Politics

Flags will remain at half-staff throughout Massachusetts until sunset Sunday.

By Abby Patkin

September 12, 2025 | 2:43 PM

1 minute to read

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Flags will remain at half-staff throughout Massachusetts and across the U.S. this weekend in memory of conservative political activist Charlie Kirk.

Gov. Maura Healey has ordered that American flags and Massachusetts flags at all state buildings be lowered to half-staff until sunset on Sept. 14, in accordance with a proclamation from President Donald Trump. The order applies to town and city halls, state-owned or state-controlled buildings, and state military installations.

Trump ordered flags lowered earlier this week following Kirk’s assassination during an event on the Utah Valley University campus. The podcaster and Turning Point USA founder was fatally shot while answering a question about gun violence.

Authorities have arrested a suspect in the killing, identified as 22-year-old Tyler Robinson. An alleged motive remains unclear, but officials said Robinson had become “more political” leading up to the shooting.

While Kirk’s conservative views on hot-button issues such as gun control, race, and abortion made him a polarizing figure, his shooting prompted tributes and condemnation from across the political spectrum.  

“Violence has no place in our politics — ever,” Healey wrote on X following his death. “What happened to Charlie Kirk is horrific and we condemn it in the strongest possible terms. The growth of political violence in our country must be stopped.”

Appearing on “Fox & Friends” Friday, Trump praised Kirk’s ability to draw crowds of young people.

“He didn’t deserve this,” Trump said. “He was truly a good person.”

The president also urged Americans not to live in fear, despite the troubling surge of political violence in recent years.

“You have to go forward,” Trump said. “You just have to go forward. You watch as closely as you can.”