From PBS NewsHour.

President Donald Trump posthumously presented conservative activist Charlie Kirk with the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal Freedom, on Tuesday.

During the White House ceremony on what would have been Kirk’s 32nd birthday, Trump called the Turning Point USA founder “a fearless warrior for liberty, beloved leader who galvanized the next generation like nobody I’ve ever seen before, and an American patriot of the deepest conviction, the finest quality and the highest caliber.”

Kirk was assassinated in September while speaking outdoors to a crowd during an event at Utah Valley University. The suspected gunman has been charged with aggravated murder, among other charges, and faces the possibility of the death penalty.

Kirk was an influential and divisive figure, who valued debating in open forums and both drew supporters and alienated critics with controversial statements on topics like civil rights, gender roles, Islam and gun violence.

The medal, created in 1945 by President Harry Truman and renamed and modified in 1963 by President John F. Kennedy, honors people who have made commendable contributions to U.S. security or national interests, world peace, culture or other enterprises.

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