Charlie Kirk’s Family Alleges UVU Officials Ignored Security Warnings, Notice Claims

According to a “notice of claim” filed with the Utah Office of the Attorney General, the assassination of Turning Point USA (TPUSA) founder Charlie Kirk was “entirely preventable and, in fact, would not have happened had the State of Utah and UVU (Utah Valley University) followed through on their stated security promises.”

The filing is a required preliminary step before suing a government entity in Utah, an action that generally must be preceded by a notice of claim.

In the explosive document, Kirk family representatives report that TPUSA had warned the university about the dangers posed by surrounding unguarded rooftops, assigned just six campus police officers to the event, and had no written security plan in place for the special event.

Attorneys Loren Washburn, Brett Parkinson and Clifford Parkinson state, “The risk of a rooftop shooter should have been especially top-of-mind given the attempted assassination of President Trump, Charlie Kirk’s close friend and political ally, by a rooftop shooter the previous year.”

Investigators discovered that the alleged assassin cased the area a little over an hour before making his way onto the unguarded roof, and returned just after noon wearing new clothes and brandishing his weapon. 

In a statement to the press, university officials wrote, “We are aware of the notice of claim. UVU addresses legal matters consistent with our established processes. Our focus remains on supporting our campus community.”

Kirk’s attorneys contend that TPUSA officials had been tipped off by students about the dangerous roof access and reached out to UVU to express their concern.

“If this is true, it would be nice to either have it controlled access or allow one of my guys to be there as well,” TPUSA told UVU.

According to the filing, UVU Chief of Police Jeffrey Long replied, “I got you covered.”

In addition to the legal filing, days after the one-year mark of Charlie Kirk’s death, a new bronze statue of the slain founder was vandalized at the organization’s Phoenix headquarters.

Red paint was splattered over Kirk’s likeness and a nearby sign was also defaced. The placard read: “May Charlie be received into the merciful arms of Jesus, our loving Savior.” The vandal(s) put a large red “X” over Kirk’s photograph, crossed out “Jesus” and wrote “satan” in its place.

A TPUSA representative called the actions “diabolical.”

“We will restore the statue and replace the signs, but we are also reviewing the footage of the incident and are working with law enforcement to identify who did this and hold them accountable,” they stated.

In response, Erika Kirk, Charlie’s widow, was defiant in responding on X to the cowardly acts.

“Charlie once said we should be building two statues for every statue that they tear down,” she wrote. “His instinct was always to build, not to destroy.”

She added:

“They thought a bullet would silence my husband’s voice but it only made it louder. They think spray paint can obscure his legacy, but it will only spread it further. Every attempt to tear down what Charlie built makes us root deeper and work even harder.”

Erika Kirk’s posture of strength notwithstanding, it’s impossible for anyone from the outside looking in to fully appreciate the enormous burden she and the family have been carrying this past year of unimaginable grief.

We know she is being supported by a supernatural strength. We read in the Psalms, “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit” (34:18). We also know that she is mourning unlike nonbelievers. Wrote the Apostle Paul, “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope” (1 Thess. 4:13). 

Yet, Erika and her family are human and navigating untold and unknown challenges. When we read about lawsuits and vandalism, murder trial motions, or the latest screed from an unhinged or opportunistic conspiracy theorist, please remember to look beyond the headlines and focus on this very human tragedy in our midst.

Please continue to keep Erika Kirk and her children in your prayers. Please ask the Lord to continue sustaining them. An evil actor silenced the voice of a good man who was doing God’s work. With God’s grace and favor, his widow’s efforts are an extension of his calling and serve to reach many of the people Charlie had still hoped to minister to until the Lord called him home.