Last Thursday, September 25th, 2025, the Cocke County, Tennessee, Republican Party hosted a candlelight vigil in honor of our friend and brother in Christ, Charlie Kirk, at the Cocke County Courthouse Lawn. I have been lucky, over the past six years, to serve as the Chairman of our county's GOP, and Thursday was the largest turnout we have ever had for an event in our history.
In the hour and a half we spent together, we heard the gospel message about boldness in faith, given by my pastor, Bethel Baptist Church preacher Chad Webb. We united in song through the hymns of "God Bless America" and "Amazing Grace," led by the Smith Family.
Tennessee State House District 11 Representative Jeremy Faison spoke about how Charlie Kirk embodied debate, discourse, and an attempt to talk to the other side, and his son, Cocke County Young Republicans Chairman Reagan Faison, spoke about how Charlie helped fight the indoctrination of college students in the exact location where they were being brainwashed.
Cocke County Property Assessor and Federated Republican Women's President Macie Reed honored Charlie by speaking of his commitment to his faith and to his nation. After hearing these remarks, we all joined as four hundred candles were lit in unity to honor Charlie through song, prayer, and a celebration of faith unlike our small town had seen in a long time.
It was one of the most emotional evenings I can remember, and I was honored that it was due to Charlie Kirk's impact on our world. In a county of just thirty-five thousand people, nearly five hundred like-minded, conservative, Christian patriots, in the face of leftist and anti-Christian violence being committed throughout the nation, stood up to honor Charlie.
We are designed, as conservatives and as Christians, to show up for our counties, cities, towns, and communities. Charlie was a central member of the body of Christ and a pillar of the conservative movement. For him, my county and my people showed up, regardless of our size or resources. We dedicated a night to Charlie, and so many other communities should look to events across the nation to come together and fight against the evils that are taking over our country and world.
I was fortunate enough to serve as the host throughout the evening, delivering two speeches to welcome guests to the event and to close out the evening. In the midst of the second speech, I walked up as the crowd, independently, sang "Oh, How I Love Jesus" by themselves after the conclusion to "Amazing Grace." In one extremely faithful moment before I walked to the podium, I felt a sense of unity with my community and a sense of protection from God above all of us that night.
Part 1
Good evening, everybody. God bless this crowd and God bless Cocke County. I'm so glad to see the turnout this evening. I want to say a few words. I would like to recognize the Cocke County Federated Republican Women and the Cocke County Republican Party for their efforts in bringing this together, as well as the Cocke County Sheriff's Department for their support in organizing the event and ensuring security. My name is Kenny Cody. I am the Chairman of the Cocke County Republican Party. And I loved Charlie Kirk.
For those of you who don't know me, I'm a teacher, and I work at a publication called Human Events. I've been a conservative columnist and have written for various publications, including Newsmax, Townhall.com, and The Daily Wire. But most proudly, I am currently the opinion editor at Human Events. And I was a colleague of Charlie Kirk. He was a senior contributor at Human Events. And while I didn't personally know Charlie, I knew the people that he inspired. Ten years ago, I got involved in the conservative movement. I was a member of the College of Republicans. I was a member of the Young Americans for Freedom. And that's how I got involved in politics.
And most importantly, I was a debater, just like Charlie. I did debate throughout college, and watched as Charlie embodied discourse and debate with all. However, that's not the most important thing that Charlie Kirk was about. Most importantly, he was a man of God and a man of Jesus Christ. Charlie Kirk was a Christian martyr. He stood for everything right about this country, about this nation, and what's right with Cocke County, East Tennessee, and the state of Tennessee. I was proud to be a colleague of Charlie's, and am so proud of Cocke County tonight. I spoke with Macie Reed, our president of the Cocke County Federated Republican Women, and we agreed that this is the largest turnout I have ever seen for a Cocke County Republican Party event since I became Chairman six years ago. And I am so proud of that tonight, and thank you.
I've seen an amazing quote on social media that's making the rounds, and I think it's very appropriate. Charlie Kirk did not use hate speech. The left hated his speech. And that is why they killed him. That is why leftist violence is leading this country. And that's why our country needs prayer. That's why we need get-togethers like tonight to show that we are not afraid. Christian conservatives in this nation are not afraid of leftist violence.
We are not afraid of the fascist left. We are not afraid of the anti-Christian movement that's currently going on in this country. And we will not stand down. Someone messaged me on Facebook and said, 'Are you going to have a vigil for Charlie? 'And I wanted to let enough time pass so that we could witness that beautiful memorial service on Sunday. I said, absolutely, we'll do it because I know the people and the Republicans and the Christians of Cocke County were gonna come out to this, and you have.
I've been proud to serve this county and East Tennessee for the last six years as your Republican Party Chairman. I know some of you were thinking, 'Six years ago, weren't you 12 years old? But I'm lucky to be 29. And Charlie Kirk inspired people like me to get involved in Republican politics. He inspired debate. He facilitated discourse. And what did he get for it? He got killed for it. He didn't get killed because he was a Nazi fascist. He didn't get killed for it because he was just a man, a Republican.
He got killed for it because he was a conservative Christian who embodied everything that we stand for in this country and the principles that our nation was founded upon 249 years ago. I want to let you all know, this got together in a week and a half. These people got together in a week and a half. The Smith family, Representative Faison, Bethel Baptist Church, Chad Webb, the Cocke County Federal Republican Women, and the Cocke County Republican Party. They're canceling events in other counties and cities. My county's standing up and showing that we're going to remember Charlie Kirk and stand with God. And I'm so proud to be here tonight.
Any elected official, will you please raise your hand? If you are a member of the Cocke County Commission, a member of the courthouse, or an elected official, please raise your hand. Please give these men and women a round of applause. I can't see everybody right now. I know Norman Smith, CLB Commissioner, and Representative Faison are here—and Macie Reed, who's our property assessor. I appreciate the men and women who came out tonight and were willing to stand with the Republican Party and the Christian faith. I was proud to be a colleague of Charlie's. But most importantly, I'm proud to stand and honor him tonight in the image of God and the image of Cocke County...
Part 2
Praise God. I'm a tad emotional. Rightfully so. Charlie deserves it. I want to thank the Cocke County Republican Party. I want to thank the Cocke County Federated Republican Women, the Cocke County Sheriff's Department, and all our local officials. Thank you, Chad Webb, for the beautiful message that you delivered tonight on our boldness in faith. Thank you for the amazing singing by the Smith family tonight. Incredible. Please give them a round of applause. Give everybody a round of applause. I know it's hard to clap with candles in your hands. It's okay.
I want to close tonight with a simple message: Christians in this country will never stand down. Conservatism won't stand down. What the left and the opposition do not realize is that we're not Christians because we're conservatives. We are conservatives because we are Christians. And that will never end. A few things that I've heard on social media and from the message on Sunday, the memorial service on Sunday: the evil powers that be in this world, whether that's the leftists, whether that's those who want to destroy Christianity, are that we're not going to stand down.
And they have no idea what they have done to this country by killing Charlie Kirk. It's appropriate that the organization that Charlie Kirk led was Turning Point USA, because September 10th, 2025, was the turning point for America. It was a turning point for our nation, and, most importantly, it was a turning point for Christianity. If you look at this crowd tonight, watch all these cars driving by. They know why we're here. They've heard about it on the radio, they've seen it on social media, and they've seen it on television. There is no other reason for us to be here but to praise God and honor Charlie Kirk.
I appreciate everyone who showed up tonight, including those who provided the candles, buttons, and shirts. The banner here behind us has a few phrases, but one stands out above all the rest: "Well done, good and faithful servant." Well done, Charlie Kirk. Thank you for what you did for our country, Charlie Kirk. Thank you for representing God. This is for you tonight. And praise Jesus that everybody is here. I thank you. This is the largest turnout we've had. I know Macie made 400 flyers. We had 400 candles, and we ran out. Praise God for that.
I'm honored to be your Republican Party Chairman here in Cocke County, but I am even more honored to be a Cocke Countian tonight, and I'm honored to be a Christian conservative man standing before you today. I want to thank all the elected officials. Thank you to our men and women in uniform here protecting us from the violence that could occur tonight. Thank you all so much. Thank you to Chad Webb. Thank you to Jeremy Faison, Macie Reed, the Smith family, and so many others who have made this happen tonight.
God bless Charlie Kirk, God bless Cocke County, and God bless the United States of America.
