WASHINGTON — Trump administration officials, Republican lawmakers, and other supporters gathered at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 14 to pay tribute to conservative icon Charlie Kirk, who was fatally shot at a Utah college campus.

More than an hour before the prayer vigil was scheduled to begin, a line of attendees behind a red velvet rope extended out the door and around the building. Some attendees sported "Make America Great Again" hats and t-shirts with slogans. "If genders confuse you, go milk a bull," read one man’s shirt.

A line of police vehicles was also parked on the drive up to the Kennedy Center, Washington’s iconic theater that overlooks the Potomac River. Thousands of people packed into a large theater at the Kennedy Center, as some stood singing and raising their hands as a trio played a Christian religious song to kick off the ceremony.

The vigil was opened to the public "due to an overwhelming outpouring of support from supporters" of Kirk, according to a news release from Arizona state Sen. Jake Hoffman (R). Hoffman had organized the event.

Hoffman said 85 members of Congress, Trump administration officials, and other dignitaries were present at the event. As he thanked White House officials and House Speaker Mike Johnson for attending the vigil, the crowd rose and applauded.President Donald Trump "loves Charlie Kirk just like you love Charlie Kirk," Hoffman said.

Kirk became a national figure as a conservative activist and as the co-founder of Turning Point USA, an organization that pushes for conservative politics on high school and college campuses. Kirk, 31, was at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10 to kick off his "The American Comeback Tour" when he was fatally shot in front of attendees.

House Speaker Mike Johnson urges Kirk’s supporters to live as he did

As Johnson ascended the podium to speak, the crowd stood and loudly chanted, "USA." Kirk "arguably" offered more for the “free marketplace of ideas" than anyone in the last century of American history, Johnson said to applause.

Johnson said Kirk would not want anyone to be “overcome by despair.”

"He would want exactly the opposite. You know, Charlie Kirk recruited and trained and educated a generation of happy warriors," he added. "And we do well to be reminded that the best way to honor his memory and to honor his unmatched legacy is to live as Charlie did."

White House press secretary credits Kirk with Trump’s win

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt praised Kirk for his work building support for Trump among young people. Leavitt said Trump's win in November was "fueled in no small part by the tireless work of Charlie, the Turning Point organization that he built from scratch out of a garage."

It’s the "heroic efforts of Charlie Kirk, who turned the political tide among young people in this country and helped usher in President Trump's historic victory," she said.

Kirk’s Turning Point USA is "the true essence of the American dream and the MAGA movement," Leavitt said, noting that the establishment Republican Party “no longer exists.”

“Charlie looked for the outsiders, the up and coming,” she said of Kirk.

RFK Jr. discloses talks with Charlie Kirk

As Robert Kennedy Jr., the Department of Health and Human Services Secretary, approached the podium to speak, the crowd broke into louder cheers than for previous speakers and rose to their feet. Chants of "USA" and "MAHA," which stands for Kennedy’s "Make America Healthy Again" movement, broke out again.

Kennedy said he appreciated Kirk’s interest in talking to people he disagreed with. Kennedy, whose father, late U.S. Sen. Robert F. Kennedy from New York, and uncle, late former President John F. Kennedy, who were both assassinated, said he was once having a conversation with Kirk when they were talking about the danger they both face "from challenging entrenched interests."

"And he asked me if I was scared to die. And I said to him, there's a lot worse things than dying," Kennedy said. Chief among them was losing "our constitutional rights and having our children raised in slavery," Kennedy said he told Kirk.

"Sometimes our only consolation is that we can die with our boots on. You can die fighting for these things,” Kennedy said he told Kirk.

College student on Kirk's death: 'It just really hit me hard'

Kirk was set to visit Virginia Tech, where James Hughes is a senior studying communications, in late September. When Kirk was shot dead, Hughes said he was left shaken and in tears.

"I’ll never forget it," Hughes, 22, told USA TODAY as he stood outside the Kennedy Center on Sunday evening to attend Kirk’s vigil. "When I saw the video of what happened, I literally started crying."

"It just really hit me hard that this actually could happen in this country," he added. Hughes, a Republican, said he had already feared that political violence would flare up before Kirk’s killing.

"It was getting to a very dangerous point, but this really just put me over the edge," he said.

Mourner hopes for a political 'turning point'

Christine Carmody, 65, came to Kirk’s vigil from her home in Frederick County, Maryland, to pay her "respects" to a "wonderful, wonderful man."

“It's just very sad for our country,” said Carmody, a retired accountant. “He was a wonderful person, just preaching what he truly believed.”

Carmody said she hoped that Kirk’s death would be a "turning point" — like the name of his foundation, Turning Point USA. While she didn’t closely follow his campus tours, the issues Kirk spoke about aligned with Carmody’s conservative beliefs.

"I also truly believe that President Trump wouldn't be in office right now if it wasn't for what Charlie Kirk did," she said.

'I'll fight back'

At a convention four years ago, Joseph Castaretto, 19, got the chance to ask Kirk a question: "What do you do when you're somebody who is getting hounded" for political beliefs?

Kirk’s answer was to "stay firm," Castaretto recalled as he stood in front of the Kennedy Center. Castaretto said Kirk inspired him to forego college and instead move to Washington, D.C., straight out of high school to intern for Florida congresswoman Laurel Lee.

Kirk’s killing, he said, was part of a political tide that had pushed him farther right on the political spectrum.

"I want to be ready to fight back. If they’re going to come attack me, I’ll fight back," he said.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Really hit me hard': Supporters remember Charlie Kirk at Kennedy Center prayer vigil

Reporting by Cybele Mayes-Osterman and Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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