Hawai‘i Island Republicans to hold vigils in remembrance of conservative activist Charlie Kirk

The West Hawai‘i Republican Party is planning vigils around the island over the weekend in the wake of the shooting death in Utah on Wednesday of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

Kirk, 31, was shot in the neck during a student-sponsored event with Turning Point USA, a nonprofit founded by Kirk. He became well-known for debating with college students about conservative political and religious views.

Vigils on the Big Island are scheduled for Friday in Kailua-Kona, Volcano and Waimea, and on Saturday in Hilo.

Videos of the shooting that circulated throughout social media show Kirk speaking, then getting struck by a single shot. He was pronounced dead not long after.

Kirk’s death occurred a day before the 24th anniversary of 9/11, when terrorists crashed planes into the Twin Towers in New York City, the Pentagon in Washington and a field in Shanksville, Pa., in 2001.

Wednesday’s shooting also follows political assassinations in June in Minnesota, where Vance Boelter, 57, stalked and murdered Minnesota House of Representatives Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband. During the same shooting spree, Boelter shot and hospitalized Minnesota State Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, who both survived. These Midwest lawmakers were Democrats.

Gov. Josh Green released a statement Thursday addressing Kirk’s death.

“The tragic murder in Utah yesterday, leaving a young wife without her husband and two beautiful children to grow up without their father, the political assassinations in Minnesota earlier this year, the attacks against political leaders and their families in Pennsylvania and California in recent months, and the horrific attempts on the President’s life, are all incidents that tell us that we must condemn all violence against one another and come together as a country to heal,” Green stated.

Green added that on 9/11 every year, “We remember the violent terrorist attacks that senselessly took more than 3,000 American lives.”

“And today, innocent civilians are needlessly dying every hour in war zones in Russia, Ukraine and Gaza, and also in the streets of America, all because we have lost some part of our collective humanity. We have come to accept some amount of violence against one another as though it’s normal or acceptable. It’s not normal. It’s not acceptable.”

In 2016, Kirk was in Hawai‘i to speak at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. Monique Perreira, chair of the West Hawai‘i GOP, said her party was working to bring Kirk back to the state.

Through Turning Point USA, Kirk traveled the country holding events on college campuses where he would debate anyone on a variety of issues.

Among the many topics he debated with college campus students was his belief that women should get married young and raise children, that the number of abortions in the country is comparable to the genocide of Jews that occurred in Auschwitz during World War II and that those who are transgender suffer from a mental illness.

He also was a big supporter of the Second Amendment, saying during a 2023 event that was posted on social media: “I think it’s worth to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God-given rights. That is a prudent deal. It is rational. Nobody talks like this. They live in a complete alternate universe.”

In context, he also said driving cars comes with a price of 50,000 deaths a year.

While there have been protests at many campuses and places he spoke, he was admired by others.

“He was such a big inspiration to our youth to have conservative values,” Perreira said Thursday.

“I think on one hand, he died doing what he believed in, sharing his truth,” Perreira said. “I think we need to be bold in our beliefs. We can’t let our country become a divisive place where we can’t share our opinions.”

Perreira said she listened to Kirk’s podcasts every morning. She liked that he respectfully debated his points.

Perreira said the vigils are meant to show respect for what Kirk did. “How can we not pay tribute to what he’s done?”

Hawai‘i House Republicans released a statement on Facebook stating the “tragic” assassination of Charlie Kirk on Wednesday was horrifying, heartbreaking and unacceptable.

“Charlie worked tirelessly to advocate for this country and encourage public debate. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his wife, their two children, and his extended ‘Ohana during this time of unimaginable loss. No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, violence is never the answer.”

Hawai‘i County Council Member Rebecca Villegas, a nonpartisan, said it is alarming that someone was murdered in public.

“Violence is never the answer,” Villegas said.

While Villegas thought Kirk preached scary opinions, particularly around the oppression of women, she said nobody can condone his death in good conscience.

“It’s tragic that we’ve come to this place,” Villegas said. “It’s not where we want to be heading.”

Sylvie Madison, West Hawaiʻi GOP communications chair, said: “Even if you didn’t agree with his views, he was wholesome. He was a husband and a father.”

Madison said the vigils were organized because there were people on the Big Island who appreciated his opinions: “He focused on the family unit and that is a Hawai‘i-based value: ‘ohana.”

As a moderate Republican and agnostic, Madison said she appreciated what Kirk had to say as he used facts to prove his point.

“He believed in the Bible and the Constitution. He didn’t make up stuff,” she said.

In a lot of ways, Madison added, conservatives are not unified. She hopes Kirk’s death will bring them together.

Rep. Nicole Lowen, who wasn’t familiar with Kirk’s work and political views, said everyone has a right to have their views and have conversations.

While it is still unknown what the motivation behind the shooting was and a manhunt is ongoing for the suspect, Lowen, who is a Democrat, said “this epidemic of political assassinations is unsettling.”

Green said: “The world is watching. America is better than this, and we owe it to our neighbors and our children to find a way to work together peacefully, in spite of our differences and deep disagreements on many issues.”

Green added it’s time to change who we are, and oppose all violence against one another, and find ways to bridge differences as fellow human beings, not as polarized adversaries.

“Our potential is extraordinary, but it is diminished by the violence that we have allowed to persist in this century,” Green said. “I humbly pray that we choose to set our differences aside and find peaceful common ground together as one global community. We are capable of choosing this path forward.

“It will take work and personal sacrifice to achieve, but the result can be the end to this cycle of tragic and senseless loss of life.”

The vigils will take place at sunset. Community members interested in attending are asked to bring their own candles. In dry areas, the West Hawai‘i GOP leaders ask that those in attendance use a battery-operated candle.

Vigil schedule:

• Kailua Kona: Old Airport Beach Park, Friday, 6 to 7 p.m. Prayer led by Pastor Spencer Baker of Big Island Baptist Church. Contact: Sylvie Madison at comms@westhawaiigop.org
• Waimea: Church Row, Friday, 6 to 7 p.m., Contact: Monique Perreira at info@westhawaiigop.org
• Volcano: Cooper Center (skate park area), Friday, 6 to 7 p.m. Contact: Kawika at kaneiaupuni@gmail.com
• Hilo: Hilo Bayfront, Saturday, 6 to 7 p.m. Contact: Marie Rhuland at mamasonruhland@gmail.com