After honoring the memory of Charlie Kirk, Turning Point USA resumes its college tour with Michael Knowles in the spotlight

After honoring the memory of its founder, Charlie Kirk, who was killed last Sept. 10 during an event at Utah Valley University in a political hate crime that shocked the country, Turning Point USA returned to its college tour hosted by Daily Wire commentator and host Michael Knowles.

At the University of Minnesota, Knowles took the stage before tens of hundreds of students ready to debate before the conservative host, who replaced Kirk in the debate tent.

"This event was originally supposed to be a conversation between me and Charlie. Now, it will be a conversation about Charlie," Knowles said during the event's introduction. "They thought that they could stop Charlie Kirk's movement. In reality, they have not even stopped his lecture tour."

He then asked for prayer to honor Kirk's legacy: "If you want to honor Charlie, go to church, read your Bible, pray, and do it right now."

The host spoke about Charlie Kirk's widow, Erika Kirk, and her speech during the memorial honoring her husband, held on Sunday. According to Knowles, Kirk's speech was one of the most moving he had ever heard.

"Erica Kirk forgave her husband's killer. The state of Utah will inject poison into that killer's veins until he's dead. There is no contradiction between those two things. Christian forgiveness does not demand that we allow the cruel to ravage the whole earth. It demands that we love our enemies, and sometimes love is tough," the commentator said.

"In our personal lives, love means praying for those who persecute us. In politics, love usually means punishing the guilty, both for the protection of the innocent as well as for the good of the criminals. No one benefits from crime, decay, and disorder, not the rest of us and not the criminals themselves. We cherish what we call the marketplace of ideas in America," he added.

After his initial presentation, Knowles kicked off the round of debates, with various students of different political persuasions stepping up to the microphone. One of the first to debate made a case for free speech, blaming the Trump administration for allegedly "canceling" host Jimmy Kimmel, recently suspended by the ABC News board under pressure from advertisers and affiliates of the network.

Knowles, fairly, reminded him that the pressure to cancel Kimmel came from the market: "I guess he wasn't canceled, was he? I think you've kind of undercut your own premise."

The student himself then went on to defend Kimmel against the cancellation of his show by claiming that the host had said "nothing false."

Knowles rebutted: "The shooter was a left-wing activist who had a trans furry boyfriend. I don't think he voted for Trump."

The debate round not only had progressive students, some conservatives also took to the stage and asked to speak.

"How can I defend my faith at such a liberal school?" one asked.

"You're so lucky cause you've got fish in a barrel... Forget about defending your faith; think about advancing your faith. The gates of Hell will not prevail against the Church," the host replied.

The Minnesota event marked the first of Turning Point USA's tour following the death of its founder. The organization will now continue under the leadership of Erika Kirk.

The organization will now continue its tour of some twenty campuses in the U.S. On September 24, it will be at Virginia Tech with Megyn Kelly and Governor Glenn Youngkin; on September 30, it will return to Utah (Utah State) with Alex Clark, Senator Mike Lee, Governor Spencer Cox, Representative Andy Biggs, and former Congressman Jason Chaffetz.