WASHINGTON ‒ President Donald Trump said he will posthumously award Charlie Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom as he paid tribute to the deceased conservative activist during remarks at the Pentagon on the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Trump said the date of the ceremony honoring Kirk with the Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, will be announced later. "I can only guarantee you one thing ‒ that we will have a very big crowd. Very big." the president said.

Trump called the Sept. 10 shooting death of Kirk a “heinous assassination" and said Americans are experiencing "horror and grief" after the 31-year-old star conservative influencer and father of two was shot and killed while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah.

“Charlie was a giant of his generation, a champion of liberty and an inspiration to millions and millions of people," Trump said. "Our prayers are with his wonderful wife Erika and his beautiful children ‒ fantastic people they are. We him them greatly, yet I have no doubt that Charlie's voice and the courage he put into the hearts of countless people, especially young people, will live on."

Trump and other top White House officials were more than political allies with Kirk, whose work leading Turning Point USA helped energize young conservative to Trump's presidential campaign and the MAGA movement. Trump and Kirk were close friends, with Kirk joining Trump at the White House earlier this year.

In video-taped remarks released on the evening of Sept. 10, Trump called Kirk a "martyr for truth and freedom" and blamed the "radical left" for “directly responsible for the terrorism that we're seeing in our country today.”

A manhunt for the suspect in the shooting death of Kirk is still active. Law enforcement officials in Utah said they recovered a high-powered rifle in the woods they believe was used in the shooting and learned new details about a suspect from video being analyzed.

Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump says he will posthumously award Charlie Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom

Reporting by Joey Garrison, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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