In the weeks following the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, North Wales, Pennsylvania found itself at the center of a national debate about political violence, free speech, and the boundaries of public mourning. The aftermath of Kirk’s death has rippled far beyond the initial tragedy, exposing deep divides in both local communities and the broader online world.
On September 14, 2025, Weingartner Park in North Wales became the gathering point for several hundred residents and visitors attending a "Charlie Kirk Candlelight Vigil for Peace." The event, which was organized in the wake of Kirk’s shooting death on September 10, drew a crowd that included local officials, clergy, and activist Scott Presler. According to North Penn Now, the vigil was intended to honor Kirk and others who had suffered violent deaths due to ideological differences. Yet, what began as a memorial quickly turned into a flashpoint for heated debate—both in the borough council chambers and across social media.
Former Mayor Greg D’Angelo, the only Republican candidate for office in North Wales this fall, addressed the borough council just days after the vigil. He questioned why no council members had attended the event, calling their absence a missed opportunity. “It was very crowded: I’d say about 900 or 1,000 people, give or take. Correct me if I’m wrong, I stayed toward the front, but I didn’t see any members of council there. It was very disappointing. This was a big event: maybe you thought it was just for Charlie Kirk, and it wasn’t,” D’Angelo said, as reported by The Reporter. He emphasized the need for conversations and debates with those holding different views, quoting Thomas Jefferson to underscore the value of dialogue in seeking truth.
Not all local officials agreed with D’Angelo’s assessment. Council Vice President Wendy McClure explained her discomfort with the vigil’s focus, stating, “I don’t find Charlie Kirk to be a person that I admire. If it was going to be a prayer vigil, and a peace vigil, that’s one thing. But they specifically mentioned him, and didn’t mention all the other children that were murdered, the other people that were killed in their homes and such. The focus was on him.” Her comments reflected a broader unease among some community members, who felt the event’s political undertones overshadowed its stated purpose of peace.
For some residents, the vigil raised concerns about safety and community cohesion. Emily Marbot, who lives just blocks from the park, told the council, “It’s hard to put into words how it feels to no longer feel safe in a place that is your home. And if you’ve had the privilege to never have this experience, it’s one I don’t wish on anyone.” Marbot, part of an LGBTQIA+ family, described locking her doors and turning off her lights that evening, citing the presence of "armed men on the roof" of the nearby elementary school and a heavy police presence. “I never wanted that image in my son’s head and to be afraid of his own neighborhood or have to explain to him why an event claiming to be for peace needed that kind of police presence,” she said.
North Wales Police Chief Dave Erenius explained that the event’s scale had been vastly underestimated. Initially, organizers expected just 25 to 50 attendees, but as word spread online, the number swelled to several hundred. “They’re public spaces: anybody can use them for any reason,” Erenius told the council, noting that he called in five of the town’s six police officers and requested mutual aid from neighboring departments. Addressing rumors about snipers, he clarified, “There’s overwatch on the roof. If there’s a point where somebody’s gonna be, to do harm, it’s going to be on the roof of that school, because it’s the highest point. So we wanted to make sure nobody was up there, and those officers could overlook the entire event, and hopefully see anything unfold before it turned bad.”
Despite the tension and heavy security, the event remained peaceful. No injuries or violence were reported. Council members and residents alike praised the police for their preparation and professionalism. Councilman Sherwin Collins reassured the community, saying, “I’ve lived in North Wales for 30 years. One event is not going to make this an unsafe town. It’s not going to make it a worse place to live. I’ve raised my son here. It’s a great place to live.”
The legal and logistical challenges of managing such gatherings also became a topic of discussion. Borough solicitor Greg Gifford explained that requiring permits for public events would likely face legal hurdles, given First Amendment protections. “Legally, if they had come to me and said ‘Can we stop this?’ I probably would have advised them ‘Yes, but you will be sued.’ That’s just the way in which things are handled,” he said. Interim Council President Mark Tarlecki emphasized, “If it’s a public space, anybody has the right to use it. Regardless of what side of the fence you’re on, your beliefs, you’re entitled to that.”
Meanwhile, the conversation about Kirk’s death and its aftermath has played out on a much larger stage online. On September 26, Frankie Palmeri, frontman of the band Emmure, posted a wide-ranging statement on X (formerly Twitter) addressing what he saw as the "darker side of online celebration" following Kirk’s assassination. According to Blunt Magazine, Palmeri wrote, “To see such heartless and callous celebration of a life needlessly taken. To see the same brand of ‘human’ smiling, making jokes, proudly celebrating his demise, that to me is pure evil.” He called for an end to terror and a return to civil debate, warning against the normalization of violence and the punitive culture that often follows online outrage.
Palmeri’s words resonated with many who felt that the public reaction to Kirk’s death—particularly the online gloating and jokes—crossed a moral line. The backlash has been tangible: as Newsweek and Euronews have reported, several public-facing employees and figures who celebrated or endorsed violent reactions online have faced job losses or disciplinary action. Media outlets, including Snopes, have been cataloguing and fact-checking the torrent of claims and counterclaims surrounding the incident, reflecting the raw and divided mood of the country.
The North Wales vigil, peaceful though it was, became a microcosm of the larger national struggle to balance free expression, public safety, and community values in a time of heightened political polarization. As councilman Alex Groce observed during the post-vigil meeting, “What happened here this evening was a beautiful thing. We had peaceful discourse, and to say we are lucky is an understatement.”
In the end, the events in North Wales and the broader online response to Charlie Kirk’s death serve as a stark reminder of both the fragility and resilience of civil society. Through debate, disagreement, and even discomfort, the community continues to grapple with what it means to honor the dead, protect the living, and preserve the possibility of peaceful dialogue—no matter how deep the divides may run.
