Charlie Kirk’s widow Erika waves to supporters as his casket arrives in Arizona

PHOENIX, ARIZONA: Conservative commentator Charlie Kirk's widow, Erika, was seen fighting tears as she acknowledged supporters from the backseat of an SUV while escorting her husband’s body to a chapel in Arizona on Thursday, September 11.

Erik wore a pair of sunglasses and held a rosary in her right hand, as a throng of people waving American flags greeted the motorcade outside Phoenix’s Hansen Mortuary Chapel on Thursday evening.

JD and Usha Vance support Erika's side after Charlie Kirk's death

Charlie Kirk was flown to Arizona aboard Air Force 2 after he was fatally shot during a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday, September 10. The shot was fired by a sniper atop the Losee Center, a building on the UVU campus, about 200 yards from where Kirk was speaking to thousands.

Vice President JD Vance arranged for the flight after the brutal assassination, and he, along with Second Lady Usha Vance, decided to be at the heartbroken widow’s side following her husband’s death.

The VP cancelled plans to attend a 9/11 commemoration at Ground Zero in Manhattan and opted to travel to Utah with his wife to be with Kirk’s family.

Notably, Charlie Kirk’s wife and parents were in Utah for the event when he was shot in the neck.

Erika Kirk and Usha Vance got off Air Force 2 hand-in-hand as they descended the stairs to the tarmac at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. They watched the wooden casket be transferred to a hearse for the 10-mile drive to the chapel.

Earlier on Thursday, JD Vance helped carry Kirk’s wooden casket to Air Force 2 during a private ceremony at Roland R Wright Air National Guard Base in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Vance wrote a touching tribute for Kirk, "Charlie was constantly calling and texting, checking on our family and offering guidance and prayers. After every event, he would give me a big hug, tell me he was praying for me, and ask me what he could do."

JD Vance recalls his interaction with Charlie Kirk years before getting into politics

JD Vance wrote in the post, "A while ago, probably in 2017, I appeared on Tucker Carlson’s Fox show to talk about God knows what. Afterwards a name I barely knew sent me a DM on Twitter and told me I did a great job. It was Charlie Kirk."

"Charlie was fascinated by ideas and always willing to learn and change his mind. Like me, he was skeptical of Donald Trump in 2016. Like me, he came to see President Trump as the only figure capable of moving American politics away from the globalism that had dominated for our entire lives," the VP added.

He also mentioned, "When others were right, he learned from them. When he was right–as he usually was–he was generous. With Charlie, the attitude was never, 'I told you so.' But: 'welcome.'"

Vance mentioned that his relationship with Kirk blossomed to the point that the 31-year-old began campaigning for him before he even ran to be an Ohio senator.

"He had no reason to do this, no expectation that I’d go anywhere. I was polling, at that point, well below 5 percent. He did it because we were friends, and because he was a good man," Vance wrote.