House Moment of Prayer for Charlie Kirk Turns to Shouting; Boebert: 'Silent Prayers Get Silent Results' (September 10, 2025)

Hours after Charlie Kirk was killed, the House paused to honor him. “Please rise for a moment of prayer for Charlie Kirk and his family,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said on Sept. 10, 2025, Fox News reported [1].

“A moment of silence for Charlie Kirk on the House floor Wednesday devolved into a shouting match after a Republican representative demanded a prayer be said out loud for the conservative who was shot earlier in the day,” Fox News reported [1].

“Silent prayers get silent results,” said Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo. “She could also be heard asking for a prayer to be said ‘out loud,’” Fox News reported. “The Colorado Republican’s comments resulted in shouts from Democrats.” [1]

The video above shows the House floor on Sept. 10, 2025, and the White House flags lowered to half-staff. Quotes are from Fox News, the Congressional Record and the Federal Register [1][2][3][4].

”You All Caused This”

Fox News, citing The New York Times, reported that some Democrats “began shouting back about how Republicans had ignored a school shooting that happened Wednesday as well.” [1]

“Meanwhile, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., stood up and began shouting back. ‘You all caused this,’ she said,” Fox News reported [1].

“Speaker Johnson attempted to quell the crowd multiple times, banging his gavel and asking for order. Eventually, he said: ‘We will join for prayer right after this, OK?’” Fox News reported [1].

Kirk “was shot and killed at Utah Valley University during an on-campus event Wednesday,” Fox News reported. “Kirk was the founder of Turning Point USA, established in 2012.” [1]

“As a Mark of Respect”

The same day, President Donald Trump ordered flags lowered. “As a mark of respect for the memory of Charlie Kirk, by the authority vested in me as President of the United States by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, I hereby order that the flag of the United States shall be flown at half-staff at the White House and upon all public buildings and grounds,” the proclamation said [3].

The order ran “until sunset, September 14, 2025,” and covered “all United States embassies, legations, consular offices, and other facilities abroad.” [3]

“Is the Evil Winning?”

That evening, Rep. David Schweikert, R-Ariz., turned his scheduled hour on the House floor into a tribute. “Mr. Speaker, instead of an hour of another economics presentation, we need to have a conversation. Is the evil winning?” Schweikert said, according to the Congressional Record [2].

“There is a 16-month-old whose daddy is not coming home. There is a 3year-old little girl whose daddy is not coming home,” Schweikert said. “Do we really now live in a country where words take your life?” [2]

“Taken From Us”

“Mr. Speaker, today we tragically lost a tremendous leader and a friend. We didn’t lose him so much as he was taken from us. Charlie Kirk was an inspiration to an entire generation, and I believe that his legacy will grow,” said Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz. [2]

“In our State, Turning Point Action, together with other coalitions, actually turned out more than 300,000 low-propensity Republican voters, right?” Biggs said. “It helped Donald Trump win Arizona by the largest margin of any battleground State, 160,000 votes, a 5 percent, 5-point victory.” [2]

“So he invited people to come and to share his love of freedom, family, faith, God, and country,” Biggs said of Kirk’s appeal to young people [2].

“This assassination was meant to instill fear. It was an actual assassination, a political assassination,” Biggs said [2].

Later, Schweikert issued a challenge to Kirk’s critics. “My challenge to you is to go online, go actually watch some of the actual videos, not the interpretation of them, not someone who is offended because it is a violation of their collective dystopian view of the world, but the actual videos,” he said [2].

”Charlie Is a Pioneer”

Boebert spoke of his faith. “Charlie Kirk was a husband, a father, a man who spoke more of family than he ever did politics,” she said [2].

“We will not be silenced. That would be a dishonor to everything Charlie has done over the years. We will be bold. We will speak out. We will go forward,” Boebert said [2].

By the Numbers

2012: the year Kirk founded Turning Point USA, per Fox News [1].
300,000+: low-propensity Republican voters Biggs said Turning Point Action turned out in Arizona [2].
Sept. 14, 2025: when the half-staff order ended [3].
32: the age Kirk would have turned on Oct. 14, 2025 [4].

What Happened Next

Trump declared a national day of remembrance. On Oct. 14, 2025, Trump proclaimed: “On the afternoon of Wednesday, September 10, 2025, pure evil struck when the legendary Charlie Kirk was assassinated in broad daylight in a campus courtyard, triggering a groundswell of righteous fury all across our land.” [4]

“Today, our Nation honors the immortal memory of Charlie—a father, a husband, a Christian martyr, and a titan of the American conservative movement,” the proclamation said. “No civilized country can endure a culture where open debate is met with gunfire, the pursuit of truth is met with bloodshed, and love of country is met with seething hatred.” [4]

For Madison Cawthorn on free speech at the 2020 convention, see HYGO News’ page on Aug. 26, 2020. For Nick Sandmann on being cancelled, see the page on Aug. 25, 2020.