Charlie Kirk honored by 90K in one of the largest memorials for a private citizen

Thousands gathered Sunday to pay tribute to Turning Point USA (TPUSA) founder Charlie Kirk, whose memorial service drew one of the largest public turnouts for a private citizen. 

The organization told Fox News Digital that approximately 90,000 people attended the service, with roughly 70,000 bringing the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, to capacity. 

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Another 10,000 people gathered at the nearby Desert Diamond Arena, a designated overflow venue, according to estimates provided by TPUSA. Additionally, another 10,000 people watched Kirk’s memorial service from nearby viewing areas.

Taken together, the turnout underscored the event’s extraordinary scale.

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Earlier estimates provided by law enforcement officials placed the attendance number around 200,000.

Headlined by political heavyweights, conservative media figures and religious leaders, the memorial service ranks as one of the largest public gatherings ever organized for a private citizen. 

The service for Kirk was broadcast across every major U.S. television network, according to White House Communications Director Steven Cheung. 

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And while memorials take many forms, from intimate ceremonies to massive public gatherings, Kirk’s service highlighted the unique intersection of politics, media and faith that defined his public life.

Similar outpourings have marked the deaths of cultural icons before. Elvis Presley’s death in 1977, for instance, drew an estimated 80,000 people to the streets of Memphis for his funeral procession, though only a few hundred were admitted inside. 

In June 2016, approximately 14,000 people attended a service for legendary heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali in Louisville, Kentucky. Additionally, thousands more watched virtually via live streams. 

In 1968, two massive services were held for Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. in Atlanta, one at Ebenezer Baptist Church and then another at Morehouse College. And an estimated 150,000 people gathered to watch King’s funeral procession travel between the two locations, with more inside each venue. 

Kirk was assassinated Sept. 10 during an outdoor event at Utah Valley University. The gathering was the first stop on TPUSA’s planned American Comeback Tour. 

The charismatic Kirk, known for his signature debates on college campuses, was in the middle of taking open-mic questions from a crowd of thousands before a single shot ended his life.

Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton contributed to this report.