Retired California school teacher Cathy Marshall said she will arrive at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., around 4 a.m. on Sunday where she expects to join hundreds or possibly thousands of people already waiting to memorialize Charlie Kirk.
‘Well, the doors open at eight, and we really want to be in the main arena. And so will 100,000 people,” she said. “So we just are gonna get there and pray that we make it in.”
On Saturday, Marshall visited the Phoenix headquarters of Kirk’s conservative youth activist organization Turning Point USA, where large crowds gathered under the hot Arizona sun. It has become for many the first stop of a two-day memorial weekend honouring the slain conservative activist.
The sidewalk in front of the Turning Point USA headquarters has become a more accessible place for those seeking to grieve and honour Kirk. The area has been turned into a makeshift memorial covered in flowers, messages of condolences and tributes to Kirk.
Jose Santiago, a spokesman for the Glendale Police Department, told CBC News that police are anticipating crowds of upwards of 100,000, and possibly more. He said the Turning Point registration has seen more than 200,000 people sign up.
“We can tell you this is an event larger than the Super Bowl. And we’ve hosted several Super Bowls,” he said. “The big difference here is when you have an event like the Super Bowl, you have upwards of two years to prepare for an event like that; we had a week.”
‘I want to honour Charlie’
Marshall said she was attracted to Kirk’s faith in Jesus, and the fact that he was able to say it’s OK to be a believer and be involved in politics.
“I want to honour Charlie, not only his life, but his new life,” she said.
But making it in to the Glendale stadium on Sunday could pose a challenge to Marshall and the thousands those hoping to attend the event billed as Building a Legacy — Remembering Charlie Kirk. The doors open at 8 a.m. local time with the event scheduled to begin at 11 a.m.
The high-profile, high-security event will feature speakers including U.S. President Donald Trump, Vice-President J.D. Vance, Donald Trump Jr. and Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk.
The stadium, home of the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals, has.a fixed seating capacity of around 65,000 people, but can expand to over 73,000 for larger events. Officials expect 100,000 or more will flock to attend the memorial service.
Yvette Gomez, who, along with her husband and two sons flew out from Miami to attend, said they aim to be in line for 3 a.m. and that it was very important for them to come to Arizona and be there in person to honour Kirk.
“[Kirk’s] execution was an execution to every Christian, to every conservative,” said Gomez. “We live in a country where debate is good, murder’s bad. And what they wanna do is silence us, and it’s not gonna happen.”
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has designated the service with its highest security rating.
“This designation is reserved for events of the highest national significance and enables the federal government to provide the full range of law enforcement and security resources necessary to support local officials in ensuring a safe and successful event,” officials told several news agencies.
Security officials had their first test on Saturday, arresting an armed man at the stadium who was pretending to be a law enforcement officer. He was charged with carrying a weapon into a prohibited place and impersonating a police officer.
Glendale Police’s Santiago said there will be hundreds of local officers out on the streets, along with drones patrolling the air and hundreds of cameras focused on the area around the stadium.
“There’s going to security measures in place that you’re not going to be able to see with the naked eye,” he said. “All of these things are going to in place to make sure that people coming and going are as safe as possible.”
John Sellers, a minister from Houston, said he was always impressed with Kirk’s ability to reach young people and that he and his wife needed to be at the event.
“I want to get in the stadium. I have respect for my leaders in America, but I’m not there for that. I want to see the Holy Spirit thick in that place, touching hearts, changing lives, because that’s what it’s about,” he said.
But Santiago said that people who want to attend the memorial need to know that not everyone is going to make it inside.
“We expect people to have some type of patience and understanding when it comes to that. Truth be told, if you really want to participate in this event, the best way to see it is in the comfort of your own home.”
