DENVER — Colorado Gov. Jared Polis has ordered flags to half-staff on Thursday in honor of the 9/11 anniversary and the death of political activist Charlie Kirk on Wednesday.
"On 9/11, we remember the 2,976 souls lost that tragic day, honor the first responders who ran toward the danger to help others, and mourn with the families who still have an empty seat at the dinner table,” Gov. Polis said.
Flags will fly at half-staff from sunrise to sunset on Thursday to pay respects to all those who lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001, their loved ones, and how the terrorist attack changed the fabric of the United States.
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President Donald Trump then ordered the flags to stay at half-staff through sunset on Sunday in honor of Kirk who was shot and killed while speaking at an event on the Utah Valley University campus in Orem, Utah.
“Political violence is never acceptable and I condemn the brutal and inexcusable attack on Charlie Kirk in Utah. This is a challenging time for so many in our country, but any divisions we face will never be solved by trying to hurt each other. I am sending hope and love to his friends and his family in this dark hour. I encourage everyone to be stronger and disagree better and peacefully,” Gov. Polis said
31-year-old Kirk was the co-founder of Turning Point USA, a right-wing political nonprofit organization that advocates for conservative politics on high school and college campuses across the U.S. — making him a major figure and voice within the young conservative movement, with millions of followers across his various social media platforms.
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Kirk's stop Wednesday at Utah Valley University was part of his "The American Comeback Tour," where he engaged students through political debates under tents branded with phrases like "Prove Me Wrong."
The tour was set to stop at Colorado State University (CSU) next Thursday, September 18, according to The American Comeback Tour website. CSU has a local chapter of Turning Point USA on its campus.
Kirk is among numerous political figures who have been the targets of violent attacks in recent years. President Trump himself survived a gunshot wound to the ear at a rally in Pennsylvania last year.
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There have also been politically motivated attacks on Democrats, including in June, when Minnesota House Democratic Leader Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, were fatally shot, while State Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, were wounded. In 2022, Paul Pelosi, the husband of then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi, was attacked inside the couple's San Francisco home.
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