‘Someone from our hometown’: North School Park packed for vigil for Charlie Kirk in Arlington Heights

Arlington Heights’ North School Park was packed Sunday for a vigil paying tribute to political activist, radio host and Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk in the town where he was born.

Symbols of patriotism and faith abounded during the two-hour event, including American flags and crosses. The event included prayers and a call for unity in the face of violence.

Several in the crowd spontaneously broke into the chant, “We are all Charlie.”

“In other countries, you can get killed for your beliefs. The United States was never meant to be one of those countries,” said Arlington Heights resident Pavel Krawczyk, one of the organizers of the vigil.

Another organizer, Arlington Heights resident Sofia Volpe, said she also attended Kirk’s high school, Wheeling High School.

“For me and for many of us who grew up here, Charlie wasn’t just a commentator or a public figure,” said Volpe, who was part of the high school’s Turning Point USA chapter. “He was someone from our hometown, someone who walked in the same hallways that we did and sat in the same classroom.”

She said her experience with Turning Point USA taught her how to have respectful, thoughtful conversations about politics and culture.

“Charlie’s example showed us that political dialogue doesn't have to be about shouting someone down, but about listening and engaging even when we see things differently,” Volpe said.

Members of the crowd took advantage of the invitation to speak.

One of them, Palatine resident Alissa DePue, spoke about Kirk’s faith, saying, “I know you’re standing at the right hand of God, Charlie. And your spirit is here, I feel it.”

Several shared memories of personal experiences with Kirk, including Art Ellingsen, founder of the Arlington Heights TEA Party.

Ellingsen recalled introducing a teenage Kirk at a party meeting at the Arlington Heights village hall in 2011. That meeting, he said, was the first step that culminated in the formation of Turning Point USA.

“Charlie loved Jesus, and Charlie was a student of the Bible,” he said. “He is certainly our hometown hero.”

He recalled how Kirk wanted to attend West Point to serve his country and was heartbroken that he was only an alternate appointment and couldn’t go.

Miguel Melgar, one of the founding members of Turning Point USA, said he met Kirk in 2011 when Melgar led a student protest while attending Buffalo Grove High School.

Kirk heard about the effort, Melgar said, adding his group “mobilized the entire student body to rally for change.”

From there, Melgar spoke at Kirk’s first fundraising event for Turning Point USA and, eventually, he and Kirk co-moderated the first campus event for the organization at Illinois State University.

“And the funniest thing about it? I’m a liberal and I voted for Bernie Sanders,” he said. “One of the craziest criticisms I hear about Charlie is that he was close-minded and that he didn’t like to engage with the other side of the political spectrum. I am a living testament to the fact that Charlie didn’t just argue with the people he disagreed with. He gave them a political platform.”

Melgar remembered once debating with Kirk about the future of the organization. He said Kirk told him it’s not safe to be a conservative on college campuses.

“You were right, Charlie,” Melgar said.