By James Matthews, US correspondent
In Glendale, this suburb of Phoenix, Arizona, they were queuing before 4am to get into the State Farm Arena.
The home of the Arizona Cardinals NFL team holds 63,000 – it’s filled steadily over the course of the morning for a memorial, stadium-sized.
On every seat is a wristband bearing the words “We are Charlie Kirk” and placards with the message “Never Surrender, Remember Charlie Kirk”.
A packet of paper handkerchiefs has been placed on every row – for many here, it will be emotional.
Stage scheduling has the music before the politics, and rock versions of various hymns are currently belting out – a Christian soundtrack in remembrance.
This occasion brings scale and spectacle to the memory of Charlie Kirk.
The Trump administration, top-tier, is on its way here to remember one of their own.
Charlie Kirk’s right-wing politics carved a controversial figure, but there’s no doubt he was a powerhouse in the Republican movement, engaging with the youth vote and generating a backing for Donald Trump that was critical in putting him back in power.
That movement is inside the State Farm arena in its numbers and, looking around this place, you see the support that Charlie built.
It had a lot to do with putting Donald Trump back into power at the last election.
How to harness this is a challenge being contemplated in the White House.
