Gallatin community, Riley Gaines gather to honor Charlie Kirk: ‘Revival is new life. This is the turning point’

Conservative media personality Riley Gaines and Sumner County Mayor John Isbell were among the speakers at a Gallatin community vigil held in honor of Charlie Kirk on the evening of Sept. 14.

Kirk, a conservative political commentator and founder of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot at a Utah Valley University event Sept. 10. He was 31.

Hundreds gathered outside the Sumner County Administrative Building for the event, which began about 5:30 p.m. Some wore white T-shirts with the word “Freedom” printed across, the same shirt Kirk was wearing when he was killed. Others carried handmade signs and American flags.

“I know, I am certain that he is looking down, sitting right beside his creator right now and smiling at the sight of what is happening here in Sumner County, and across the nation, really across the globe,” Gaines said about Kirk.

Kirk, who was from Arlington Heights, Illinois, was speaking during his “prove me wrong” table at his American Comeback Tour stop at Utah Valley when he was fatally shot. He was taken by his security team to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead, the FBI said during a news conference Sept. 10. Democrats and Republicans in Tennessee have condemned the shooting in the past several days.

Sumner County Mayor John Isbell said at the Sept. 14 vigil that Kirk’s death should inspire others to come closer to the Christian faith and called him a martyr.

“Tonight I want everyone to reflect on the following: What if the blood of a martyr, yes, a modern one, is not the end of a story but the beginning of a revival?” he said, refering to what Christians believe is a period of fervent activity in the church.

“What if this tragedy awakens a generation? What if it calls us, once and for all, to stop chasing comfort and start living courageously? What if Charlie’s death becomes a spark that lights a holy fire across this nation?”

Multiple speakers, including Pastor Todd Coconato of Leaves of Healing Church, called for the crowd to commit to a renewed dedication to their Christian faith and values.

“Revival is new life. This is the turning point,” he said, referring to the policital organization founded by Kirk.

What did Riley Gaines say at Gallatin Charlie Kirk vigil?

Gaines, a media personality and conservative political commentator, said she wasn’t prepared to speak at the vigil but felt called to share some words after seeing familiar faces in the audience.

The former collegiate swimmer is originally from Gallatin and graduated from University of Kentucky. She built her political platform after openly criticizing the National Colegiate Athletic Association for allowing University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas to compete in the women’s division. Thomas is transgender and tied with Gaines for fifth place in the 200-yard freestyle final at the 2022 NCAA swimming championships.

Gaines became friends with Kirk and joined him in May for his San Fransisco State University American Comeback tour stop.

“I’ll be honest, I would have been there,” she said at the vigil. “I would have been sitting in that chair right beside Charlie if I wasn’t 39 weeks pregnant. Scary, scary thought.”

Gaines said Kirk had done more for Gen Z than any other person, that he “made MAGA cool” and was the reason Donald Trump was elected president.

“His impact cannot be understated,” she said.

Gaines also echoed the words of Kirk’s wife Erika Kirk, who published a nearly 20-minute long video after the shooting. Gaines said she was thrilled to hear Erika Kirk say that Charlie Kirk’s political movement would not die with him. Gaines, like Erika Kirk, used plural language to refer to “people” responsible for Kirk’s death.

“They killed a man, a father of two, a husband, a Christian because they disagreed with him politically,” Gaines said. “That could have been any of us.”

“Erika, in her remarks, she put it so perfectly,” Gaines continued. “She said, ‘The evildoers have no idea what they’ve done because they have started a revival among Christians and conservatives.”

Shooting suspect Tyler Robinson, 22, is in police custody. According to early reports from authorities, the shooter acted alone, but the investigation is ongoing.

Gallatin residents say they feel they ‘knew’ Kirk

Gallatin residents Donna Drake, 55, Alicia Georgiou, 60 and Kelsie Olson, 34, went to the vigil together. They said they were compelled to attend because they felt connected to Kirk.

“We didn’t know him,” Olson said through tears.

“But you felt like your soul knew him,” Drake said.

The trio said they felt connected to Kirk through their shared Christian beliefs, and Drake said she agreed with his “whole message.”

“I think part of it is that I respected the fact that no matter what his beliefs were, he was about open dialogue and encouraged hearing from people who had different beliefs,” Georgiou said. “And what better blessing than that?”

Olson added that she feels the country is in a “very dark time” after Kirk’s death.

“I think this has shifted history and we can kind of go one of two ways,” she said. “And I’m scared for my kids’ future. And I think just seeing people come together gives me hope that there’s a lot more good than evil.”

Event organizer Taylor Free closed the vigil by playing a synthetic audio clip that imitated Kirk’s voice. In the clip, Kirk said he wanted to introduce listeners to his “new friends,” which were computer-generated voices Christian martyrs throughout history, like Paul the Apostle, Andrew the Apostle and Saint Peter.

“My brothers and sisters, group yourself in a Bible-believing church, pray for your enemies, for our battle is spiritual,” Kirk’s synthetic voice said. “It’s time to awaken your faith. Rise up, speak truth without fear and overwhelm the world for Jesus.”

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Riley Gaines, Gallatin gather to honor Charlie Kirk: ‘His impact cannot be understated’