Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) mourned Charlie Kirk, who was slain at an event in Utah on Wednesday, with the senator calling the right-wing activist “one of those beacons” who inspired young conservatives across the country.
“He was a leader. He was the Pied Piper,” Marshall said in an interview on NewsNation’s “The Hill” late Wednesday. “When Buddy Holly died, they say the music died. And I feel like, you know, the music died today for this conservative movement.”
“And we’ll be back,” he continued. “But I really had that feeling that he was like a musician, only it was with his words and his inspiration.”
Marshall stressed the profound impact that Kirk’s death has had on young conservatives, pointing specifically to the young people who work in his Senate office.
“My staff is crushed,” Marshall said. “There’s a bastion of young conservatives here, as you can imagine. People out here, you know, follow Charlie. I mean, they are his age, they’re his generation, and they are absolutely crushed.”
Kirk, an influential Trump ally and co-founder of the Turning Point USA organization, was shot and killed Wednesday while speaking to a crowd at a college event at Utah Valley University (UVU).
He was 18 years old when he founded TPUSA, which aimed to spread conservative values on college campuses deemed left leaning. The group today has chapters on more than 850 campuses.
“Youngsters today looked up to Charlie, that he was leading this movement,” Marshall said. “The number of young Republican conservatives out there is just exploding right now. And he was one of those beacons out there that they looked up to.”
