{"id":2486341,"date":"2025-09-14T12:40:02","date_gmt":"2025-09-14T16:40:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/firefighters-defy-dem-governor-to-honor-charlie-kirk-with-flags-at-half-staff\/"},"modified":"2025-09-14T12:41:10","modified_gmt":"2025-09-14T16:41:10","slug":"firefighters-defy-dem-governor-to-honor-charlie-kirk-with-flags-at-half-staff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/firefighters-defy-dem-governor-to-honor-charlie-kirk-with-flags-at-half-staff\/","title":{"rendered":"Firefighters Defy Dem Governor to Honor Charlie Kirk with Flags at Half-Staff"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ffirefighters-defy-dem-governor-to-honor-charlie-kirk-with-flags-at-half-staff%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2486341&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Democratic mayor John Laesch of Aurora, Illinois, ordered city flags to be flown at full staff despite proclamations from president Donald Trump and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker to lower flags to half-staff in honor of Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, who was assassinated during an event at Utah Valley University. While Trump and Pritzker called for flags at half-staff-Trump explicitly in Kirk&#8217;s memory and Pritzker in honor of victims of political violence-Mayor Laesch emphasized the importance of remembering September 11th and stated that lowering flags should not be taken lightly. A memo from Aurora&#8217;s Fire Chief instructed all city buildings, including fire stations, to raise flags to full staff, warning that lowering them again would violate a direct order. Some local officials and unions expressed disagreement or defiance regarding the proclamations, with some like Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and an Iowa county official also refusing to lower flags. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-trashes-pritzker-as-chicago-crime-crackdown-looms\/\" title=\"... trashes ... as Chicago crime crackdown looms\">dispute highlights political<\/a> and symbolic divisions following Kirk&#8217;s assassination.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>Democratic Mayor John Laesch of Aurora, Illinois ordered flags to fly at full staff in the city despite proclamations from President Donald Trump and Democratic Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, according to a memo circulating on social media.<\/p>\n<p>Authorities have arrested Tyler Robinson, <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2025\/09\/12\/charlie-kirks-alleged-assassin-revealed\/\">accusing<\/a> him of <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2025\/09\/10\/charlie-kirk-utah-valley-university-dead-shooting\/\">assassinating<\/a> Turning Point USA (TPUSA) founder Charlie Kirk during a TPUSA &ldquo;Prove Me Wrong&rdquo; event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday, during which Kirk was debating attendees on a variety of topics.<\/p>\n<p>Trump <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/presidential-actions\/2025\/09\/honoring-the-memory-of-charlie-kirk\/\">ordered<\/a> flags to fly at half-staff in Kirk&rsquo;s memory Wednesday, while Pritzker issued a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.illinois.gov\/news\/release.html?releaseid=31704\">proclamation<\/a> Friday ordering the flag to be flown at half-staff in honor of &ldquo;victims of political violence,&rdquo; avoiding any mention of Kirk.<\/p>\n<p>A person on the ground in Aurora familiar with the city&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >fire department confirmed<\/a> the validity of the memo circulating on X to the Daily Caller News Foundation.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Good morning, all. As directed by the mayor, all City of Aurora buildings, including the fire stations, are to have their flags at full staff,&rdquo; the memo from Fire Chief David McCabe of the Aurora Fire Department posted by Franck Ricci, a retired New Haven, Connecticut, firefighter, read.<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"stnvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadScript(src) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=src; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.async=true; \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.body.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadScript(\"https:\/\/embed.sendtonews.com\/player3\/embedcode.js?fk=s28Az7AY\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #stnvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#stnvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I know everyone has their own opinion on whether the flag should be at full or half-staff, but that is irrelevant. Someone will be coming around to raise all station flags to full staff.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The memo went on to say that any manipulation of the flags to place them back at half-staff would be viewed as &ldquo;a violation of a direct order.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The source on the ground told the Daily Caller News Foundation that the local firefighters&rsquo; union reached an agreement with Laesch that no member of the union would have to raise the flag to full staff.<\/p>\n<p>A video <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/frankriccidc\/status\/1966880436430533063\/photo\/1\">posted<\/a> to X by Ricci appears to show Fire Assistance Chief of Operations Matt Anslow moving the flag to full staff.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;In flagrant disregard for unity, the mayor and chief raised the flags, chasing cheap political points over national mourning, exposing the left&rsquo;s relentless pursuit of division over decency,&rdquo; Ricci told the DCNF.<\/p>\n<p>According to the proclamation by President Trump, flags were to be flown at half-staff until sunset Sept. 14. Pritzker&rsquo;s proclamation ended the period of flying the flag at half-staff at sunset Sept. 14.<\/p>\n<p>Laesch explained his order to raise the flags in a statement <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fox32chicago.com\/news\/aurora-flags-raised-early-despite-orders-honor-charlie-kirk-citing-solemnity-9-11-tribute\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">reported<\/a> by local media outlet Fox 32 Chicago. Laesch&rsquo;s statement, as reported by the outlet, does not appear to mention Kirk&rsquo;s assassination.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Our focus was on remembering the lives lost on September 11th. On Friday, our flags were raised again as we moved forward, carrying with us the spirit and memory of those who died,&rdquo; Laesch said in the statement.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I recognize that some employees and community members may not agree with this decision, but lowering the flag is a solemn act that carries great weight. The choice to do so should not be made cavalierly. Doing so diminishes the importance of the remembrance of tragedies like September 11, 2001.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Kirk was born and raised in the Chicago suburbs less than an hour&rsquo;s drive from Aurora.<\/p>\n<p>Democratic Mayor Karen Bass of Los Angeles also ordered that flags be kept at full-staff, <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/AnthonyCabassa_\/status\/1966689321487896692?\">according<\/a> to a post on X.<\/p>\n<p>In Iowa, Johnson County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jon Green <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/permalink.php?story_fbid=pfbid033YjZUUHFsNsEtHfmEt2cVA14bUZhPEkxLsfMb241CtXgvBoYzPdpBVmQ6R5vFvcJl&amp;id=100067652390730\">posted<\/a> on he would defy the proclamation from Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds of Iowa to fly the flag at half-staff to honor Kirk.<\/p>\n<p>Mayor Laesch and Chief McCabe did not immediately respond to requests for comment from the DCNF.<\/p>\n<div class=\"disclaimer\">\n<p>All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/union-membership-plummets-to-record-low\/\" title=\"Union Membership Plummets to Record Low\">legitimate news publisher<\/a> that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter&rsquo;s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/mailto:licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org\">licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Democratic Mayor John Laesch of Aurora, Illinois, directed that flags in the city remain at full staff despite orders from President Donald Trump and Democratic Governor JB Pritzker to fly them at half-staff. This information comes from a memo shared on social media. Tyler Robinson has been arrested for allegedly assassinating Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA (TPUSA), during a &#8220;Prove Me Wrong&#8221; event at Utah Valley University. While Trump ordered flags at half-staff in Kirk&#8217;s honor and Pritzker issued a proclamation for half-staff flags to remember victims of political violence without naming Kirk, Mayor Laesch insisted on keeping the flags fully raised. A local source confirmed the memo&#8217;s authenticity, which stated that lowering the flags would violate direct orders. The firefighters&#8217; union reportedly agreed that no member would be required to raise the flag to full staff, though video shows some officials doing so. Laesch explained his decision by emphasizing remembrance of September 11 rather than Kirk&#8217;s death and acknowledged some disagreement within the community over this choice<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2486342,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Michael-Featured-Image-130.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[44291,63310,3907,47871],"class_list":["post-2486341","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-charlie-kirk","tag-defy-governor","tag-firefighters","tag-half-staff"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Michael-Featured-Image-130.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2486341","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2486341"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2486341\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2486345,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2486341\/revisions\/2486345"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2486342"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2486341"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2486341"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2486341"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}