Mikey McCoy Honors Charlie Kirk: A Martyr Whose Movement Is Only Beginning

[00:00] Hello everyone. My name is Mikey McCoy.

[00:04] I had the unique honor, blessing, and

[00:06] privilege of a lifetime to not only call

[00:09] Charlie a precious friend, mentor, but

[00:12] to travel with him literally everywhere.

[00:16] The first time I met Charlie was when I

[00:19] was driving him and his then girlfriend

[00:20] Erica to the airport after he had spoken

[00:23] at my father's church. The entire car

[00:26] ride he was grilling me on Aristotle,

[00:28] Socrates, Plato, American history. At

[00:31] the end, he said, "Don't go to college.

[00:34] Come work for me instead."

[00:37] At 18, I canceled my college plans,

[00:39] moved to Arizona.

[00:42] My life was forever changed by Charlie.

[00:45] All of us in this room have that in

[00:47] common.

[00:49] My first day working at Turning Point, I

[00:52] met an incredible girl.

[00:54] who Charlie was interviewing on his

[00:56] podcast, sharing the story of her family

[00:59] who had survived a totalitarian regime,

[01:02] whose grandfather was imprisoned in the

[01:04] Goologs for 10 years for preaching the

[01:07] gospel.

[01:09] Elizabeth and I were married a year

[01:11] later. Thank you, Charlie.

[01:16] [Applause]

[01:21] When Charlie would speak on college

[01:23] campuses, he'd often wear t-shirts with

[01:25] inspiring taglines like, "Here I am.

[01:30] Never surrender,

[01:32] freedom."

[01:34] But as I've watched back so many clips

[01:36] these past 11 days, my favorite and so

[01:39] often warned by him was, "Live free."

[01:44] 11 days ago, my friend was martyed for

[01:48] using his voice to engage in peaceful

[01:50] dialogue.

[01:52] Charlie's assassin thought that he could

[01:54] steal and silence his voice by putting a

[01:57] bullet in his neck. In the words of

[01:59] Saurin Kirgard, "The tyrant dies and his

[02:03] rule is over. The martyr dies and his

[02:06] rule has just begun.

[02:22] [Applause]

[02:32] Charlie was not silenced. His movement

[02:35] is only beginning. The voices of

[02:38] millions globally have been awakened,

[02:41] furthering his cause in mission far

[02:43] beyond anyone's comprehension.

[02:46] We won't cower in fear. We will never

[02:50] surrender. We are resolved to live free

[02:53] from lies and seek out what is true. We

[02:56] will respectfully,

[02:58] boldly challenge what is accepted by

[03:01] culture in order to seek out what is

[03:03] true and acceptable to God Almighty

[03:06] alone.

[03:19] To everyone here today,

[03:21] live free. True freedom is not found in

[03:25] doing whatever we want, but pursuing

[03:28] Christ in doing what is right. In

[03:31] Charlie's words, "Get married. Have more

[03:36] children than you can afford. Build a

[03:38] legacy. Pass down your values. Pursue

[03:40] the eternal. Seek true joy." Charlie led

[03:45] by example. It's not only seen in the

[03:48] incredible wife Erica Kirk, his two

[03:52] beautiful children, the legacy he built,

[03:55] his values, his love of God, and true

[03:57] joy he found in his savior, Jesus

[03:59] Christ. But in countless people,

[04:02] especially young people like Elizabeth

[04:04] and I, whose very lives are the fruit of

[04:07] Charlie's example of faithfulness.

[04:10] Charlie,

[04:12] it was the honor of my life to serve you

[04:16] as you serve Jesus.

[04:18] And now we will all continue to serve

[04:21] you as we continue to serve Jesus. Thank

[04:25] you so much. I love you, Charlie. I

[04:28] can't wait to see you again. God bless

[04:30] Erica Kirk, CEO and chair of Turning

[04:33] Point USA, the Kirk family, and God

[04:36] bless America.