When traffic bottlenecked nearly three miles away from the stadium in Glendale, Arizona, where the world’s most powerful people and some of the world’s biggest Christian music stars were set to memorialize Charlie Kirk, Wyoming state Rep. Scott Smith decided to hoof it.
On crutches. Through huge throngs of people. As the day’s temperature crept from 85 degrees at 5:30 a.m. to a high of 103 degrees.
Smith and his wife Charissa had driven to Denver from their hometown of Lingle right after work Friday. They then flew to Arizona early Saturday and set out for Kirk’s funeral hours before sunrise Sunday, Smith told Cowboy State Daily in a Monday interview.
Conservative activist Charlie Kirk, 31, was fatally shot Sept. 10 while speaking to students at Utah Valley University. His death has become a flashpoint, emphasizing differences between the political right and left; sparking church revivals and mobilizing conservatives.
Kirk’s funeral drew one of the largest public turnouts for a private citizen. Fox News reported that 90,000 people attended the service: 70,000 filling the stadium to capacity, 10,000 gathering at the nearby Desert Diamond Arena, and another 10,000 watching from nearby viewing areas.
The figures hearken to the April 9, 1968, funeral of assassinated faith leader and social activist Martin Luther King Jr.
One-hundred-thousand mourners