ARLINGTON, Va. — President Donald Trump announced Thursday he will award slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

One day after Kirk was shot and killed during an event at a Utah university, Trump called Kirk “a giant of his generation, a champion of liberty and an inspiration to millions and millions of people.”

Awarded by the president, the Presidential Medal of Freedom is the federal government's highest civilian honor, given to individuals to recognize a lifetime of achievements. The date of the ceremony has yet to be announced.

Speaking at a memorial service at the Pentagon commemorating the 184 people who died at Defense Department headquarters 24 years ago during the 9/11 terror attacks, Trump called Kirk’s killing a “heinous assassination.

See Full Page