PHOENIX — Erika Kirk presented the Charlie Kirk Courage Award to a Utah student on Saturday at the AmericaFest convention at Turning Point USA.
Caleb Chilcott, a senior and president of Utah Valley University’s TPUSA chapter, called the experience of receiving the award from Erika Kirk “awesome.”
“I found out about it at 5pm last night, so I was definitely nervous, but it was an unforgettable experience,” he said.
After Charlie Kirk was shot to death during an event at Utah Valley University on September 10, Chilcot made efforts to memorialize Kirk on campus and throughout Utah.
According to his biography, which was shown on the big screen as he accepted the award, Chilcot is “working to establish an official memorial on the UVU campus to commemorate Charlie and celebrate his life in the very place where he was killed.”
Chilcot said so far he has not heard anything from leadership at UVU regarding the memorial.
This year is Chilcot’s third year at AmericaFest. “I loved seeing the improvements every year,” he said. “There were definitely some controversial (speakers), but I thought everyone was great. This is a testament that the conservative movement can come together, especially after a tragedy like Charlie’s assassination.”
Although Chilcot said he personally likes to avoid controversy – “I’m here to support my class and the turning point,” he told me – this year’s line-up of speakers has been openly fighting over the direction of the Conservative movement.
Erika Kirk takes the lead at AmericaFest
Erika Kirk had to take the reins of Turning Point USA after Kirk was assassinated. AmericaFest was her first major outing as the organization’s new leader.
As the conference began, Ben Shapiro delivered a speech that received great acclaim a lot on political right He was also courageous, criticizing intolerance and the spread of conspiracy theories. He also called out several conservative heavyweights, including Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens and Megyn Kelly, as the Deseret News reported.
But not everyone believes the right will disintegrate due to infighting. Blaze TV host Steve Dees, speaking Saturday, said young Republicans are more engaged and united than ever, and unfazed by debates.
A few Utah youth at AmericaFest who spoke to the Deseret News on Saturday conveyed the same viewpoint.
Utahns on what AmericaFest 2025 was like
A convention like this sparks internal conversations about the beliefs and values the party stands for, and “it’s very important that we do that,” said Riley Beasley, vice president of the Utah Federation of College Republicans.
Ultimately, he said, it’s about a shared American identity.
“We need to work on our problems, but yelling at people, or fighting, or even in the case of Charlie Kirk, being killed for speaking out — that’s something we can’t have in this country,” Paisley said.
Caleb Chilcott, a senior and president of Utah Valley University’s TPUSA chapter, and Riley Beasley, vice president of the Utah Federation of University Republicans, at AmericaFest on Saturday night. Chilcot won the Charlie Kirk Freedom Award. | Gitanjali Punia, Deseret News
This is the first AmericaFest he has ever attended. He was joined by at least 20 other young men from Utah who traveled to Arizona for the four-day conservative conference.
“It’s their first time, too,” he told me as we stood next to the media booths. Daily Wire programs blared over nearby speakers.
Beasley traveled from Utah on Wednesday, as did Tyler Boyles, field director for the Utah Republican Party and president and political director of the Utah Federation of College Republicans.
“Everyone knows there’s some rhetoric going on about where we’re headed as a party, as a movement,” Boyles told the Deseret News toward the end of Saturday’s program.
“As long as we remain steadfast in our beliefs, but are also willing to listen to each other and engage in these conversations, we are on the right path,” Boyles said.
Funny moments at AmericaFest
Actor Rob Schneider, who spoke at the conference on Friday, was “hilarious,” Paisley said. “It was almost unexpected, because you want to think of him as a big political guy, but at the end of the day, he’s a comedian at heart,” he said.
“I’m very excited for tomorrow,” Beasley said. He pointed to what Tyler Boyer, TPUSA’s director of operations, posted on social media about a “big surprise” on the final day of AmericaFest.
“I’m looking forward to seeing what it could be, or even who,” Beasley said.
In Saturday’s surprise hit, Jack Posobiec and Penny Johnson brought to the stage Jenny Beeman, a Target employee who was confronted by a customer for wearing a red “Freedom” T-shirt in Charlie’s honor.
The incident, which occurred in Chico, California, went viral.
The crowd broke into chants of “Grandma Jenny,” who was wearing the same T-shirt in which she spread.
Other headliners Saturday included Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., Fox News host Jesse Watters, Allie Stuckey, and conservative activist Riley Gaines.
Vice President J.D. Vance is scheduled to appear Sunday, along with Mercury Radio Arts CEO Glenn Beck, White House border czar Tom Homan, and Donald Trump Jr.