Republican Vice President JD Vance helped carry the casket of Charlie Kirk onto Air Force Two on Thursday evening as they made the trip from Utah to Arizona.

The vice president's family is accompanying the friends and family of Kirk on the plane as it returns the remains to Phoenix. Kirk was the CEO and founder of Turning Point USA, which is headquartered in Phoenix.

'He exemplified a foundational virtue of our Republic: the willingness to speak openly and debate ideas.'

Vance had previously posted about the death of his friend on social media.

"Someone else pointed out that Charlie died doing what he loved: discussing ideas. He would go into these hostile crowds and answer their questions," he wrote .

"If it was a friendly crowd, and a progressive asked a question to jeers from

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