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Landry honors Charlie Kirk, calling him 'a great American'

A makeshift memorial is set up at Turning Point USA headquarters after the shooting death at a Utah college on Wednesday, of Charlie Kirk, the co-founder and CEO of the organization, Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025, in Phoenix.
Ross D. Franklin
/
AP
A makeshift memorial is set up at Turning Point USA headquarters after the shooting death at a Utah college on Wednesday, of Charlie Kirk, the co-founder and CEO of the organization, Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025, in Phoenix.

Gov. Jeff Landry ordered state flags to be flown at half-staff Thursday and Friday in honor of the conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was fatally shot on Wednesday.

President Donald Trump issued the same order for flags at the White House, all public buildings and grounds, military posts, embassies and other locations through sunset on Sunday.

Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, was gunned down at an event he was hosting at Utah Valley University.

Landry and his wife extended their sympathies to the Kirk family in a post on X.

Other officials — both Republicans and Democrats — in the state and those who represent Louisiana in Washington, D.C., also offered their condolences.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, who was shot in a politically-motivated attack in 2017, said on X that Kirk was a "visionary" and "his legacy will never be forgotten."

Sen. Bill Cassidy said in a post that he agreed with Trump’s decision to award Kirk a posthumous Medal of Freedom.

Congressman Troy Carter, a Democrat, wrote on X that "violence is never the answer — not in politics, not in life."

On X, Congressman Cleo Fields, another Democrat, wrote, “No matter our political differences, violence is unacceptable and has no place at all in our democracy.”

Republican Congresswoman Julia Letlow asked for prayers for the Kirk family.

Congressman Clay Higgins, a Republican, called for people who belittled Kirk's death on social media to be banned from platforms for life.

Kirk was scheduled to speak at LSU’s campus on Oct. 27, 2025.

Before joining WRKF as the Capitol Access reporter, Brooke was the Assistant News Director at Louisiana Radio Network, where she also reported on statewide news and covered the state legislature.