Local law enforcement officials have reported a recent surge in politically motivated death threats against local leaders, including elected officials, leaders at Cornell University and the Ithaca City School District and Tompkins County employees. Recently, security guards were installed at the entrance of Tompkins County Legislature meetings.

Attendee Sarah Kane said that she hadn’t heard of Kirk prior to the shooting, but his death helped rekindle her Christian faith.

“Because of all the social media around [Kirk’s death], I started watching [some of his] videos and I was like, ‘Wow, this is really re-sparking my interest in the Lord and in my faith,’” Kane said. “It helped it make sense to me again.”

Asked about some of Kirk’s more incendiary views, Kane said she did not feel that the late podcaster had intended to spark hatred or violence, but was “vehemently trying to communicate his truth from the Bible.”

Kane said she saw Tuesday’s event as primarily a religious one and said she found it a bit hurtful and surprising to see some of the hate from passersby.

“I don’t have a whole lot of experience going to religious events and stuff like that,” Kane said. “Like I said, I’m kind of a new Christian, so I was pretty excited to come to this and I’m just really excited to see all the supporters. I was really surprised by that. Seeing all the hate is also kind of surprising. Although maybe it shouldn’t be.”