Speakers honor Charlie Kirk, look to the future at Turning Point event

Turning Point USA (TPUSA)’s “Turning Point Tour” stopped at MSU last Tuesday. Students and community members filled the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse to hear from Governor Greg Gianforte and Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.

TPUSA is a nonprofit student organization founded in 2012 by Charlie Kirk and Bill Montgomery. Its goal is to identify, educate, train and organize students to promote the principles of fiscal responsibility, free markets and limited government, according to its website. 

On Sept. 10, Kirk was assassinated in Orem, Utah. In a Sept. 12 statement, the newly-appointed TPUSA CEO Erika Kirk said that the tour would continue to visit campuses around the country, and that there will be even more tours in the coming years. 

An estimated 3,097 people attended the Oct. 7 event, according to MSU officials. Students were admitted first and the general public followed. 

Bags were not permitted inside and attendees were required to undergo a metal detection scan before entering. Officers from departments across the state were recruited to assist the University Police Department (UPD) with security according to UPD Chief Michael Stanley.

“We deployed 50 police officers in various roles, some were very visible, some were less visible to the public,” he said. “Some were uniformed and some were not. Each had a very specific role to fill, including explosives and [chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear] threat detection.” 

Stanley also added that the UPD’s drone team provided aerial surveillance during the event. 

Ellianna Nelson, the president of the MSU chapter of TPUSA, opened the event by welcoming attendees. She introduced a recorded message from Senator Steve Daines and announced that TPUSA’s next event, “America Fest,” will be held in Phoenix in December. “This is an event that you do not want to miss,” she said. 

She also spoke about her personal connection with Kirk. “[He] was a dear friend, and we communicated frequently,” she said, concluding her speech with an homage to Kirk. “May we continue to honor [his] life by standing firmly and passionately in the fight for freedom.”

After Nelson’s opening, Gianforte took the stage. He recounted how he and his wife Susan knew Kirk for over a decade and hosted him in Montana on multiple occasions. “We first met [Kirk] 13 years ago. He was 18-years-old,” he said. 

Gianforte urged people to engage civilly with opposing views. “Seek out people with different views, engage them in respectful, in-person dialogue. Go get a coffee,” he said. Gianforte then led the audience in a prayer to close out his time on stage. 

Ramaswamy addressed the audience after Gianforte. He began by reflecting on Montana’s landscape and his own exploration of the state. “It is one of the most beautiful places on planet Earth. I came here straight from a hike at Lava Lake,” he said.

Throughout his speech, Ramaswamy emphasized that opinions and civility should coexist. “We can still stand for those truths while viewing those who believe in falsehoods, seeing them as fellow citizens,” he said. He expanded on this point later in his speech. “We win with ballots, not bullets.” 

Ramaswamy closed his speech with optimism for the country’s future. “Don’t be cynical about our country. It’s still the last best hope we have on planet Earth,” he said.

Shortly after the final remarks, over 50 students lined up to participate in a Q&A session with Ramaswamy. They brought up topics like free speech on campus, TPUSA’s stance on current policies and ways student organizations can get involved going forward. 

Protesters were present during the event, gathering outside the venue. Some held signs and chanted, but things remained peaceful as attendees left the Brick at about 8:30 p.m.

“Attending the [TPUSA] event at MSU was a powerful and unifying experience,” said MSU freshman Jordan Lyles. “The event was a true testament to our country’s patriotism and the blessing [Kirk] was to so many people across the nation, regardless of their beliefs.”

For more information on TPUSA’s MSU chapter, visit https://tpusa.com/.