Video: Charlie Kirk memorial vandalized in Phoenix

A 19-year-old male was arrested on Sunday after trampling and vandalizing a memorial for conservative activist and Turning Point USA Founder Charlie Kirk. The incident took place outside Turning Point USA’s headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona.

A video shared on X, formerly Twitter, shows a man in a black shirt trampling through Kirk’s memorial outside Turning Point USA’s headquarters. In the video, the man can be seen knocking over flags, vases, flowers, and other items displayed at the memorial before another man in a blue shirt grabbed him and threw him to the ground.

According to Fox 4 News, the male suspect who vandalized Kirk’s memorial has been identified as 19-year-old Ryder Corral. The outlet noted that Corral appeared to be wearing the same style of shirt that Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old suspect responsible for Kirk’s assassination, was wearing last Wednesday when the 31-year-old conservative icon was shot and killed while speaking at Utah Valley University. 

Fox 4 News reported that witnesses of Corral’s actions at Kirk’s memorial detained him until law enforcement officials were able to arrest him.

“He wore the same shirt as the shooter did, and he was walking down, he had some kind of body cam device … he had a phone, I think he was recording himself because he was talking to himself, so I’m assuming he was recording himself,” Kyle Nickels, an eyewitness of the incident, said. “He was saying a lot of hateful things towards Charlie, that I don’t want to reiterate, so me and the officer were staring at him, and I was like, ‘This guy’s going to do something.’”

In a statement obtained by Fox 4 News, Phoenix Police Department Sergeant Phil Krynsky confirmed that police officials were already located in the area near Kirk’s memorial as part of traffic control efforts as a result of “a large community presence in the area following recent events.” 

“Officers were directed to a man who was seen damaging a community memorial in front of a business near 48th Street and Beverly Road,” Krynsky stated. The police sergeant also confirmed that Corral would be booked on multiple charges, including disorderly conduct and criminal damage

Another eyewitness of Sunday’s incident at Kirk’s memorial told reporters, “We were just in complete shock that this was happening over here because this is supposed to be peaceful, and it’s not supposed to be any kind of craziness happening at this time.”