The staging of a vigil in Jamaica for slain American right-wing political activist Charlie Kirk by the local Love March Movement (LMM), who described him as a martyr, has been met with disappointment by a number Christians here.

Love March Movement, which describes itself as a youth Christian organisation for sexual purity and the family, staged the vigil for Kirk on September 18, eight days after he was shot dead on a Utah college campus, sparking a wave of grief among conservatives and threats of a clampdown on the “radical left” from US President Donald Trump.

According to LMM President Dr Daniel Thomas, who argued that Kirk died standing up for Christian values and biblical truth, the vigil linked LMM to millions of people worldwide who were impacted by Kirk’s murder.

“I think ours was the 18th country in the world to hold a vigil for [the] 31-year-old man. When you see something like that, it really should highlight to persons that there is something about him that inspired millions of people across the world, including a number of us here in Jamaica,” Dr Thomas told the Jamaica Observer.

“A number of us were crying for days, deeply mourning because we know — whether or not persons agree or want to admit it — we know that what we witnessed was the shedding of the blood of a martyr,” he said.

Thomas believes Kirk was killed for his outspoken opposition to what he called “wokism”, the “totalitarian nature of the universities”, and for promoting peaceful debate.

“He was killed because he dared to go up against the mob and the evil, demonised culture,” Thomas stated.

“Charlie Kirk was a very unique young man. He was able to start an organisation that has impacted the globe, not just America,” he added.

Kirk advocated conservative Christian political values and often made vitriolic statements targeting minorities, including transgender people, Muslims, African Americans, and others.

The day after his murder, a 22-year-old man, Tyler Robinson, was arrested. He faces the death penalty if convicted of aggravated murder.

On September 29, Robinson appeared in a US court — held virtually from the Utah jail where he is incarcerated — and his lawyers asked for more time to deal with the mountain of evidence in the case.

According to wire service reports, US authorities say Robinson shot Kirk from a rooftop across the campus of Utah Valley University because of his views.

They have cited text message exchanges with his roommate, whom they described as “a biological male who was transitioning genders”.

In one part of the exchange the roommate, who was not named, asked Robinson why he had killed Kirk.

“I had enough of his hatred,” Robinson is alleged to have written. “Some hate can’t be negotiated out.”

Responding to critics who labelled Kirk a white supremacist, Dr Thomas rejected the claim outright, arguing that such labels are a result of America’s political climate.

“If you disagree with the Democratic Party you automatically get certain names; you’re called racist, homophobe, transphobe, Islamophobe, Zionist automatically,” he said. “Debate was what Charlie Kirk was all about. He believed that every person should be respected and that persons should be judged based on their character and not the colour of their skin.”

Thomas also noted Kirk’s opposition to policies like affirmative action and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), stating that Kirk believed such measures undermined meritocracy.

“He was a critic of DEI policies… which, in his view, went against a merit-based society,” Dr Thomas said.

However, some Christians in Jamaica say they were left disappointed by LMM’s decision to honour Kirk, noting that his legacy was not reflective of the Christian faith nor its principles.

One of those is Ry-Ann Reid, who told the
Sunday Observer that she was “baffled” that the movement decided to hold the vigil and argued that Jamaica had more pressing issues to address than the death of an American political commentator.

“Charlie Kirk was not a good representation of Christianity, no matter how he spoke of God. You cannot preach the goodness of God on a Sunday or Saturday but in the weekdays you advocate for hate and violence against marginalised groups,” said Reid.

She disagreed with LMM’s view that Kirk was killed because of his beliefs and, while agreeing that his death was a senseless act of violence, Reid said that to suggest otherwise would only promote further division.

Stephanie Butler, a 22-year-old who became a Christian at age 12, said that she, too, was disappointed, especially because Kirk was widely known as a controversial figure and focused his career around highly sensitive topics and political narratives rather than actually dedicating his platform to spreading Christianity.

“I was more so disappointed because this was for an individual that was openly racist and an advocate for violence. I believe there is a false idea that he was a martyr for the Christian faith, but from my understanding he did not live that lifestyle. His beliefs were mainly rooted in political values that sometimes intertwined with Christian values,” argued Butler.

Her views were supported by a Christian man who gave his name as Benji.

“A life filled with hate and prejudice can’t just be swept to the side all because you professed Jesus’s name. Jesus is love,” he said, adding that Kirk “wasn’t always loving”.

Accusing Kirk of being “hurtful” and showing “disregard for human life in multiple statements,” Benji declared: “Stand with Jesus, not Charlie Kirk.”

Another Christian, who opted not to be named, told the Sunday Observer that she thought Kirk did not live up to the standards of a religious martyr. She believed that his message was not one of love, and should not be idolised as such.

“I feel like they are giving the same respect they would to Stephen, who was a martyr in Bible days, and personally I don’t think he [Kirk] lived up to that standard because he was an extremely controversial person who made comments that no God-loving person would even think of. I think people should start reading for themselves, start thinking for themselves, and stop following the crowd because what they say sounds like it makes sense,” she said.

Dr Thomas, however, is firm in his stance that the life Kirk lived was for Christ. He further explained that the vigil in Jamaica was intended as a time of reflection and mourning.

“We were just there to see what we could learn from his life, to mourn together, and to see how best we could honour his legacy of righteousness and being bold for truth on a national platform,” said Thomas.

According to him, LMM aims “to stand for biblical truth on a national platform, especially as it relates to sexual purity and the family”.

He added that, while Jamaicans may not fully grasp the American political context, what matters is that Kirk was a Christian and a man of faith.

“I don’t find it reasonable to apply culturally divergent aspects of Charlie Kirk’s life and situation to our context. Our source of grief is that the man was a Christian, he loved the Lord, and so we mourn the killing of a believer, a husband, a father, and an amazing leader,” Dr Thomas said.

“Part of what this has signalled is that there is this hostility against the people of God,” he said. “Kirk’s death is a signal for believers to be bolder than ever before.”

Kirk, a father of two, used his audiences on TikTok, Instagram and  YouTube to build support for conservative talking points, including strong criticism of the transgender rights movement.

In the wake of his murder a number of people have lost their jobs after criticism from conservatives over what they posted online or said publicly about him.

Late-night American talk show host and comedian Jimmy Kimmel was briefly suspended following Government pressure on broadcasters after he said Trump’s Make America Great Again movement was trying to make political capital from the killing.

At the memorial service for Kirk on September 21, Trump and his supporters celebrated his life using the language of religious fervour.

“He’s a martyr now for American freedom,” Trump said of Kirk who used his millions of social media followers, the massive audience of his podcast and appearances at universities to bolster Trump with young voters and fight for a nationalist, Christian-centric political ideology.

Right-wing political activist Charlie Kirk speaking at a meeting at University of Arizona in Tucson on October 17, 2024. (Photo: AFP)

KIRK… advocated conservative Christian political values and often made vitriolic statements targeting minorities, including transgender people, Muslims, African Americans and others

TRUMP… Charlie Kirk is a martyr now for American freedom

Attendees hold posters with a photo Charlie Kirk during an “American Comeback Tour” stop hosted by Turning Point USA in Burruss Hall at Virgina Tech university in Blacksburg, Virginia, on September 24, 2025. The event was held two weeks after the killing of right-wing activist and co-founder of Turning Point USA Charlie Kirk during an “American Comeback Tour” stop in Orem, Utah on September 10. (Photo: AFP)