Kirk Family Absent From Ground Zero as 9/11 Ceremonies Unfold

Lead Vice President J.D. Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance canceled their planned attendance at Ground Zero to visit Charlie Kirk’s grieving family in Salt Lake City on Sept. 11, 2025, following his fatal shooting the previous day.

Nut Graf Amid solemn memorials marking the 24th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania, the abrupt shift underscored the nation’s collective trauma as conservatives mourned the loss of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk and families honored victims of 2001.

Ground Zero Ceremony Changes

  • Originally scheduled to join dignitaries at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in Lower Manhattan, the Vances instead flew to Utah to pay respects to Kirk’s wife, Erika, and their two young children.
  • FBI Director Kash Patel and other officials maintained enhanced security around the Manhattan site, reflecting heightened tensions after Kirk’s assassination.

Nationwide Remembrances

  • In New York City, families of 2,753 fallen victims read names at waterfall memorial pools ringed by parapets engraved with those lost on 9/11/2001.
  • President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump led observances at the Pentagon, honoring 184 victims of the hijacked Flight 77.
  • Tributes in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, commemorated the 40 passengers and crew who thwarted further attacks on Flight 93.

Aftermath of Kirk’s Death

  • Charlie Kirk was shot Sept. 10 while speaking at Utah Valley University; no suspect has been publicly identified.
  • Governor Spencer Cox termed the attack a “political assassination,” prompting widespread condemnation across party lines.
  • Vice President Vance-an ally and friend of Kirk-assured support for the family and underscored the peril of political violence.

Continuing Legacy As America paused for a moment of silence at 8:46 a.m. EDT-the exact time Flight 11 struck the North Tower-both the memory of 2,977 lives lost in 2001 and the shock of Kirk’s untimely death resonated, reminding a divided nation of the cost of hatred and the need for unity.