FRESNO, Calif. - On the first Sunday after conservative activist Charlie Kirk was assassinated in Utah, the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Fresno, Joseph Brennan, was celebrating mass in the city of Reedley when he told those attending about an interaction he had with Kirk in the days before his death.
The conversation took place while Kirk was visiting Visalia on Sept. 2 for a fundraising event called “Advancing the Mission” held by the pro-life organization Tulare-Kings Resources for Life. The event drew dozens of protestors and had tight security.
Brennan was invited to give one of the opening speeches. But before he did, he said he stumbled upon Kirk in the hallway and the two struck up a conversation. Kirk asked Brennan if he was a priest.
Brennan said Kirk later shared he had recently been attending Catholic mass with his wife. Then, Brennan said, Kirk told him something “strange and profound.”
“He said, ‘I'm very close.’ He said it that way: ‘I'm very close,’” Brennan told KVPR after he shared this story during his Sunday homily.
Brennan isn’t sure what Kirk was trying to say. But that moment left an impression, especially after learning Kirk had been assassinated in front of thousands at a college campus a week after the two met.
Video of his killing hit the internet instantly.
“It could have meant any one of those, that I'm close to my Catholic pastor…I'm close to becoming a Catholic, or I'm close to the moment” of death, Brennan said.
Brennan’s interaction has generated greater speculation about whether Kirk’s religious beliefs were evolving. Kirk’s own wife was a practicing Catholic.
In an episode of his online show, Kirk even openly remarked about the value in venerating Mary, which is a Catholic practice but not something Protestant Christians generally accept.
“I think that we, as Evangelicals and Protestants, we've overcorrected,” Kirk said. “We don't talk about Mary enough. We don't venerate her enough. Mary was clearly important to early Christians. There's something there. In fact, I believe one of the ways that we fix toxic feminism in America is that Mary is the solution.”
But Kirk identified as an Evangelical Christian. Brennan acknowledged that. He also acknowledged Kirk angered people when he engaged them in debates on some of the country’s most contentious topics, such as immigration, gender, marriage, and LGBTQ issues – often drawing from Christian teachings.
"He said, ‘I'm very close.’ He said it that way: ‘I'm very close."Diocese of Fresno Bishop Joseph Brennan
Brennan, who oversees roughly one million Catholic Christians in California’s San Joaquin Valley, says, though, that he viewed Kirk in the end as a deeply principled Christian – one who “more than ruffled feathers” in his interactions with others.
He said he had even been going through Kirk’s online material after the killing. Kirk’s books and podcast have risen to the top of charts nationally as people examine his work and views.
Brennan said Kirk’s killing leaves questions about the future of open dialogue in the country as Christian conservatives broadly decry the killing of someone who they viewed as a thought leader in the country’s conservative movement.
The killing has generated intense online reaction and has created stark fissures in public opinion. Some have celebrated Kirk’s death while others are in mourning. Some have been penalized for negative comments made about Kirk’s killing, while others are calling for harsher punishment – including those within the Trump administration.
Kirk drew ire and outrage for speaking about social issues through views that don’t align with a large swath of the American population. Though he had large backing from conservatives and Christians, those on opposite ends politically and religiously didn’t always agree with him.
For instance, he claimed there was a conspiracy on the liberal left to replace white rural Americans with immigrants, made a case for deporting Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, a Muslim who immigrated legally from Somalia to the U.S., and tweeted that Black Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was a “diversity hire,” despite her degree from a prestigious law school and long resume as a law clerk and judge.
On Wednesday, in one of the most high-profile examples of backlash to commentary on Kirk’s death, the “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” show was taken off air by the ABC Network following criticism by the administration over Kimmel’s monologue on Kirk’s death. Locally, a handful of San Joaquin Valley professors and educators have been either fired or are facing scrutiny for comments made in classrooms or on social media.
Kirk’s assassination has unleashed a wave of discussion online and has opened up a debate on free speech at the same time that questions are raised about Kirk’s legacy as a conservative activist who put his Christian faith at the center of his work.
The Valley was one of the last regions Kirk visited before his death, and he had a base of support here. As a conservative political wave swept the country in the 2024 presidential elections and put Republicans back in power nationally, the Valley underwent a similar political shift toward the right.
In one example, President Trump flipped Fresno County in favor of Republicans for the first time since 2004. In the same elections, a fresh batch of young and diverse Republicans were sent to the state legislature. Republican voter registration has also spiked in the state, including in Valley counties.
Two thousand people reportedly attended Kirk’s visit to Visalia earlier in September. And after his death, hundreds attended a vigil remembering his life at New Covenant Community Church in north Fresno. A separate vigil held at Fresno State, where a chapter of Turning Point USA is active, also drew large crowds. Kirk co-founded Turning Point USA, which has fostered the largest conservative youth movement in the country.
Since his assassination, political leaders on both sides have called for an end to political violence – even as some walk fine lines to recall Kirk’s political legacy.
Just a day after Kirk’s killing, elected officials in Fresno County gathered in downtown offices to denounce political violence. They implored city residents to not resort to violence if they disagreed on their views.
"We all have a story and we need to take more time to listen to each other’s stories and backgrounds."Nathan Magsig, Fresno County supervisor
Fresno County Supervisor Nathan Magsig, a Republican who spoke at the press conference but later sat down for an extended interview with KVPR, said he was concerned people were no longer willing to listen to each other in polarizing times. He blamed social media for that.
He also said he was aware of concerns for safety among public officials. But he said retreating is not an option, because he chose to serve the public.
“We are all human beings,” Magsig said. “We all have a story, and we need to take more time to listen to each other’s stories and backgrounds. The challenges that we faced have made us into who we are today, and I believe that the violent actions that we are seeing take place before our eyes are happening because we are not listening to each other. We have forgotten how to do that.”
Magsig shares Kirk’s Christian faith. Kirk’s killing brings a need to be “more bold” in talking about that faith, Magsig said.
“I need to see people the way that God views people,” Magsig added.
Matthew Gee, a member of the Central Valley Young Republicans who formerly worked for Turning Point USA, the non-profit Kirk founded, attended the Sept. 2 event in Visalia. He said Kirk was energized.
“I'm really devastated and kind of heartbroken that it's come to this,” he said of Kirk’s death. “Just because you don't believe in their policies, or don't believe in their ideas, you have to go and take their life?”
At the New Covenant Community Church in Fresno, hundreds gathered to pray for Kirk on the Sunday after the killing. The church filled to capacity early, with overflow attendees watching the service from the church courtyard on two TV screens.
People of all ages, some with children and pets, huddled together to pray in small groups.
Kristi Moon was among those who attended. She said she is convinced of a specific version of Kirk.
“His faith first before politics is, for me, what stood out the most,” she said. “He made that his life's mission. He wanted to know what other people were thinking and wanted to show them the love of Jesus.”
But for many, too, Kirk’s politics also transcended religious beliefs. At least they did for Tom Nouri, who calls himself an atheist but appreciated the open dialogue that Kirk promoted.
“I think that should speak to people, that you don't have to be of this faith to appreciate what he spoke about,” he said. “And the fact that he only used words. Nobody should be punished for that.”
Conservatives say Kirk’s inflammatory comments have been taken out of context, often displayed without Kirk’s full position. Meanwhile, Kirk’s detractors say he missed crucial elements of social issues and have labeled him as offensive and intolerant.
The day after Kirk’s killing, Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer spoke at a press conference that also fell on the 24th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. Dyer said the debate over Kirk’s killing and his legacy is another defining moment for the country.
“We will either come together as a nation, as we did on September 11th and the day following, and condemn this act of violence and change our ways as Americans,” Dyer said, “or we will ratchet up the rhetoric on social media and become even more divided as a country.”
