How Auburn University Mourned Charlie Kirk

Showing 8 Auburn University videos from Charlie Kirk's video collection.

Auburn University became one of the most visible sites of campus mourning after Charlie Kirk's assassination, largely because of Brilyn Hollyhand, a young conservative activist and former Kirk staffer who described him as a personal mentor and close friend he had spoken with just hours before the shooting. Hollyhand told a gathered crowd that Kirk should be remembered less for his political organizing, however consequential, than for his faith, recalling moments when Kirk's own team suggested softening his message by leading with something other than a Bible verse or a prayer, and Kirk refusing. The university's Turning Point USA chapter, led by president Jacob Rossi, organized its own vigil on campus days later, drawing alumni and students during an otherwise ordinary homecoming weekend, a juxtaposition one attendee, a former Turning Point staffer who had reported to Kirk directly, described as one of the harder assignments of his career. Auburn returned to the spotlight roughly a year later when Eric Trump and Lara Trump headlined a revival rally there marking the anniversary of the 2024 election, using the occasion to honor Kirk's memory alongside a surprise phone call from President Trump and the now-viral story of a 2028 campaign hat that briefly consumed the news cycle.