The tent where Charlie Kirk was shot dead was rebuilt at the latest Turning Point USA rally so fans could take ‘selfies’.
The stunt sparked fury amongst some who slammed it as ‘sadistic’ and ‘gross’.
Kirk died after he was shot in the neck by a gunman in front of a crowd of 3,000 students at Utah Valley University in September.
He co-founded the conservative student organisation Turning Point USA and was its executive director until his death.
Kirk’s widow, Erika, has kept TPUSA active in his honor and garnered huge support within the MAGA movement, the upper echelons of the Trump administration and Kirk’s enormous fanbase.
However the decision to recreate a near replica of the tent which he was sitting in front of when he was killed for an event in Phoenix, Arizona, has drawn heavy criticism.
Pictures and videos from the rally went viral.
They showed streams of people posing inside the tent which looked similar to the one Kirk was sitting in front of before he was shot dead.
Inside the replica were photos of Kirk which fans could pose next to.
Kirk’s former friend and fellow conservative commentator Candace Owens wrote on X (formerly Twitter): ‘Recreating the tent Charlie died under for selfies? Seriously?
‘It felt like a seance. I actually want to know whose idea it was.’
Another person wrote on social media: ‘The murder scene recreation photo op was nothing short of sadistic.’
A third said: ‘They recreated the tent where Charlie Kirk was assassinated for people to take selfies… These people are gross and insane.’
A fourth added: ‘That’s just disgusting, who greenlit this idea?’
However Turning Point USA denied the tent was a recreation of the scene where Kirk was killed – and denounced critics as ‘shameless’.
TPUSA spokesperson Andrew Kolvet told the Daily Mail: ‘It was not the tent where Charlie was assassinated.
‘We made many of them for the tour and this was an entirely different tent.
‘We put up the tent as a tribute to Charlie, who lost his life fighting for free speech and debate.
‘One of the themes of the conference is to “be courageous and pick up your own microphone”.
‘This is a shameless attack against young people who were inspired by Charlie’s life and courage.’
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected].
For more stories like this, check our news page.
