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Charlie Kirk’s Farewell Marred by Political Divisions

President Donald Trump speaks to mourners at State Farm Stadium in Phoenix, Arizona, to honor Charlie Kirk (September 21, 2025)

Credit: Alex Segura

Charlie Kirk’s Farewell Marred by Political Divisions

Today, more than 70,000 mourners filled State Farm Stadium in Phoenix, Arizona, to honor Charlie Kirk, the 31-year-old founder of Turning Point USA, who was shot and killed on September 10 while speaking at Utah Valley University.

The memorial, held just eleven days after the attack, was not only a funeral—it was a vivid reflection of how grief, ideology, and national identity now converge in American public life. Inside the stadium, home of the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals, the atmosphere oscillated between solemn remembrance and political rally. Thousands more gathered outside under tight security, underscoring the scale and sensitivity of the moment.

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‘The Potential for Terrorism Is Pretty Frightening’:
A Conversation with Gary LaFree

Gary LaFree, Professor and Chair of the Criminology and Criminal Justice

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‘The Potential for Terrorism Is Pretty Frightening’: A Conversation with Gary LaFree

When terrorists hijacked and crashed planes into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, criminologist Gary LaFree was teaching at the University of Maryland, where he had built a career researching global and domestic crime. In fact, in the ’90s, LaFree was awarded two grants by The Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation to support his research on global homicide rates, as well as race and crime. But the events of 9/11 forever changed the trajectory of his career.

Before the attacks, the field of criminology did not take much interest in terrorism, according to LaFree. “In fact, at the turn of the twenty-first century, it was not at all clear that most criminologists considered terrorism and politically motivated violence to be a legitimate part of criminology,” he says.

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