Charlie Kirk's family has filed a legal claim against Utah Valley University and state officials, alleging the school knew about rooftop security risks before the conservative activist was shot and killed on campus, and failed to act.
The notice of claim, signed September 9, 2026, one day before the first anniversary of Kirk's death, names UVU, the state of Utah, then-university president Astrid Tuminez, and campus police chief Jeffrey Long as parties responsible for what the Kirk family calls a preventable killing. The filing, a required legal step before a formal lawsuit under Utah law, raises both wrongful death and "state-created danger" claims under the U.S. Constitution.
Kirk, the 31-year-old founder of Turning Point USA and a father of two, was shot in the neck on September 10, 2025, while speaking at his "American Comeback Tour" event in UVU's outdoor courtyard in Orem, Utah. Roughly 3,000 people attended. He died after being rushed to Timpanogos Regional Hospital, not in an ambulance, but in a private vehicle, because first responders were not immediately available, the family's filing states.
Tyler Robinson, 23, has been charged with aggravated murder in Kirk's death. A judge ordered Robinson to stand trial on September 1, and he faces the death penalty. His lawyers entered a not guilty plea at arraignment.
But the Kirk family's legal action now turns the spotlight from the accused shooter to the institution that hosted the event, and the officials who, the filing alleges, ignored clear warnings and left Kirk exposed.
The notice of claim lays out a catalog of security failures. Campus police had no written security plan for the event. No security briefing was held in advance. No drones were deployed to monitor rooftops or the outdoor venue. No bag checks. No metal detectors. No physical barriers or perimeter. No coordination with the Orem or Provo police departments for backup.
Only six campus police officers were assigned to secure an outdoor event with thousands of attendees. That figure represented just 25 percent of UVU's police force. The filing alleges Chief Long requested additional officers from then-President Tuminez, but she denied the request. After the denial, campus police made no effort to bring in help from neighboring departments, AP News reported.
Kirk's attorneys described the outdoor quad where he spoke as a "fishbowl", surrounded on all sides by tall buildings and elevated positions. The filing argues UVU could have moved the event indoors or to a more secure location, as it had done for other controversial speakers in the past. Instead, Kirk stood in the open.
Surveillance footage reviewed at Robinson's preliminary hearing allegedly showed him running across the roof of the Losee Center to what the filing calls a "sniper's nest." Had that footage been monitored in real time, the family contends, Kirk's death could have been prevented. DNA evidence presented at a hearing linked Robinson to a towel wrapped around the rifle used in the shooting.
One of the most damaging allegations in the filing involves a direct exchange between a Turning Point USA organizer and Chief Long before the event. The organizer flagged rooftop access to the Sorenson Center, a building near where Kirk would be speaking, and asked whether access could be controlled, or whether a TPUSA security team member could be stationed there.
Long's alleged reply, quoted in the filing: "I got you covered."
The rooftop was not secured. Students were known to frequent the Losee Center rooftop, and beer bottles and other trash were regularly found there, the filing states. Robinson allegedly fired from that rooftop, a location the family's attorneys say should have been treated as an obvious threat point.
The filing draws a pointed comparison. The attempted assassination of President Trump by a rooftop shooter had occurred the previous year. The family's attorney, D. Loren Washburn, wrote in the notice that "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 document also references the home invasion attack on Paul Pelosi and the murders of former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark as evidence of a broader pattern of political violence that should have informed UVU's security posture.
Months before the September event, Kirk himself spoke about the danger he faced. At a May 2025 appearance, he addressed the threats directly:
"You should not have to walk around with security for your entire family and for myself just because you support a politician or political candidate or certain values. We get death threats. People want to murder us."
Kirk had been a fixture in conservative politics for years, speaking at Republican National Conventions in 2016, 2020, and 2024. Turning Point USA, the organization he founded, is the largest conservative campus and youth activist group in the country. His profile, and the threats that came with it, were not a secret.
The filing argues Kirk "was legally entitled to believe" that when UVU approved the event on its campus, the university would hold it in a venue and with security measures that made it safe. Instead, the document states, "Mr. Kirk was exposed to the danger of a rooftop shooter that took his life."
Brett Parkinson, one of three attorneys representing the Kirk family, put it bluntly in a public statement:
"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. 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."
Utah Valley University issued a brief statement saying it is "aware of the notice of claim" and that it "addresses legal matters consistent with our established processes." The university added: "Our focus remains on supporting our campus community."
The school has separately announced an independent external review of campus security measures and plans to create a memorial for Kirk, the Washington Examiner reported. The statement did not address the specific allegations in the filing.
The notice of claim does not specify monetary damages. Prospective plaintiffs include Kirk's widow, Erika Kirk, and their two children. Kirk's parents, Robert and Kathryn Kirk, are acknowledged as potential claimants.
The criminal case against Tyler Robinson is proceeding separately. Prosecutors have charged him with aggravated murder, and the death penalty remains a possibility. Evidence presented at his preliminary hearing included surveillance video, DNA linking Robinson to the rifle, and a handwritten note in which Robinson allegedly wrote that he "had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk, and I took it," Breitbart reported.
A recorded statement from Robinson's roommate has also emerged as evidence in the case. The suspected gunman's stated reason for targeting Kirk, according to reporting on the case, was that Kirk "spreads too much hate."
Robinson's lawyers have pleaded not guilty on his behalf. His defense team has moved to block the death penalty.
The Kirk family's filing makes clear that holding Robinson accountable is not enough. The family wants answers, and accountability, from the institution that put a high-profile conservative speaker in an unsecured outdoor venue, promised to protect him, and then, by the filing's account, did almost nothing.
When a university tells a speaker's team "I got you covered" and then leaves every rooftop wide open, the question stops being whether something went wrong. The question is who let it happen, and what they plan to do about it.
