Liberty Lake council approves Oct. 14 proclamation honoring Charlie Kirk after heated public comment

The Liberty Lake City Council approved a proclamation at its Oct. 7 meeting designating Oct. 14, 2025, as a day of recognition connected to Charlie Kirk, the national political commentator who was killed earlier this year. The motion, moved by Council member Spencer and seconded for discussion, passed on a recorded 6-1 vote after council members debated and amended parts of the proposed language.

The item drew more than an hour of public comment and repeated calls from residents on both sides of the issue. Many speakers urged the council to remove the proclamation from the agenda or amend it to focus on local victims of gun violence and a denouncement of political violence. Robert Atkins, a Liberty Lake resident, said, “I urge the council to vote no,” adding that he found much of Kirk’s rhetoric “racial, bigoted, and clothed and cloaked in religion.” Lynn Atkins told the council she was “deeply disappointed” to see the proclamation and said it “promotes…