Hundreds in St. Francis Take Part in Charlie Kirk’s National Day of Remembrance
Republican Party of Milwaukee County hosts memorial event on Kirk's birthday.
Hundreds gathered in Saint Francis, Wis. on Oct. 14, 2025 to honor Charlie Kirk. Corrinne Hess/WPR
As Aspen Miller set up a a lawn chair Tuesday night at Milton Vretenar Memorial Park in Saint Francis, she got emotional.
It has been just over one month since conservative activist Charlie Kirk was assassinated while speaking at Utah Valley University, but Miller said she still misses him.
Miller, of Wauwatosa, never saw Kirk in person, but listened regularly to his podcast. She says his faith in Christ and family values are traits she wants to emulate.
“It’s like a parasocial relationship that we have with people, and I couldn’t listen to my podcaster anymore and his wisdom,” Miller said, fighting back tears. “I can’t imagine what people who knew him must be feeling, because we feel it heavy, so it must just be that much more deep for them.”
Miller was one of about 200 people who gathered in Saint Francis on Tuesday for the Republican Party of Milwaukee County’s celebration of Kirk.
Kirk, 31, was the co-founder of Turning Point USA, a nonprofit that advocates for conservative politics on high school and college campuses.
He was also a close ally to President Donald Trump and members of his administration. On Tuesday, Trump posthumously awarded Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s top civilian honor.
The Milwaukee County event at coincided with a National Day of Remembrance for Kirk on Tuesday, which would have been his 32nd birthday.
Across Wisconsin, communities have been holding memorial events for Kirk since he was killed on Sept. 10.
Republican Party of Milwaukee County 1st Vice Chair Brett Galaszewski said the party was too distraught to hold an event until now.
“It just didn’t seem like we were in the best mental headspace and emotional headspace to be able to put on a vigil in the immediate days right after Sept. 10,” Galaszewski said. “So we felt that we could honor him in the best way we know how to, with our happier warrior faces on and with some birthday cake and some prayer.”
Hilario Deleon chairs the Milwaukee County Republican party. At age 24, he is youngest chair in the Midwest. Deleon said he thought of Kirk as a mentor since he was about 14 years old, and later met him in person in Las Vegas.
“For the people who are here, many of us feel like we lost a member of our family,” Deleon said. “He just gave words and encouragement all the time to people my age, anytime that we saw him and interacted with him.”
Florida Republican Sen. Rick Scott introduced legislation in September to make Kirk’s birthday a National Day of Remembrance.
While the measure was approved with bipartisan support, 58 Democrats were opposed. The Congressional Black Caucus said while it denounced political violence and condemned Kirk’s killing, the group did not want to validate what it saw as Kirk’s divisive beliefs. Among statements people found offensive, Kirk had called the Civil Rights Act that ended segregation a mistake, criticized the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and called U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson an unqualified “diversity hire.”
Democratic Rep. Gwen Moore voted against the measure. Democratic Rep. Mark Pocan voted “present.”
On Tuesday, state lawmakers passed a joint resolution to honor Kirk. That vote also received pushback from Democratic state legislators.
Kirk grew up in suburban Chicago. He spent some time in Wisconsin last year.
He visited the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus in September 2024 as part of his “You’re Being Brainwashed” college campus tour.
He was also a speaker at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee in July 2024.
Phil Siemik, of South Milwaukee, says Kirk wasn’t just important for the conservative movement, but for politics in general because of his willingness to speak to people who held opposing views.
“Never held any animosity, but would have a civil conversation,” Siemik said. “We’ve lost that in this country, and we need to remember we’re all Americans.”
Milwaukee County Republicans take part in Charlie Kirk’s National Day of Remembrance was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
If you think stories like this are important, become a member of Urban Milwaukee and help support real, independent journalism. Plus you get some cool added benefits.
