Charlie Kirk's Family Set to Sue UVU, Citing Damning Text Message from Police Chief
The family of slain Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk has filed a notice of claim against Utah Valley University alleging the school’s security efforts contributed to Kirk’s assassination on Sept. 10, 2025, at the college.
The notice of claim preserves the family’s right to sue.
“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,” the notice said.
The notice said Turning Point USA organizers told campus Police Chief Jeffrey Long that students told them of rooftop access to the Sorenson Center, near where Kirk would speak, which was next to the Losee Center, from which Tyler Robinson has been accused of firing the shot that killed Kirk.
“When a TPUSA official informed Chief Long of the concern and asked ‘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. If Possible.’ Chief Long responded by saying, ‘I got you covered,’” the notice said.
“This led TPUSA to reasonably conclude that UVU had a plan to address the identified risk and other similar risks (most obviously the risk from other rooftops) without TPUSA involvement,” the notice said.
The notice said campus police and college officials “failed to rise to the occasion.”
“Through a series of stunning failures and reckless decisions, the UVU Parties created a foreseeable danger to Charlie,” the document added.
Despite Kirk’s record of high-profile confrontations from his policy of engaging face-to-face debate with critics, no security plan was in place and no pre-event briefing was held.
Campus police allegedly did not have a written security plan or hold a security briefing in advance. The briefing also called the location picked for Kirk to speak a “fishbowl.”
“The UVU Parties could have declined to approve the Tour event in the outdoor quad location, or could have moved the venue indoors or to a more secure location, as it had done for controversial speakers in the past,” the notice said.
The notice said the college devoted only six police officers to security that day.
“On information and belief, [UVU Campus Police] Chief Jeffrey Long requested approval from then-UVU President, Astrid Tuminez, to allocate more than the six officers — which represented only 25% of the UVU police force — but his request was denied,” the notice said.
“The UVU Parties’ planning was so deficient that when Mr. Kirk was shot first responders were not available and Mr. Kirk was transported to Timpanogos Regional Hospital in a private vehicle, not an ambulance,” the notice said.
The bottom line?
“Through a series of stunning failures and reckless decisions, the UVU Parties created a foreseeable danger to Charlie,” the notice said.
“Those decisions ultimately rendered Mr. Kirk helpless to the rooftop shooter in an assassination that could have been avoided had the UVU Parties only taken reasonable steps to plan and oversee a safe event, steps outlined below that have been standard practice for other universities hosting controversial speakers,” the notice continued.
The notice said Kirk “was legally entitled to believe that when the UVU Parties approved the Tour event to be held on campus on September 10, that the UVU Parties would only hold the event in a venue and with associated security measures that made the event safe for him to attend and participate in.”
“Instead, Mr. Kirk was exposed to the danger of a rooftop shooter that took his life,” the notice added.
The college said it was “aware of the notice of claim,” and that it “addresses legal matters consistent with our established processes,” according to Fox News.
“Our focus remains on supporting our campus community,” the university said in a statement.
Brett Parkinson, counsel for the Kirk family, said in a statement to ABC News that the murder could have been prevented.
“Charlie Kirk was violently and publicly assassinated while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University (UVU). His murder was entirely preventable and, in fact, would not have happened had the State of Utah and UVU followed through on their stated security promises, which included protecting the rooftops surrounding the quad where Charlie was speaking,” the attorney said.
“Those failures not only robbed Charlie Kirk of his life, but also robbed his family of their husband, father, son, and brother, with impacts that will compound for the rest of their lives. Justice and accountability under the law are key tenets of the American judicial system. This claim preserves the right of Charlie Kirk’s family to pursue accountability for Charlie’s death.”
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