WASHINGTON

US President Donald Trump awarded conservative activist Charlie Kirk with a posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom on Tuesday.

"Today we're here to honor and remember a fearless warrior for liberty, a beloved leader who galvanized the next generation like nobody I've ever seen before, and an American patriot of the deepest conviction, the finest quality and the highest caliber, the late great Charlie Kirk," Trump said at a ceremony at the White House.

Kirk, who would have turned 32 today, was fatally shot on Sept. 10 while addressing a group of students at Utah Valley University in the city of Orem, some 40 miles (64.4 kilometers) south of Salt Lake City.

A suspect, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, was arrested shortly after the attack and remains in custody.

Trump said Kirk was assassinated "in the prime of his life for boldly speaking the truth, for living his faith and relentlessly fighting for a better and stronger America."

"He loved this country, and that's why this afternoon, it's my privilege to posthumously award Charles James Kirk our nation's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom," he added.

The Presidential Medal of Freedom is a "big deal," Trump said.

"Very few people get it. Very few people, frankly, qualify. It's a decision of the president, but it's a qualification that's a very hard one to get," he added.

His wife Erika Kirk accepted the award on behalf of Kirk.

"Thank you, Mr. President, for honoring my husband in such a profound and meaningful way," she said.

Both the House and the Senate previously passed a resolution officially designating Oct. 14, Kirk’s birthday, as a "National Day of Remembrance."