Charlie Kirk memorial will feature a who’s who of the Maga movement

More than 100,000 mourners from across the US, including President Donald Trump and Vice-President J.D. Vance, are expected to pack a National Football League stadium just outside Phoenix and an overflow arena next door to honour slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk at a heavily secured memorial service on Sept 21.

The memorial to celebrate Mr Kirk and galvanise a political movement in his name is the culmination of scores of

recent public vigils across the country

that have drawn thousands of Mr Kirk’s supporters, as well as scattered protests.

But nothing so far has approached the scale of what police and organisers are expecting in Arizona, where Mr Kirk lived with his wife and two young children, and where his conservative organising group, Turning Point USA, is based.

The still-incomplete speakers’ list includes not just the President and Vice-President but also the highest-profile members of Mr Trump’s Cabinet and White House staff, along with a who’s who of the Make America Great Again pantheon.

So many supporters and high-profile guests are planning to attend Mr Kirk’s memorial, set to begin at 11am Pacific time (2am on Sept 22, Singapore time), that the Department of Homeland Security designated the service as a top-level security event, akin to the Super Bowl or New York Marathon.

Law enforcement officials on Sept 19 were investigating a handful of potential threats connected to Mr Kirk or the service, including one man who damaged a memorial at Turning Point’s headquarters and another man who was seen monitoring the crowd at a vigil for Mr Kirk.

Mr Trump, Mr Vance and Mr Kirk’s widow, Erika, will speak.

Also in attendance will be Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr and Ms Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence.

They will be joined by Mr Stephen Miller, a White House aide who has vowed to avenge Mr Kirk’s death with a

broad crackdown on liberal dissent

; Mr Tucker Carlson, a commentator and Trump ally who has questioned that crackdown; and Mr Donald Trump Jr, the President’s son who brought Mr Kirk into the family’s fold.

Scores of other elected officials, prominent conservatives and Christian musicians are also attending.

The memorial is being held at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, home to the Arizona Cardinals, which can fit more than 70,000 people.

But organisers with Turning Point were expecting such a crush that they set aside a 19,000-person arena next door, where the Phoenix hockey team once played, for overflow crowds, and said they were also planning a second overflow location.

Dozens of state and federal law enforcement officers will be providing security in Glendale, and neighbouring police departments have been put on alert.

Attendees are being warned to expect long screening lines and jammed parking lots and told that they will not be allowed inside with any bags, even clear plastic ones designed for concerts with tight security rules.

“It’s all hands on deck,” said Mr Jose Santiago, a spokesman for the Glendale Police Department, which is handling security outside the stadium. “Anyone who is available to work is working.”

Security was not nearly so strict at the Utah college event where Mr Kirk was

fatally shot on Sept 10

, sparking a frantic search for the gunman and angry political recriminations.

As Mr Kirk arrived at Utah Valley University, a gunman was able to walk onto campus with a high-powered rifle hidden in his clothing, climb to a rooftop overlooking the outdoor courtyard where Mr Kirk spoke and then slip away in the chaos after shooting him. Mr Kirk was 31.

Law enforcement officials sought to project their heavy security presence on Sept 19 as mourners from across the country started to make their way toward Phoenix.

“Our teams are already on the ground,” Mr William Mack, the Secret Service special agent in charge in the Phoenix field office, said in a statement.

“We are fully committed to ensuring that these solemn events receive the comprehensive protection and support they require.” NYTIMES