Prayer vigil held in Monroe for Charlie Kirk

MONROE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — People across the country and close to home are remembering Charlie Kirk. 

At least a thousand people gathered in Monroe Monday night for a candlelit prayer vigil organized by the city’s mayor.

“One thing that we’re not going to allow anything to happen is for evil to snuff out such a voice of positivity,” said Monroe Mayor Robert Burns.

Burns said he wants to honor Kirk’s legacy. He was shot and killed last week while speaking at a Utah college campus.

The vigil included prayer, songs and lighting of candles. Many who attended wore shirts with Kirk’s name and face and carried American flags, hoping to bring people together rather than divide them.

“I want there to be just unity,” said Anah Misenheimer, who attended. “There’s so much left, right, this, that whatever. No matter what you believe, someone died. Someone was murdered, assassinated.”

There were several heavily armed police officers both on the ground and from higher vantage points. There were no counter-protestors our crews saw, but the event did stir up some controversy on social media.

When asked why he wanted to have this vigil and not have one for school shooting victims or the Democratic representatives killed in politically motivated attacks, here’s what the mayor said.

“That’s not an entirely fair question because in reality nobody wants, in the Republican Party, we do not want and aspire for any type of violence,” he said. “We’re not okay with that.”

Queen City News reached out to the Union County Democratic Party, asking for an interview and did not hear back. A statement released in the aftermath of Kirk’s death said in part, “We do not condone violence of any kind, period. We expect better from our leaders. It is the responsibility of every elected official to de-escalate tensions and protect citizens.”