Bryan Dawson, president and CEO of 1819 News, addressed hundreds of citizens gathered to remember Charlie Kirk last Sunday at the Elmore County Courthouse. Dawson called Kirk "our greatest hero in the conservative media outreach world" and a "legitimate Christian martyr."
Below is a video and transcript of his remarks at the event.
This is really humbling. As everyone said, the turnout's absolutely incredible, and that speaks volumes to a few things. One, specifically is the life of Charlie Kirk and his ministry.
But also that everyone here cares. They care about the future of our community, our state, our nation. And that's a big deal.
I want to first thank the Elmore County Sheriff's Department for the security that they're providing. Obviously, that's something that is very important moving forward. And yes, please give them a round of applause. These are people who put their lives on the line every day to bring peace and prosperity to our community. So, thank you guys.
And then also thanking Ashley for putting this together. She's the vice president of finance and events at 1819 News, and this is kind of her thing that she does in all kinds of different ways. And so, I'm not actually that surprised that there was this big of a turnout.
So, I'll just say that I want to open with a story. It's a story that I've told a million times. And if you've heard me speak, you've heard me say it and you've heard me say, “I don't care if you've heard it. I'm going to tell it again.” And so, this is a story that I know that God gave me before starting 1819 News. It was several years before I started 1819. And I was going to North Carolina to see a pastor friend in Wake Forest. And I communicated that I was going up there.
A friend said, "Hey, you have to talk to Bill's dad. He lives with him."
I said, "Well, why do I need to talk to Bill?"
He said, "Man, he was a World War II pilot. He flew a P-51 Mustang in the Battle of Iwo Jima. He was shot down in that battle. His plane was ripped to shreds by anti-aircraft artillery and he crashed into enemy waters and by the grace of God, he was rescued by an American submarine."
I said, "Yes, I do actually have to talk to Bill. That's pretty, pretty awesome story."
And so I got there and we were there for four days and I got to shake his hand and he's 92 years old and he's in a motorized wheelchair. And for the first four days I didn't get to talk to him. And there'd be occasion where he would just roll by in his motorized wheelchair and like stare at me. And I thought he was like sizing me up. It was very strange. I'm like, "Oh, maybe I'll get to talk to him, maybe I won't."
And so we were about ready to load the kids up and drive home. And I was over in his section of the house and he has a P-51 Mustang replica over in kind of his living room area hanging from the ceiling and I'm looking up at this P-51 Mustang replica thinking about what it would be like to fly a propeller airplane in one of the most historic battles in our nation's history only to have it ripped to shreds by anti-aircraft artillery and one of the bullets actually hit him in the neck.
And as I'm mesmerized in a time machine looking at this, Bill rolls up beside me in his wheelchair and I don't even hear him.
And he says, "Brian," and I look down startled.
He said, "Brian, there was a time when we stood up for what was right, even if they shot bullets at us." He said, "Brian, there's coming a time in your life when you're going to have to stand up for what's right, even if they shoot bullets at you."
And he rolled away. And those were the only words I got to speak with Bill Brown. And I think about him rolling by when I thought he was sizing me up. He was not sizing me up. The Lord was giving him words to say for something that I didn’t even know that I was going to do. And as I'm convinced that those words were for starting 1819 News because of the courage that not only I but every single person on our team has to display to bring truth and shine light in darkness, it's not just for me in 1819 News.
We think back to July 13th, 2024 when Donald J. Trump was giving a speech in front of 30,000 people and shots rang out. Real bullets flew by him and they hit a fire chief that was shielding his children heroically and those bullets struck him and killed him. And another one of those bullets struck our president in the head and he dropped to the ground. And instead of rolling off the stage and peeing his pants like I probably would have done, he got back up and a Secret Service tried to drag him off the stage to safety, he stopped them and he looked to the crowd with blood running down his face, and the American flag in the background, and he pumped his fist and said, "Fight, fight, fight."
This is a man who knows what it means to do what's right, even if they shoot bullets at you.
There was another attempt on his life. And now, tragically, this last Wednesday, our greatest hero in the conservative media outreach world was struck by one of those bullets. And it's not going to stop his ministry. He is a legitimate Christian martyr.
My children asked, "What are we doing?” We left our house. We live right down the road. They said, "What are we doing?"
And I explained to them, you know, "The Foxe's Book of Martyrs," which is a book about Christian martyrs throughout history. I said, “We actually have one of those that we've seen and that we know. Charlie died for his faith, and we're going to celebrate him.
[Applause]
Let's be clear. Charlie was not killed because he believed in free markets. Okay? He was murdered in cold blood because he was effective in bringing the word of God to bear on the political realm in a way that resonated with the young men of the next generation.
He was called a fascist not because of his appreciation of Milton Friedman's economic policies or his desire to limit the size and scope of government, but because he believed in traditional marriage, that there were only two genders, and closed borders.
This is why he was shot down in front of his wife and children.
Charlie Kirk's influence was the greatest threat to the last 100 years of progressive Marxist dominance in America. He stood courageously on the taboo issues no matter what it may cost him. And he did it on college campuses every single day.
The conservative ranks were and are swelling with new recruits filled with his energy and passion as well as his resolve to stand on traditional conservative positions. And it's because he is the greatest threat to communist, Marxist, progressive dominance that we've seen in our institutions, in our nations. It was because he was a threat to them and that God was using him to ignite a revival in this nation.
[Applause]
It was because of this that God's enemies killed him. God has enemies. If you're not hearing that from the pulpit that you sit in front of on the Lord's Day, I would ask you to reconsider.
Charlie knew the risk, but he stepped up to the mic day after day, undeterred by the threats to his life, and did what was right, no matter the cost, even if they shot bullets at him.
Here's the question, and I found myself doing this as I gathered my family in the living room and we sang hymns and we pray and we read the Bible, something we do often, but sometimes it's hard to do. And Thursday night, I was like, "This is the last thing I want to do. I'm tired. I feel the weight of all of it."
I said, "You know what? This is what Charlie would want me to do. This is what Charlie would want me to do."
So, what would Charlie want us to do? Charlie would want us, and he said this with his own words. This is not Bryan just coming up with stuff to tell you, okay? He would want for us to love our families and teach them about Christ. Amen.
He would want men to love their wives and to protect their children from the wickedness being propagated by the sick people who killed him.
He would want us to be members of a healthy local church. Charlie would want us to pass on the faith to the next generation, starting with our families.
Then, and only after we were doing those things, he would want us to take our nation back. He would want us to rid our institutions of this filth. Beginning with the universities, which is where he went day in and day out, to the belly of the beast, where this wicked, godless, Marxist ideology is propagated and festers. He went there and he did it. The way he did it was so amazing.
But he would also want for us to get it out of the public schools. I've long said that they are after the hearts, minds and souls of our children, and they are trying to steal our children. And people thought I was crazy four or five years ago. I said they're trying to steal our children. I could see why that would sound crazy, but it's they're not trying to physically kidnap them. They're trying to steal the hearts, minds and souls of our children. And we're letting them. He wouldn't want that.
He would want us to rid our legislature, county commissions, and city councils of cowards who fail to stand up to these people.
[Applause]
He would want pastors to be bold and preach the whole council of God's Word and apply it to every sphere of life.
And he would want us to faithfully pray and support those elected officials and pastors who are fighting the good fight faithfully every day.
Our prayer is this, that God would crush the left, that he would smash wokeness and dash progressivism into pieces. Our prayer is that Christ would inherit the nations he purchased with his blood, including our nation.
We want to see God open eyes and grant repentance. We want to see the gospel of the kingdom advance. We want to see God restore biblical civil justice to our land. We want to see sinners persuaded of their need for a savior. We want to see young people drawn back to faithful churches. And we want to see America's Christian heritage honored, recovered and improved upon.
[Applause]
Charlie embodied what William Wallace referred to his soldiers as warrior poets.
If you think of that movie, and if you haven't watched that movie, you go home with your children and you sit in front of the TV and you watch that movie.
He described after his death, as he was ripped apart for standing for truth and what's right, and he described that battle and his men that went and fought and died. He said they fought as warrior poets. He was a merry warrior. And it's this idea that we fight and we fight ferociously.
But did you ever once see Charlie Kirk when he didn't have a smile on his face? Not one time. He was a merry warrior and he was able to fight that way not because he hated what's in front of him, but because he loved what's behind him.
That's right. You understand? It's not hatred of what's in front of us, but what it is that we're trying to preserve and protect behind us.
I'm going to end with this. I believe God uses names specifically when it comes to his martyrs in his church. Names matter.
Charlie Kirk.
Some of you may know this. The Scottish word for Kirk or church is Kirk. His name was literally Charlie Church. I don't know if you know that. Like legit. His name was Charlie Kirk, which is Church. The name of his ministry is Turning Point. My prayer is that his death will mark the turning point of Christ’s Church in America and the West.
[Applause]
So, as I talked about elected officials who are faithful, who go to work and fight for you day in and day out, we are blessed to have a couple of them here with us today.
Bryan Dawson is CEO of 1819 News. He is the host of 1819 News: The Podcast.
The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of 1819 News. To comment, please send an email with your name and contact information to [email protected].
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