Dupage Policy Journal

Police removed a small group of protesters Sunday night who disrupted a prayer rally in Wheaton honoring the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk. The event drew about 1,500 attendees and was organized by local church leaders and Decision Point USA.

The prayer rally took place under the French Market Pavilion in downtown Wheaton. Organizers said the event was held to pray for revival in the city, schools, churches, and the nation.

Supporters at the Wheaton Prayer Rally hold signs as they unite in remembrance of Charlie Kirk. | Jeanne Ives

A large crowd of supporters gathered outside the French Market Pavilion in Wheaton for the Charlie Kirk Prayer Rally. (Jeanne Ives)

“In this moment of grief and urgency, we believe God is our only hope,” a flyer from Decision Point USA said. “Together, we will lift our voices and ask Him to raise up courageous leaders, heal our land and pour out His Spirit on the next generation.”

The meeting was organized by leaders from four churches in the Wheaton area who said they believe this time is an opportunity for community revival.

The rally, structured around Christian worship and calls for unity, was briefly disrupted when several protesters, some masked and carrying signs, began shouting during a moment of prayer.

“Bruha started by the few but noisy and disrespectful protestors during the prayer at the Wheaton Charlie Kirk Memorial tonight,” user Babette Holder said in a Facebook post.

Wheaton police responded and escorted the protesters from the area. The rally continued as planned, ending with hymns “I Have Decided to Follow Jesus” and “In Christ Alone.”

Photos from the event showed protesters holding signs with messages such as “Honoring Charlie Kirk = Honoring Racism, Bigotry, Misogyny” and “I do not support what happened to Charlie but Charlie supported what happened to Charlie.” 

One protester wore a shirt with “Palestine” printed on it, while another’s shirt displayed a profanity directed at President Donald Trump and his supporters.

A small group of protesters disrupts the Charlie Kirk Prayer Rally in Wheaton. (Jeanne Ives)

Charlie Kirk was fatally shot Sept. 10 at a university event in Utah. The alleged shooter has been reported as holding left-wing political views and living with a transgender roommate. 

Kirk was a conservative activist and co-founder of Turning Point USA, a national youth organization promoting conservative values. He grew up in the Chicago suburbs and attended Wheeling High School.

Vice President J.D. Vance recently said that Kirk was crucial to the 2024 election victory for him and President Trump.

“Now our whole administration is here, but not because we love Charlie as a friend, even though we did, but because we know we wouldn’t be here without him,” Vance said, according to the Washington Times. “Charlie built an organization that reshaped the balance of our politics.”

According to reports, the protesters were allegedly affiliated with Mutual Aid Dawning (MAD), a Glen Ellyn-based group formed during the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests in Chicago. Those protests involved widespread property damage and arrests.

MAD’s website describes the group as “intergenerational, largely non-religious and queer with sexualities and genders across the spectrum.” The group identifies with anti-capitalist and anti-colonial ideologies.

The website includes political education materials referencing historical figures, including Mao Zedong. Critics have noted Mao’s legacy includes responsibility for millions of deaths and ongoing repression in China.

MAD describes the suburban communities where it organizes as “highly resourced yet highly unengaged,” and states its goal is to challenge perceived complicity in systems of oppression.

Though the protesters were few in number, their presence drew concern among attendees and organizers, who said the disruption highlighted a broader cultural and political divide.

Breakthrough Ideas, an organization led by former state representative Jeanne Ives, responded to the event by calling for “more speech, not less,” and said Kirk’s vision based on constitutional and biblical principles must be defended publicly.

“They’re hoping (Kirk’s) murder isn’t a real Turning Point in America,” the group said in a newsletter. “They hope people don’t start to evaluate the culture and realize that the Left has been feeding children, young adults, and even boomers progressive nonsense that debases society and breaks the social and constitutional contract that citizens in a free society should have with each other.”