Brilyn Hollyhand Honors Charlie Kirk After Assassination: You Cannot Kill a Movement
Enjoying this? Share it with someone who needs to see it.
Up Next
Tragedy at Utah University: The Assassination of Charlie Kirk and America's Response to Political Violence
18:46
Remembering Charlie Kirk: Auburn University Holds Vigil After Tragic Assassination in Utah
1:30:31
Congress Honors Charlie Kirk with Prayer Vigil in Statuary Hall Following His Tragic Death
40:16
Brilyn Hollyhand Honors Charlie Kirk After Assassination: You Cannot Kill a Movement
Brilyn Hollyhand delivers a powerful tribute to his close friend Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated on a college campus while championing civil discourse. Speaking through grief to a packed memorial gathering, Hollyhand reveals how Kirk's faith-first legacy has already led to one young woman's salvation. He shares intimate details of their friendship, Kirk's unwavering commitment to family and faith, and the final advice Kirk gave him years ago. This is not just a memorial for a political activist, but a call to continue a spiritual movement that transcends politics. Hollyhand challenges a generation to reject violence, embrace conversation, and remember Kirk for what mattered most to him: his relationship with Jesus Christ.
Brilyn Hollyhand opened his memorial tribute with a defiant declaration: "You can kill a man, but you cannot kill a movement." Speaking to a crowd gathered to honor Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated while engaging in civil discourse on a college campus, Hollyhand made it clear that the coward who took his friend's life had only awakened something far more powerful than fear.
"This week, a coward assassinated my friend. He attempted to shut us up. But I think that tonight is living proof that boy, he only woke us up," Hollyhand proclaimed. "We are seeing revival, not just political, but spiritual. And it's way more impactful than winning at the ballot box."
The emotional weight of the moment was palpable as Hollyhand struggled to maintain composure. "I'd spoken with him hours before his passing. This is really, really, really hard and I don't want to do this. Don't want to be here. Don't want to be in politics right now, but we're doing it for Charlie and we're going to keep going for Charlie."
A Beacon of Hope for a Lost Generation
Hollyhand described Kirk as "a walking talking beacon of hope" for a generation that many had written off. "In a generation that so many had cast out, in a generation that so many said have no hope, they're addicted to their screens, they were lost calls, Charlie gave us that hope. Charlie gave us that purpose."
He was emphatic about Kirk's political impact: "Charlie is the sole reason that Donald Trump is in the Oval Office tonight. He's the sole reason that the Republican party has momentum tonight." But Hollyhand quickly pivoted to what he considered far more important.
Remember the Man of Faith, Not Just the Activist
"Please don't remember Charlie because of his political activism," Hollyhand urged the crowd. "Remember the man because of his faith. That's what he wanted. That's the man I knew. That's the friend I had. That was the Charlie that was a husband to Erika and a father to the children."
Hollyhand shared intimate details of Kirk's unwavering commitment to his faith and family. "Regardless of how obscure the state that we were campaigning in last year, how far off the campus that him and I were speaking on was from his home state of Arizona, every single Sunday he woke up at the crack of dawn and he flew home to take his wife and his two babies to church."
"Charlie turned his phone off every Sunday. You couldn't reach the man if you needed to. It didn't matter if a world catastrophe happened, if he had a book deal or a speaking offer, I couldn't get a hold of Charlie if I wanted to. That was his true purpose in life, being a man of faith."
Hollyhand recalled being in the room when Kirk's team would advise him to tone down the religious content. "I've been in the room when his team told him maybe don't start with a prayer. Maybe don't start with a Bible verse. Maybe start by plugging this donation link or maybe go to something a little bit less controversial. Charlie wanted to be a man of faith. Charlie wanted that to be what we remember him as."
A Salvation in the Parking Lot
In what Hollyhand called "the most hopeful thing" to emerge from the tragedy, he shared news that brought him to tears and drew thunderous applause from the crowd. "Just this evening, one of our fellow Auburn students who was a super fan of Charlie, a proud Republican voter, went to my church here at Auburn, knocked on the front door and said, 'I knew Charlie. I knew the Republican party, but I realized I don't know the Lord.'"
The young woman had watched the tributes pouring in for Kirk and noticed something remarkable. "She said that she saw the videos and the tributes of Charlie Kirk and none of us were talking about his relationship with Donald Trump. We were all talking about his relationship with Jesus Christ."
"It brings a smile to my face to deliver the news to you that that girl was saved in the parking lot of my church this afternoon because of Charlie's legacy," Hollyhand announced. "I can assure you that Charlie Kirk is looking out a window in heaven right now smiling because we just all gained a sister in Christ. That is what matters."
The Temptation to Walk Away
Hollyhand didn't hide his struggle with whether to continue in political activism. "I've been in politics for 8 years. Yesterday was the first day that I woke up and said, 'I might not do this anymore. I might actually put down the microphone. I might actually just go to class like a normal kid. That's sure safer.'"
But after prayer and reflection, scrolling through his last texts with Kirk, Hollyhand found his resolve. "That's not what Charlie wanted. Charlie wanted us to continue this movement, to pick up the beacon and continue the relay race where he left off because he ran a long, strong race."
A Nation Becoming Numb to Violence
Hollyhand challenged the audience not to become desensitized to the violence plaguing the nation. "We don't have to live this way. We don't have to become numb to violence and hatred," he stated, listing recent tragedies that had already faded from public consciousness.
"It was just two weeks ago, but it's already on the news cycle, and probably out of your minds, that innocent kindergarteners were shot through the windows of their classroom. It was one week ago that an innocent young teenager was brutally stabbed in a Subway in North Carolina, our age, guys. And it was 2 days ago that one of my closest friends was assassinated by a coward. This is not normal. This right here cannot become numb to us."
The Lost Art of Conversation
Hollyhand identified a root cause of the current crisis: the inability to communicate. "It is really easy to scream at somebody. It is really easy to assassinate somebody, but it's sure hard to have a conversation with somebody. That's why we're in this moment because we live in a day and age where it's taboo to talk about politics and faith at the dinner table."
"Therefore, our generation was raised up not understanding how to communicate with each other. We don't know how to have a conversation. We can sure Snapchat each other. We can send out a mean tweet, but we can't talk to each other."
He highlighted the tragic irony of Kirk's death. "Charlie's crime in the eyes of his critics was championing civil discourse. He was on a college campus having a conversation. The one place you're supposed to be able to go to have free expression, to have free discourse. How do you explain to his two young children? Your dad went to a college campus to have a conversation with people and he never came home."
A Controversial Call to Prayer
In perhaps his most challenging statement, Hollyhand called for prayer for Kirk's killer. "I hate that guy more than most people on the planet right now. He killed my friend. I'm at a point in my life where I don't know what to do next. And guys, typically I text Charlie in that situation and there's no Charlie to text me back."
"But we have to pray for his killer. We have to pray for his soul to be changed. He's going to get the death penalty in Utah as he should. But we have to pray for his soul and his family's souls because that's what Charlie would have wanted. He would have wanted another life changed, another body added to heaven. That has to be what comes from all of this."
Who Is the Next Charlie Kirk?
Hollyhand shared a moment from the last time he and Kirk were on a college campus together. A young woman had asked Kirk, "Who is the next Charlie Kirk?"
Kirk's response became prophetic. "Charlie, without missing a beat, turned to the young lady behind the microphone and said, 'It's you, and it's you, and it's you, and it's you, and it's you. It's all of us. It is this movement as a whole. There is no person on this planet that can fill the shoes of Charlie Kirk. But it's every person on this campus. It's every voice. It's every ear that can hear my voice right here, right now. We have to do this together. It's not one person, but it's all of us together.'"
From Seven Subscribers to a Lasting Legacy
Hollyhand concluded by recounting his very first interaction with Kirk. "The very first conversation I ever had with Charlie Kirk came about a podcast in the fourth grade. I was 11 years old. He didn't have to. He was on TV every other hour. The last thing somebody expected him to do was go on a podcast with a guy that literally at the time I had seven subscribers."
"He didn't have to do it, but that was the character of the man. The very last question in the interview, I said, 'Charlie, what advice do you have for me?' He turned to me and he said, 'Brian, the left will always out fundraise us, but they can never outwork me. I will wake up as early as I need to. I will go to bed as late as I need to. I will leave it all on the field for this movement.'"
"I think all of us can agree on one thing tonight. Charlie did just that. So to my friend tonight, we've got it from here. We're doing this for Charlie."
Hollyhand thanked the crowd for attending, noting that Kirk's family was watching via livestream. "More importantly than that, the Lord hears your prayers. Please keep praying. Erika really needs it. The babies really need it. The country needs it."
