Utah Valley University deferred to Turning Point USA leaders on crucial event security decisions in the lead-up to Charlie Kirk’s assassination, according to a new review commissioned by the school.
Kirk, the popular conservative activist, was shot and killed by a rooftop sniper while debating college students at an outdoor event on the Utah Valley University campus Sept. 10, 2025.
Kirk, 31, was the co-founder of Phoenix-based Turning Point USA and a close ally of President Donald Trump.
UVU did not act in bad faith or “in willful and wanton disregard for the safety of others,” but the event hosted on its campus had pivotal safety shortcomings, according to a new 158-page report released Sept. 24.
“Several key event-security decisions were deferred
to the TPUSA field representative even though UVU staff members raised concerns, including concerns related to holding the event in the outdoor Fountain Courtyard area and using TPUSA’s ticketing process,” the report said.
The probe was released after Kirk’s family filed a notice of claim against the state of Utah and university leaders that alleged the school failed to act on a tip that a rooftop near Kirk’s event posed a security risk. The filing was a step toward filing a wrongful death lawsuit.
The new review was led by security consulting firm The Lake Forest Group. Law firm Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck handled a review of the legal issues involved.
Kirk family lawyer Brett Parkinson said the report reaffirmed that UVU was “woefully understaffed and unprepared to manage the obvious risks associated” with the event.
“The buck stopped with UVU leadership and law enforcement,” Parkinson said in a written statement. “Justice for Charlie and his family requires true accountability for UVU’s fatal shortcomings that day.”
Prosecutors allege that Utah man Tyler Robinson fired the fatal shot from a nearby rooftop. Robinson pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial.
According to the UVU report, Turning Point “insisted” on holding Kirk’s event outdoors, leaving him vulnerable to an attack.
“The outdoor location insisted upon by TPUSA for their event created significant protective operations considerations,” the report said.
The event called for more formal security planning because Kirk was a high-profile speaker, protests were anticipated, private security was involved and the outdoor event would receive significant public attention.
However, there was no pre-event briefing or structured walk-through with all the key security stakeholders ahead of the event, the report found. For example, UVU Police Chief Jeff Long and Turning Point’s security supervisor Dan Flood should have met for a face-to-face briefing and walk-through before the event.
“Chief Long texted Dan Flood to meet on the Hall of Flags outdoor pedestrian walkway at 11, however this face-to-face meeting did not occur,” the report said.
The event also did not have a comprehensive written security assessment or event action plan, the report said, though there was some coordination among the university, campus police and UVU event services and Turning Point USA.
Officials also did not complete a documented line-of-sight assessment even though the area where Kirk spoke was surrounded by buildings.
“TPUSA preferred to hold the event in the Fountain Courtyard and use its own ticketing system rather than the University’s system. Those decisions placed the event in an area that was more difficult to control,” the report said. “Because the event was held on UVU’s campus, UVU should have retained decision-making authority over key security-related issues.”
The report also noted that the university did not have someone watching security cameras during the event. If someone had been, Kirk's family has argued that they may have seen the alleged shooter heading to the rooftop.
“Security camera footage was valuable after the shooting, but no individual had been specifically assigned to monitor relevant camera feeds in real time for event security purposes,” the report said.
Investigators interviewed more than 70 people for the report, including university leaders, faculty, staff, students, UVU police department personnel and outside public safety officials with knowledge of the event.
The report did not include input from Kirk’s inner circle.
Top members of Kirk’s security team refused to cooperate with the investigation, the report said. A Utah risk management official reached out to urge a Turning Point executive to get those involved to participate in the review.
“There was no response,” the report said.
Brian Harpole, leader of the Integrity Solutions security team that worked with Turning Point to provide executive protection for Kirk, did not respond to a telephone call or certified letter.
Similarly, Turning Point security supervisor Dan Flood did not respond to a phone call, voicemail or certified letter. Flood was at UVU during the tragedy and had communicated with Long that day and in the days leading up to the event.
Investigators were unable to reach Maycee Crofts, a senior field representative for Turning Point who participated in a “Major Events Assessment Committee” planning meeting before the event.
The Turning Point UVU chapter leader who invited Kirk to speak on campus also did not speak with the investigators.
Turning Point spokesperson Andrew Kolvet did not respond to a request for comment from The Arizona Republic.
“By its very nature, an after-action report has the benefit of hindsight. This is important to acknowledge when assessing actions or omissions that took place prior to an unexpected tragedy,” the report said. “The objective of this review is not to examine political viewpoints or speculate regarding motivations. Rather, it is to provide an independent assessment of the incident, identify lessons learned, and offer practical recommendations.”
Stephanie Murray covers national politics and the Trump administration for The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com. She co-hosts “The Gaggle,” The Republic’s weekly politics podcast. Reach her at stephanie.murray@usatodayco.com, on X and TikTok @stephanie_murr and on Instagram @stephaniemurray.news.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: School deferred to Turning Point for Kirk event security, report says
