what Charlie had to say about using our voices and speaking up, and being bold."
"Something different is happening now, and we all can sense it," continued Best. "Maybe we all don't come to the same agreement, but we all know that we can't go back to the way things were."
Linda Sweet, a Bennington "lifer," said that she felt confused, troubled, and baffled by the amount of "hate" that she felt had been directed toward Kirk, "I just can't imagine that anyone could have had that kind of hate, to do what he did – the assassin."
"I'm very glad that they're doing this," agreed Sweet's friend Annette Denio. "We need the positive; we need a little love – and not the other stuff that's here every Saturday at noon. Enough of this hate. Whether you're democrat or republican, whatever – it's your choice – but, stop the hate."
"I'm Christian, and I've listened to Charlie Kirk – not a lot, but I've still listened," said Denio. "He liked the free platform of speech, which was what this country was standing on. You were free to speak your mind without retribution, and look what happened to him. We've got to keep that alive – it's American. Stop the hate – if you're this or that, or whatever. You all have a voice, and you don't deserve to be killed for it."
On this, Denio said, she feels that there are divisions. There are some who have told her that the assassination was "karma." For her, the issue is clear – Kirk had a right to freedom of speech and a right to safely express it.
"He had a wife and kids. I mean, really," asked Denio. "Have some compassion for a mother with kids that does not have a husband, a father.
Albert Brown of Bennington said that he stands "for liberty, freedom, and God – we need to save our country and we can't have this stuff happening anymore. It's getting bad – I mean, assassinations? The violence? I didn't know Charlie Kirk personally, I never got to meet him in person. The day he was assassinated, I was at home watching TV – and it shocked me. This violence, this rhetoric – it's got to stop. We're Americans. We've got to stop the hate."
"I think there's a lot of commonality between both sides," Brown said of the democrats and republicans in the country. "But, the problem is that they've got these few issues – and I hate to say it this way, but they've got what is called the Trump Derangement Syndrome – and they just don't care anymore. It used to be, 'I like this and you like that – and we can still get along.' Now, it's just – no matter what – they don't like us. And, I don't know what it is we got to do to save it."
"We're not Nazis. We're not fascists. We love everybody," Brown concluded. "I don't care if somebody's gay. I don't care if somebody's lesbian. But, don't tell my kids that they have to learn about sexuality in third grade."
Jack "Ripper" Hurley was out filming the event in an effort to draw comparisons with the "No Kings" event that he filmed at Willow Park.
At Willow Park, Hurley said that he had interviewed about six people and that it was "a 50/50 split between a reasonable interview, having a nice back and forth discussion, asking questions, and sharing ideas and what not." The other 50% were, "as the saying goes, 'creating good trouble.'"
Hurley said that while he felt comparing a protest to a vigil was not like comparing "apples to apples," it was still comparing "fruit to fruit."
"Understandably, this is meant to be more emotionally empathetic, versus while that was to be more a protest against Trump and his presidency," Hurley said.
"I've heard people call [Trump] a dictator; I've heard people call him a tyrant," Hurley concluded. "If it's as extreme as the opposite side has been getting over the years, you would think that there would be more of a rallying cry to enact some kind of revenge or something – but, you don't really see that."
Standing just off the curb at the corner of Main and South streets, David Sutton led the crowd in "God Bless America," resulting in an eruption of applause and cheers.
"Silence in the face of injustice is un-American," said Sutton, before Pastor Rick Setzer took his spot to address the crowd with a reading of Psalm 91 and a rendition of "Amazing Grace."
Setzer preaches at Jacob's Well, as well as in Pownal Center, the North Bennington Baptist Church, and in White Creek. He said that also is involved in the Veterans Home.
Setzer called out for those present to come together, to look around, and that coming together was "bigger than you think."
"Come together," called out Setzer to the crowd, "We need to come together in the Body of Christ. Get involved in your church; get involved in your government. Get involved. Get on the Select Board. Get on the School Board. Run for something, you younger people. That's how we make a difference. We've got to put God back in our government, back in our schools. It's got to go back to how things used to be."
Setzer noted that, "That whole thing about separation of state and religion, to me, is being mishandled – it's being misinterpreted. God was always in our government. In our documents, he's there, and we need to get him back in that rightful place. We need to get back to swearing on the Bible in the court system, and that kind of stuff. They've taken that all away."
Louise Pineiro of Bennington said that she had attended the vigil because she felt that a lot of people were affected by the death of Charlie Kirk, "and I just want to support." As a chant broke out with "USA, USA, USA," she said that she was happy with the turnout, but supported the separation of church and state because "not everybody has the same beliefs."
Feeling like everyone should be able to speak their mind in civil discourse, even if they disagreed, was what Pineiro appreciated about Charlie Kirk
"I believe everyone should have their own voice," Pineiro said, "and not everybody is going to agree."