WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump will posthumously award conservative activist Charlie Kirk with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, he announced on Thursday morning.
Trump made the announcement just one day after Kirk was fatally shot at an event at Utah Valley University, the first stop of his national “Prove Me Wrong (The American Comeback) Tour.” It’s not yet clear what day Trump will honor Kirk with the award, although the president said it would come at a later date.
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest honor a civilian can receive, and it is used to honor those who have made significant contributions to society for a number of reasons, including public service.
“Charlie was a giant of his generation, a champion of liberty,” Trump said during remarks at the 9/11 memorial ceremony at the Pentagon. “We miss him greatly, yet I have no doubt that Charlie’s voice, and the courage he put into the hearts of countless people, especially young people, will live on.”
Kirk was speaking at his tour when he was shot near his neck in what Utah Gov. Spencer Cox called a “political assassination.” Federal investigators have not yet identified a suspect in the case.
The FBI interviewed a “person of interest” on Wednesday evening, but that person was released shortly after. However, FBI officials say they believe they have recovered the weapon that was used in the shooting, describing it as a high-powered rifle.
In a morning press conference on Thursday, public safety officials said they had images of the shooter, but that the suspect is still at large.
Beau Mason, commissioner of the Utah Department of Public Safety, said they tracked the shooter’s movements after he arrived on campus, after he shot Kirk from the roof, and then he jumped off the building and fled into a nearby neighborhood.