The family of Charlie Kirk is taking legal action against Utah Valley University, claiming “a series of stunning failures and reckless decisions” by the university and the State of Utah created a foreseeable danger to Kirk and ultimately led to his “entirely preventable” murder.
“Charlie Kirk was violently and publicly assassinated while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University (UVU),” Brett Parkinson, counsel for the Kirk family, said in a statement sent to The Daily Wire. “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.”
A Notice of Claim reviewed by The Daily Wire names the State of Utah, Utah Valley University, the Utah Valley University Police Department, UVU Police Chief Jeffrey Long, then-UVU President Astrid Tuminez, and others. It is not a lawsuit, but it preserves the Kirk family’s right to pursue legal action against the university and other parties.
In one of the most significant allegations, UVU police were specifically warned by Turning Point USA about accessible rooftops near where Kirk was scheduled to speak, and UVU signaled that it had addressed the security, though it did not.
TPUSA received a message from a student warning that there was “student roof access pretty close to where [Charlie Kirk] will be set up” at the Sorensen Student Center and noted that staircases led to walkways on the roof, the filing details. When a TPUSA official passed the warning to UVU Police Chief Jeffrey Long and asked whether the area could be secured, or whether a member of Kirk’s security team could cover it, Long responded: “I got you covered.”
The shooter, though, later accessed a nearby rooftop and fired the fatal shot at Kirk. The FBI has released video showing the shooter climbing onto a rooftop before the shooting and fleeing across the roof afterward.
Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune/Getty Images
Neglecting rooftop security is particularly shocking in light of the political environment at the time, the notice says. “Mr. Kirk’s visit occurred when political violence had hit a fever pitch,” it reads. “Famously, President Trump was shot by a rooftop sniper during the 2024 presidential campaign.”
“Another would-be assassin of President Trump was intercepted on a golf course only two months later,” the filing says. “Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi’s husband was brutally attacked in their California home. And a state legislator and her husband were ruthlessly murdered in their home in Minnesota. It was in this environment political danger that the UVU Parties chose to host Charlie and the Tour.”
The notice also alleges several additional failures surrounding the event, including the university’s decision to assign only six campus police officers to an outdoor event attended by roughly 3,000 people, despite requests for additional officers. Long confirmed after the shooting that six officers were assigned to the event, along with some plainclothes officers and Kirk’s private security team.
There was also no real-time CCTV monitoring, according to the notice, which is significant given that video later showed the shooter moving across a rooftop before the attack. The filing argues that real-time monitoring could have alerted security personnel to the threat and prevented the murder.
The notice further alleges that UVU did not deploy any drones to monitor surrounding rooftops, despite the security challenges presented by an outdoor event surrounded by elevated positions. UVU police also did not have a written security plan for the event and did not conduct a security briefing beforehand, the filing says.
There have also been questions raised about UVU’s own internal review of the security failures surrounding the assassination. UVU announced in September 2025 that it would conduct a comprehensive, independent review of its planning and response to the event, saying the findings would help improve campus safety. The review process, however, has taken months and has come with a significant price tag. By May 2026, UVU had spent $242,431 on the review, and it remains unclear how much more has been spent since then.
UVU’s new president, Jon Anderson, has publicly defended the usual delay, saying the school “wanted it to be as complete and correct as possible, rather than fast.”
Mrserikakirk/Instagram
Parkinson said that the alleged failures by UVU “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,” he added.
The family has not specified a dollar amount for damages at this stage, but the notice indicates that potential damages could be substantial.
