Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and Colorado Governor Jared Polis – both Democrats – followed President Donald Trump’s lead on Wednesday night by ordering flags to be flown at half-staff in honor of Charlie Kirk.
Kirk was shot and killed on Wednesday while speaking at Utah Valley University. Authorities believe the gunman, who is still at large as of Wednesday night, shot the conservative activist from about 200 yards away. The perpetrator fired one shot, which hit Kirk in the neck.
Trump posted about the shooting four times on Truth Social, including one post about ordering the flags lowered.
“In honor of Charlie Kirk, a truly Great American Patriot, I am ordering all American Flags throughout the United States lowered to Half Mast until Sunday evening at 6 P.M.,” Trump wrote.
Not long after, Shapiro’s office issued a statement saying that the governor had ordered the same:
Today, in accordance with the United States Flag Code and the President’s proclamation, Governor Josh Shapiro ordered United States and Commonwealth flags on all Commonwealth facilities, public buildings, and grounds across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to fly at half-staff as a mark of respect for the memory of Charlie Kirk.
The flags shall remain lowered until sunset on Sunday, September 14, 2025.
All Pennsylvanians are invited to participate in this tribute.
Polis’s office also issued a statement saying that flags would be lowered in honor of Kirk and the 24th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.
“Today, Governor Polis ordered flags to half-staff in honor of the victims of the September 11th terrorist attack, and released the following statement,” it read. “Governor Polis ordered flags to fly at half-staff from sunrise to sunset on Thursday, September 11, 2025.”
Kirk, who was born in Illinois, lived in Arizona and does not appear to have any direct connection to Pennsylvania or Colorado.
Shapiro was reportedly in the running to be Vice President Kamala Harris’s running mate last year and is widely believed to have presidential aspirations in 2028. Polis has also been floated as a potential contender.
In a video, Trump vowed to find those responsible and blamed liberals’ rhetoric for the assassination.
“For years, those on the radical left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the world’s worst mass murderers and criminals,” Trump said. “This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that we’re seeing in our country today and it must stop right now.”
