Thousands Travel from Across the Globe to Honor Charlie Kirk at Phoenix Memorial Service

[00:00] And it's not just visitors from the

[00:01] valley expected at tomorrow's memorial.

[00:03] As Danielle Noddingham shares, we're

[00:05] seeing travelers coming in from all over

[00:07] to pay their respects.

[00:10] From small towns to big cities and even

[00:12] other countries, thousands are starting

[00:14] to arrive in and around Phoenix to honor

[00:17] the life of Charlie Kirk. Friends,

[00:20] families, and even some new found

[00:22] followers said they had to make this

[00:25] trip to say goodbye. John Peret and his

[00:28] wife Patty drove more than 22 hours from

[00:31] Louisiana to make it in time for Charlie

[00:33] Kirk's Sunday services. He says he

[00:36] didn't follow Kirk until his death.

[00:38] Charlie, we knew he was a good guy.

[00:41] That's all we knew.

[00:42] John and Patty are just two of the

[00:44] thousands making their way to Phoenix

[00:46] from across the country and around the

[00:48] world. Bernard and Barb Techrobe flew

[00:51] down from Canada. the fact that it

[00:53] happened in America where free speech

[00:55] was where America is known for free

[00:58] speech and really all Charlie was doing

[01:00] was trying to uh open dialogue with

[01:03] people that disagreed with him and they

[01:05] shot him for it.

[01:06] They brought this sketch their friend

[01:08] Abigail made for Kirk's widow.

[01:10] So, as a Canadian, I feel very much like

[01:13] uh more Canadians need to stand up and

[01:15] speak out like like Charlie did

[01:16] from California. I had the time and I

[01:19] could come out here and try to go to the

[01:21] memorial tomorrow at the Cardinal

[01:22] Stadium and that's what I'm going to do

[01:24] to show my love and support for Charlie

[01:26] and his family.

[01:27] To Missouri, the sentiment is the same.

[01:30] He was interested what what other people

[01:32] had to say. And I love that. That's what

[01:34] our country is founded on. And when we

[01:36] lose that, when we lose dialogue, we

[01:39] lose our country.

[01:40] And John says the trip is already worth

[01:42] it. When I grew up, young people didn't

[01:45] give a

[01:47] nothing about politics. But he proved if

[01:51] you can get the young people to vote,

[01:53] you can make a change.

[01:55] As you can see behind me, it's a

[01:57] gathering that shows Kirk's influence

[01:59] reached far beyond Arizona. At Turning

[02:02] Point Headquarters in Phoenix, I'm

[02:05] Danielle Noddingham.

[02:07] And you can tune in to watch our

[02:08] coverage of the Charlie Kirk Memorial

[02:10] Service right here on 12 News. Today in

[02:12] a Toz begins at 8 a.m. Then we'll have

[02:14] coverage exclusively on 12 Plus starting

[02:16] at 10:00.