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By James Pew
“Absolute bedlam at the Art Gallery where we tried to have a memorial vigil for Charlie Kirk.” – Frances Banannie, Facebook
A thirteen year old Canadian named Daniel Thiele took the initiative this week, and with the help of Naomi Chocyk and Fenton Travers, municipal candidates for True Blue Vancouver, organized a vigil for the late Charlie Kirk at the Vancouver Art Gallery. The event took place on September 10th, the anniversary of Kirk’s assassination. An angry mob of leftist activists showed up to disturb and disorder the event. The activists, who by all appearances acted, as they do, like the demon-possessed, screamed “rest in piss Charlie Kirk,” “Fuck Israel,” they booed and hissed, they banged on drums and blew airhorns. Initially mourners, unable to hear their own prayers, were confused by the maniacal hatred emanating from the activists, who appeared to have no organizing principle, no real purpose other than obstreperous disruption, and let’s face it, pure evil.
In an email exchange I asked Thiele to share his thoughts on the vigil and the activists efforts to sabotage it. At first the activists were up close to those attending, making proceedings nearly impossible. Eventually the police separated them from the vigil area. In the following video links — this from X, this and this from Facebook — you can hear the activists loud and clear off camera. Thiele, perhaps more generously than might otherwise have been warranted, went no further than calling their behaviour “annoying.”
He wrote:
“I organized the September 10 vigil as a chance for people to remember Charlie Kirk, hear a few remarks, and come together peacefully. There were counter-protesters nearby, which was upsetting for some attendees, but we continued with the memorial. I wanted the evening to remain respectful…with the help of the police we were able to mourn, though they were chanting and chanting…”
Most of the activists appeared to be of the type who brand as “residential school denialist” anyone who questions the purported story of 215 murdered aboriginal children buried in clandestine unmarked graves on the grounds of the former Kamloops Indian residential school. The only connection between the unmarked graves story and the Charlie Kirk vigil was that Rebel News reporter, the crack gumshoe Drea Humphrey, reported on the Vigil. In Humphrey’s words, a vigil organized by a 13-year old Canadian on the inaugural observance of the political killing of an enormously influential Christian and public figure was something she deemed newsworthy.
However, the activists took Humphrey’s reporting to mean that she was “organizing” and “promoting” the event. Of course, neither of which she did. She reported on the thing and nothing more, as she does, as a matter of course, in her capacity as a journalist, and, as Humphrey was sure to mention, not at all unlike any of the other journalists who did the same. But the activists determined that since Humphrey was one of the first journalists to challenge the specious 215 unmarked graves claim, her association with (which was actually just reporting on) the Charlie Kirk vigil demanded that the Every Child Matters brigade with their hand drums, atonal Indian chants and unwarranted accusations of “Indian Residential School denialism” would be the perfect way to encounter other Canadians who had gathered to mourn the death by violent public execution of a man of unshakable Christian faith, who was a dedicated father and husband, and an inspiration to millions.
But there was more to why the activists zeroed in on Drea Humphrey; but that is better left to the tenacious reporter herself. Please see Humphrey’s video report below regarding the Charlie Kirk vigil.
Returning to the site of the vigil: the Vancouver Art Gallery. In a misguided commemoration for the 215 phantom Indian children falsely asserted to never have returned home from their Kamloops residential school, for almost two years the steps of the Vancouver Art Gallery were strewn with 215 pairs of children’s shoes. However, in fact, those children never existed as there has never been a parent or family member who was or is actively searching for a missing named child. Instead of calling me a denialist for daring to write the previous sentence, how about produce a name of a disappeared child, then we might be able to put the issue to rest. Until then, consider the question up for challenge with the onus being on the activists to prove their implausible claims. I repeat, and in spite of the grip on the nation this faux claim may have, not one single named unaccounted for child has ever been identified as missing from an Indian Residential School. The shoes, along with other items like children’s stuffed animals, toys and candles, were removed from the steps on May 19th, 2023.
Barry Neufeld is a former school trustee from Chilliwack, British Columbia who in February 2026 was ordered to pay $750,000 by the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal for statements made over several years opposing SOGI 123 (sexual orientation and gender identity) resources in schools. Neufeld was invited to speak at the vigil and was accompanied by conservative political organizer and writer Stuart Parker. The following was mined from Parker’s Facebook page where he was posting updates from the Vancouver Art Gallery during the vigil.
Parker’s first post:
“The Left in which I grew up is well and truly dead. I cannot think of any environmental, socialist or trade union group of which I was part saying ‘hey... let’s go scream at and spit on conservatives attending a prayer vigil for a family man who was gunned down while giving a speech’.”
The expected hub-bub ensues:
“The Wokes are trying shut down the Charlie Kirk Vigil. They are drowning us out with air horns and are pushing us out of our space, screaming nonsense and drumming. The cops won’t hold them back.”
The hub-bub delays things, which of course is the purpose. The left know what they are doing:
“We persuaded the cops to enforce a perimeter. Now singing O Canada.”
Now the vigil can actually begin, shouts and air horns are mildly attenuated, mourners can at least hear each other now:
“We join hands in a moment of silence to remember Charlie Kirk. They scream ‘boo! Boo! Burn in hell. Fuck you! Fuck you!’ And then they laugh.
Something dark has taken the counter protest but our light shines brighter.”
But what really triggered the leftists:
“We just sang Amazing Grace. It drove the Wokes into white hot apoplectic fury to hear the anthem against slavery.”
It’s noteworthy that something as singularly beautiful and moving as Amazing Grace would cause such a vicious expulsion of rage amongst the woke ones. In an email exchange, I asked Barry Neufeld what the hell happened. The following is his entire response:
A radical aboriginal woman organized the counter protest, to condemn people who deny that 215 children were murdered at the Kamloops residential school. Because Drea Humphrey had reported that a vigil would be held for Charlie Kirk at the Art Gallery, they assumed that she had organized it.
A few years ago, 215 pairs of shoes were displayed on the Art Gallery steps for 2 years, while activists collected donations, so I guess they thought they owned the place.
There was incessant banging on their drums. It reminded me of an angry child banging pots and pans together. No discernible rhythm or musical quality. Hoop drums are not traditional instruments of Canadian Aboriginals. They expropriated them from Irish Settlers.
They were chanting “Every Child matters!” Of course, everyone can agree with that. They called me and Charlie supporters Nazis. But they were waving Palestinian flags and shouting “Free Palestine!” I couldn’t figure out what side they were on and what point they were trying to make: they had no guiding principle.
They kept interfering with the vigil by incoherent screaming, catcalls, sirens whistles and bullhorns. It made me worry about demonic possession.
But they really got angry when those in the vigil began to sing “Amazing Grace,” the hymn that marked the end of the slave trade in the British Empire.
It is hard to sympathize with the plight of our ‘First Nations” when they participate in such disrespectful behaviour of anarchists who want to destroy our country.”
At the vigil, Neufeld gave a moving speech full of wisdom, hope and encouragement (see below). It is one of the key moments people came for. The loss of Charlie Kirk is still very much present and painful for many of us, we desperately need the guidance of Christian elders like Barry Neufeld. However, from Stuart Parker:
“Barry Neufeld speaks while the mob sings obscene songs celebrating Charlie Kirk’s death.”
Sigh…the lost ones, those who walketh in the counsel of the ungodly, who standeth in the way of the sinners, and who sitteth in the seat of the scornful, as our first psalm teaches, “are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.” Pray for them.
With not a demon around to scream or hiss, I present the timely and essential words of Barry Neufeld:
We gather today to commemorate the life of Charlie Kirk, a young man who was the embodiment of courage over prudence. He was willing to stand bravely for freely speaking the truth when there were threats against his life.
Charlie had the most influential microphone in the Culture wars. But he willingly shared it with his most vocal opponents, because he believed in true dialogue. That is not the action of a fascist!
Around the world, people of goodwill were horrified and saddened by his brutal murder in front of thousands of students. But we were shocked by the reaction of many who rejoiced at his violent death, leaving his beautiful wife Erica a widow and his two lovely children fatherless. A year later, some sick people are still celebrating his murder. (and many are here today)
We must continue to send encouragement and condolences to Erica and the Kirk family for their incredible loss. And we condemn the efforts of influential people, on the left and the right for the horrible ways they have attacked her with false accusations and malicious conspiracy theories. It is despicable how people both right and left have been bashing her.
It is the reaction of Charlie’s supporters that is significant: unlike the reaction to the death of George Floyd 5 years earlier, there were no riots in the streets, no carnage, no looting and no burning of cars and buildings. Instead, there was respectful mourning, and a call for other young men to rise up and take Charlie’s place. Nobody ever said we need more people like George Floyd!
I think we have a Canadian replacement for Charlie Kirk right here in our group today. Daniel Thiele is only 13 years old, a young man just emerging from childhood, but has shown leadership and courage beyond his years.
Charlie was given one of the most beautiful, largest and moving funerals of any American leader in history. The New York Times stated that 200 thousand people turned out and millions more watched the livestream around the world. I watched all 5 hours of the service, and the most moving was Erica Kirk’s expression of forgiveness to her beloved husband’s killer.
What were the most important aspects of Charlie’s life? Just like our Canadian hero, Dr. Jordan Peterson, he was focused on sharing his message of truth with discouraged young men. College aged young men, who were becoming demoralized by the toxic D.I.E. atmosphere on college campuses. Like BillBoard Chris Elston, Charlie went right into the public squares, especially the liberal college campuses and mingled and conversed with the young people.
There were three aspects to Charlie’s message.
The Church
The Government
The Family.
Charlie believed, as I do that these institutions were founded by God the Creator. While Charlie was a Protestant evangelical, Erica was raised Roman Catholic. He had an exalted view of the Church, which he believed is the only institution that protects freedom. He believed that the church is called to give counsel to the rulers. He was not a clergyman; he was only a layman. In a country with a church on nearly every street corner, he did a watchman’s work which many pastors have neglected. And he had a profound influence on many churches. When Glen Hansman, president of the BC Teachers Union told me I had to leave my faith outside the door when I walked into the School Board room, I refused, because Charlie reminded me that I must be the same person in public as I was in private.
Regarding the separation of Church and State, he pointed out that the State has intruded into nearly every facet of our lives while most churches retreated. Charlie asked what gave state health officials the authority to go into churches and shut them down and then stand by idly while they were burned down? He believed that if God doesn’t exist, there is nothing right or wrong, everything is just a matter of your own opinion. Freedom is not sustainable if you try to remove the Christian religion.
Charlie believed that courage is only moral when it is grounded in truth. He pointed out that fear is being used to silence truth. He believed in that famous quote from Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg address: “Government of the people, by the people, for the people” He called for Christians to be courageous enough to govern themselves and then govern their country. This is similar to Jordan Peterson’s dictum: “Before you attempt to change the world, start by cleaning up your bedroom.” He urged Christians, especially young persons to be courageous and show up at School board meetings. Oppose the depravity of progressive curriculum and pornographic books and demand the release of documentation through freedom of information processes.
But Charlie warned that being brave, courageous and moral rarely comes without a cost. His life proved that. So has mine.
Regarding the government, Charlie truly loved his country and was enthusiastically patriotic. Here in Canada, we are ashamed of being seen as patriotic. Our children are being taught to be ashamed of our history, embarrassed about our heritage and humiliated about the color of our skin. Here in Canada our conservatives no longer love our country: they want to leave it, tear the country apart or just turn it over to the Aboriginals. We need more young leaders like Daniel Theile to encourage us to Make Canada Great again.
Charlie was passionate about Free Speech, which he believed was bestowed by the Creator, and any attempt to impose hate speech laws denied the humanity of the speaker. People without power must be given the right to speak. Our provincial politicians could learn from Charlie, who had the rare gift of maintaining coalitions. He knew how to love his neighbor--- even those who disagreed with him. He mobilized young voters in their 20’s to elect Donald Trump.
Charlie’s highest priority was his family: his beautiful wife, formerly Miss Arizona and their two lovely children. He understood why young men were reluctant to get married due to the lack of demand for college graduates and the greed of developers which makes it impossible for young people to ever own a home big enough to raise a family. But nevertheless, he encouraged young people to find happiness by finding a wife, getting married and having more children than they could afford. Charlie knew that the biggest challenge to traditional family values was radical feminism. The idea that a career was more important than raising a family. We have recently seen the results of unhinged feminism in the scandalous trial of Lindsay Clancy. When a man goes to prison for harming children, he becomes the immediate target of the other inmates. Because for violent criminals, hurting children is too low— even for them.
But when a woman harms children, she gets a fan club and a million dollars.
Moral of the story: even violent criminals have a stronger moral compass than feminist women.
Charlie had a solution for toxic feminism. He upset and even angered some of his evangelical supporters when he recently said Christians should pay more attention and honor to The Virgin Mary as the archetype of true womanliness.
Some of the most enthusiastic praises for Charlie Kirk have come from Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Clergy. They agree that Charlie Kirk, a Protestant qualified for a Martyr’s crown for the cause of Christ. Metropolitan Tikhon of Russia and Bishop Robert Barron of America think he should be venerated as a saint: recognized by the church as a Model of Holiness: Saints provide practical examples of how to live out faith, courage, and virtue through real-life challenges.
We are gathered here for a vigil which is a period of staying awake during normal sleeping hours to pray and honor the dead. What is the significance of lighting a candle? In the early years of the Christian faith, believers were hunted down jailed, tortured and killed, so they were forced to meet in caves under the city of Rome, which are called catacombs. They needed candles for light. Candles represented to them their prayers and praises rising to the heavens and have become an indispensable part of Traditional Christian Worship.
Our Lord Jesus said: “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” ~ Matthew 5:16
Charlie Kirk allowed his light to shine brightly and it dispelled a lot of Darkness in the world. May we also follow his example and shine the light of truth.
Will you join me in singing that old Sunday School song, “This Little Light of Mine?”
1 This little light of mine,
I’m gonna let it shine.
This little light of mine,
I’m gonna let it shine.
This little light of mine,
I’m gonna let it shine,
let it shine, let it shine, oh let it shine.
2 Ev’rywhere I go,
I’m gonna let it shine.
Ev’rywhere I go,
I’m gonna let it shine.
Ev’rywhere I go,
I’m gonna let it shine,
let it shine, let it shine, oh let it shine.
Thanks for reading. For more on this author, read Will DEI Ever DIE In Canada
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Neither my wife nor I had attended church for literally decades. Raised protestant in our childhood, each of us lived good lives but didn't seek fellowship. When Charlie Kirk was murdered, we both felt moved by the spirit. so to speak. We've been attending regularly ever since.
It’s beyond time now for the silent majority of good Canadians to start pushing back on these evil people who expect everyone to respect their views, while disrupting anyone who thinks differently than they do. These people have had their way now for far too long. Enough! Push back - hard!