Meanwhile, the FBI continues its investigation into the shooting that claimed Kirk’s life on a Utah campus. Authorities recovered a rifle and announced a $100,000 reward for information leading to the shooter’s arrest. While political leaders debated and tributes poured in across the country, one fact was undeniable: Charlie Kirk’s death has left a deep wound in American public life, and for those who gathered at the Kennedy Center, his absence was as powerful as his presence once was.