The family of Charlie Kirk has taken formal legal action against the state of Utah and Utah Valley University, filing a notice of claim that lays out a series of alarming security lapses the family says paved the way for the conservative commentator’s assassination on campus last year.
The notice, filed September 9, details what Fox News described as a “precursor to a lawsuit,” according to reporter Claudia Cowan. The filing raises pointed questions about how university and state officials handled security ahead of Kirk’s fatal appearance on September 10, 2025.
Perhaps the most striking allegation centers on the university’s failure to secure rooftops surrounding the event — a glaring oversight, the family argues, given the recent history of rooftop assassination attempts targeting conservative figures.
“The risk of a rooftop shooter should have been especially top-of-mind given the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump, Charlie Kirk’s close friend and political ally, by a rooftop shooter the previous year,” the claim states.
The filing also raises serious concerns about staffing levels at the event, which drew more than 3,000 attendees. Despite that massive turnout, only six campus police officers were assigned to provide security that day.
According to the claim, UVU Campus Police Chief Jeffrey Long had actually sought permission to deploy additional officers beyond that six-person team — which represented just a quarter of the entire UVU police force — but then-university President Astrid Tuminez denied the request.
The notice goes further, alleging that emergency response planning was so inadequate that when Kirk was shot, no first responders were on hand to assist him. Instead, he had to be rushed to Timpanogos Regional Hospital in a private vehicle rather than an ambulance — a detail that has drawn sharp scrutiny as further evidence of preparation failures on the day of the shooting.
The claim was signed by attorneys Loren Washburn, Brett Parkinson, and Clifford Parkinson, who are representing the Kirk family. Notably, the filing came just one day before the somber first anniversary of the Turning Point USA founder’s death, a milestone that saw an outpouring of tributes from conservatives across the country honoring his legacy.
Kirk, a towering figure in conservative youth activism, was shot in the neck while addressing students on the UVU campus and was pronounced dead shortly afterward. In the aftermath of the tragedy, his wife, Erika Kirk, stepped into leadership at Turning Point USA, taking over as the organization’s CEO — a move widely seen as carrying forward her husband’s mission.
The man accused of carrying out the assassination, Tyler Robinson, surrendered to authorities the day after Kirk’s death. He remains in the legal system and is scheduled to appear back in court on October 23.
As the case moves forward, this notice of claim signals that the Kirk family is prepared to hold Utah and Utah Valley University formally accountable for what they describe as a catastrophic and preventable breakdown in security.
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