Utah leaders urge unity following Charlie Kirk's assassination: 'Turning Point for America'

"It's really important we support each other," Republican Utah state Senate President Stuart Adams told Fox News Digital. "I'm very proud of our community for coming together to try to support one another as we work our way through this."

"History will dictate if this is a turning point for our country, but every single one of us gets to choose right now if this is a turning point for us," Cox said during a press conference on Friday after announcing the suspect, Tyler Robinson, had been arrested. 

Adams said it's vital that Americans put their phones down, as Kirk encouraged, to contribute something constructive to the community.  

"This is a turning point for America as we see what we want to become, what we want to do, what we want America to be, and surely we don't want America to be filled with hate. We want to fill it with love, with the type of discourse and free speech that Charlie represented," Adams said. 

"He engaged in a productive, respectful dialogue, and he showed a model for how to engage productively with people that you might disagree with," Brown said, adding that "he was modeling the very behavior that he encouraged people to do" until the moment he died. 

As attorney general, Brown has collaborated with local and federal law enforcement agencies and the U.S. Department of Justice to ensure Kirk's assassin "pays the price for what he's done."

"If that's state law, if that's federal law, if that is a combination of both, we'll make sure justice is served in this case," Brown said. 

"I have people close to me in my own family and on my own staff even, who were part of the experience. They were there, they saw it happen. I think it's important for us to process the trauma and the experience and to understand what it is and, ideally, to use it to bring us together," he said. 

Taylor Bentley, a Utah resident who said he was 15 to 20 yards from Kirk when he was assassinated, told Fox News Digital that he has loved the message of unity from community leaders, particularly the governor.

And Brown agreed that Cox's unifying message has "showcased the best that we have to offer as a state."

The governor said Kirk's "political assassination" is an "attack on the American experiment," and he has urged not just Utah residents, but Americans, to live out Kirk's legacy by engaging peacefully and condemning political violence. 

In Orem City Park on Thursday evening, students and local residents paid their respects during a candlelit vigil.

A memorial honoring Kirk at the Timpanogos Regional Hospital is filled with "We love you, Charlie" posters, flowers and American flags. More signs and flowers have been placed for Kirk on Utah Valley University's campus. 

Flags are flying throughout the state at half-staff this week, and many also gathered for a vigil at the Utah State Capitol on Wednesday evening hours after Kirk's assassination.