Speaking at a 9/11 memorial ceremony at the Pentagon on Thursday, President Donald Trump said he will award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Charlie Kirk, the conservative youth leader who was killed Wednesday while speaking at a college event in Utah.
Trump made the announcement during a somber annual ceremony where a bell is rung for each of the 184 people killed when terrorists crashed a jetliner into the U.S. military headquarters on Sept. 11, 2001.
“Before we begin let me express the horror and grief so many Americans at the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk have felt,” Trump said, as he stepped to the microphone in front of service members and families of those killed in the 9/11 attacks. Trump called Kirk a “giant of his generation” and said “we miss him greatly.”
Trump said he would honor Kirk with the highest civilian award in the United States. “I’m pleased to announce that I will soon be awarding Charlie Kirk posthumously the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The date of the ceremony will be announced and I can only guarantee you one thing—we will have a very big crowd, very very big.”
Read more: The Killing of Charlie Kirk and the Political Violence Haunting America
Kirk, an influential right-wing activist, leaves behind a contentious legacy. He was a provocative debater with a massive following who had courted controversy by prodding liberal ideas. He said gun deaths were a reasonable price to pay for maintaining Second Amendment rights, called the Civil Rights Act a “huge mistake,” suggested a “patriot” should bail out Paul Pelosi’s attacker, and helped spread false rumors that Haitian migrants in Ohio were eating people pets.
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is awarded by the President and is often given to individuals to recognize “a lifetime of significant achievements in the arts, public service, science, or other fields,” according to a description of the award by the Congressional Research Service.
Previous recipients of the medal include Babe Ruth, Elvis Presley, Tiger Woods, Rush Limbaugh, Pope Francis, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Anna Wintour, Michelle Yeoh, and Denzel Washington.
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