9/11 Remembrance Day: Flags Lowered After Powerful Tragic Shooting

9/11 Remembrance Day – A Nation in Mourning: Flags at Half-Staff for Charlie Kirk Amid 9/11 Remembrance

(Orem, Utah) – In a somber confluence of events, the United States enters a period of national mourning, marked by flags flying at half-staff both for the tragic assassination of a prominent conservative figure and in solemn remembrance of the September 11th attacks.

President Donald Trump has ordered all U.S. flags to be flown at half-staff following the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA. The incident occurred on September 10th during a question-and-answer session at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. Kirk was 31.

The presidential proclamation, directed to all public buildings, military posts, naval stations, and embassies, mandates that flags remain lowered until sunset on September 14th. This period of mourning directly overlaps with the annual 9/11 Remembrance Day, a day when the nation already lowers its flags to honor the nearly 3,000 lives lost in the 2001 terrorist attacks.

In a post on Truth Social, President Trump confirmed Kirk’s death, calling the influential right-wing personality and close ally “Great, and even Legendary.” Later, in a pre-recorded message from the Oval Office, he stated, “He fought for liberty, democracy, justice and the American people. He’s a martyr for truth and freedom and there’s never been anyone who was so respected by youth.”

The investigation into the shooting remains active. Local authorities reported that two individuals were initially arrested but have since been released and are not believed to be the shooter. The search for the perpetrator continues.

This executive action to lower the flags for a private citizen, while rare, is within the president’s discretionary power. The U.S. Flag Code, maintained by the U.S. General Services Administration, serves as a guideline for the proper display of the flag. It specifically outlines periods of mourning for government officials, such as 30 days for a sitting or former president.

However, Section 7(m) of the code grants the president authority to issue proclamations to lower the flag for “the death of other officials, former officials, or foreign dignitaries.” As the code is advisory and lacks enforcement mechanisms, presidents have occasionally used this power to honor exceptional civilians, often those who have died in service to the nation or whose deaths represent a significant national tragedy.

The lowering of the flag this week creates a poignant, dual symbolism. Americans will look upon the lowered flag not only in memory of a recent, shocking act of violence but also in honor of one of the most defining days in modern American history: 9/11 Remembrance Day.

This day is observed with ceremonies at the National 9/11 Memorial & Museum and across the country, moments of silence marking the times the planes struck the Twin Towers and the Pentagon, and the crash of Flight 93 in Pennsylvania, and a collective national reflection on loss, resilience, and unity.

The tradition of flying the flag at half-staff is a powerful, non-verbal language of national grief. It has been employed after events that shake the nation’s core, from the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School to the passing of world leaders like Queen Elizabeth II. The sight of the flag resting below the peak of the flagpole is a universally recognized sign that the country is in a state of collective mourning, remembering those lost and honoring their memory.

As the nation navigates the grief from this new tragedy while reflecting on the profound loss from two decades past, the lowered flag stands as a silent, powerful testament to a nation’s enduring capacity to remember and to honor its fallen.