Vigil honoring Charlie Kirk held on Westford Common

WESTFORD — Dozens of people braved the pouring rain on Thursday, coming out to honor the life and legacy of Charlie Kirk with a vigil on Westford Common.

Kirk, a conservative media figure and political activist who co-founded the non-profit conservative advocacy group known as Turning Point USA, died at the age of 31 after suffering from a fatal gunshot wound, while he was hosting a turning point event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah on Sept. 10.

Vigils and commemorations dedicated to Kirk were held across the U.S. by his supporters following his death, including a special honor from President Donald Trump and Vice president JD Vance, both of whom Kirk supported.

Thursday’s vigil was hosted by the Westford Republican Town Committee, and organized by member and State Committeewoman Kathy Lynch.

Photo: Westford Republican Town Committee member and State Committeewoman Kathy Lynch speaks to the crowd at the Charlie Kirk vigil on Westford Common (Alex Svenson/WestfordCAT)

WestfordCAT spoke to Lynch and asked her why she decided to organize the vigil, and why she felt it was important.

“There are members of the community who wanted to pay respects to Charlie,” Lynch said. “One person in particular approached me and said ‘you know we really need to do this.’ And I heard that other people as well wanted to do this, but no one was really getting the ball rolling with it. So I said ‘okay, we can do that,’ and here it is. We believe that there are people’s voices that need to be heard. And it’s a really sad thing that Charlie got killed at age 31. He was very good at public discourse, he talked to people even who didn’t agree with him. He was bold, I think it is great that he was getting out there and engaging with college students, high school students. And now that he’s died — as a martyr — he was very strong with his faith his legacy will continue. There are now 37,000 new (Turning Point USA) chapters — so he’s actually more effective as a martyr than he was beforehand.”

The vigil included speeches from Lynch, Westford resident Liz Sherry, a sermon from pastor and evangelist Rev. Steven Craft, as well as performances of the Star Spangled Banner, God Bless America and Amazing Grace.

After the speeches, members of the audience, which included both Westford residents, and people from outside of town, were invited to speak.

Photo: Attendees of the Charlie Kirk vigil gathered on Westford Common (Alex Svenson/WestfordCAT)

One resident included Michael Byrne, who said he has attended every vigil he can find in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island, since Kirk’s death.

“I haven’t really been a fan of Charlie Kirk for that long, just a couple of years, but I’ve been a longtime Trump supporter since 2016, and I’ve watched a lot of Charlie Kirk’s debates,” Byrne said. “I never actually got the chance to go to one of his events, but when he died, I feel like it traumatized me. I was trying to think of the best way to honor him, I tried to go to Arizona (to his funeral) but I couldn’t get a plane ticket, so I have been traveling to every city in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, you know, holding up signs, talking to the press and everybody. I want to do my best, because I feel sorry for his family, his children, and I’ve been traveling all over for him.”