WASHINGTON — Charlie Kirk’s casket arrived in his home state of Arizona aboard Air Force Two on Thursday as Vice President JD Vance honored the conservative activist with a final flight.

Vance’s wife, Usha, stepped off the plane with Kirk’s widow, Erika. Both women wore black and sunglasses. The vice president was a few steps behind in a dark suit.

Air Force Two arrived in Phoenix after a short flight from Salt Lake City, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) from Orem, Utah, where Kirk was assassinated while speaking at Utah Valley University.

Vance helped carry Kirk’s casket with a group of uniformed service members as it was loaded onto the plane.

On Wednesday night, Vance wrote on social media that his relationship with Vance began several years ago after he appeared on Tucker Carlson’s show on Fox News. Kirk reached out to compliment him, “and that moment of kindness began a friendship.”

Last year, Kirk advocated for Vance to be Donald Trump’s choice for vice president and frequently checked in on his family. Vance described him as “a true friend.”

Kirk was co-founder and CEO of the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA, based in Phoenix.

The vice president posted a long eulogy to Kirk, 31, on his personal X account late Wednesday evening. He recounted how the two connected in 2017.

“Charlie Kirk was a true friend,” Vance wrote. “The kind of guy you could say something to and know it would always stay with him. I am on more than a few group chats with Charlie and people he introduced me to over the years. We celebrate weddings and babies, bust each other’s chops, and mourn the loss of loved ones.”

Vance explained that Kirk was the one who introduced him to some of the people who would run his Senate campaign and also to Donald Trump Jr.

“I was in a meeting in the West Wing when those group chats started lighting up with people telling Charlie they were praying for him.  And that’s how I learned the news that my friend had been shot. I prayed a lot over the next hour, as first good news and then bad trickled in,” Vance said. 

“God didn’t answer those prayers, and that’s OK. He had other plans. And now that Charlie is in heaven, I’ll ask him to talk to big man directly on behalf of his family, his friends, and the country he loved so dearly.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.