Charlie Kirk Way street sign in California draws liberal backlash
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Liberal residents of Orange County, California, expressed outrage after a street was renamed after slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Street signs bearing Kirk’s name appeared in Westminster this week on the road to City Hall. Portions of All American Way were redesigned as Charlie Kirk Way after the City Council approved the idea last fall.
Kirk, a free speech advocate and founder of Turning Point USA, was killed while speaking at Utah Valley University during a TPUSA campus tour in September 2025.
The name change angered some Southern California locals, according to Los Angeles news outlet ABC7.
Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk speaks to supporters during a “change my mind” style forum at the plaza at UC San Diego on May 1, 2025, as campus police and private security maintain order. (Michael Ho Wai Lee/SOPA Images/LightRocket)
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“I think this is so hateful,” Los Angeles resident Ashley Lawrence said. report.
“I thought it was a joke,” said Ann Galvan of Garden Grove.
Westminster resident Terry Rains also said, “Are you kidding me? I’m sorry, that was my gut reaction.”
Rains organized a protest in December to stop efforts to rename the streets. He said the street’s name, All American Way, is already “inclusive” and welcoming.
Some Southern California residents expressed outrage over the renaming of a street in honor of slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk. (Screenshot/ABC7)
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He carried signs reading “Don’t Vote for Them” with photos of city council members for ABC7. Also “No Kirk Way! No Kirk Day! Hands Off AAW!” He also held up another sign that said:
“These are all public buildings, so to tarnish the name is to denigrate what this is all about,” Rains said.
Republican Westminster Mayor Chi Charlie Nguyen, who fled communism in Vietnam in the 1970s, said it was his idea to rename the street.
“By doing this, we promote freedom. We promote freedom of speech, the freedom of everyone to communicate openly in the City of Westminster,” Nguyen said.
The Westminster, Calif., City Council voted to honor slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk in the fall by renaming its street sign. (Matt Gush/iStock)
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The City Council approved the measure in November 2025 by a 4-1 vote. The council also voted to designate Kirk’s birthday (Oct. 14) as Charlie Kirk Day.
“I, too, am very inspired by what Charlie Kirk has done for the country, for young people and for future generations,” Nguyen added.
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Reacting to the complaints, he said, “You can’t please everyone.”
The mayor defended the signs in a comment to ABC7, saying they were not politically motivated but were intended to celebrate free speech.
Westminster Mayor Chi Charlie Nguyen defended the street sign change. (Leonard Ortiz/MediaNews Group/Orange County, credited via Getty Images)
“I’m not saying Charlie Kirk is a Republican or a Democrat. I don’t take it that way,” he said. “I look at his dedication. He sacrifices to do what needs to be done for our country, and he’s a patriot. Those are the things I look at.”
According to ABC7, the city council said the street redesign does not officially change the street name or addresses and instead involves physical street signs between Westminster Avenue and 13th Street.
Mayor Nguyen’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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