Charlie’s Family Plans to Sue Utah Officials Following Assassination

The family of Charlie Kirk has indicated their intention to file a lawsuit against Utah officials, citing a series of security lapses that they believe contributed to his assassination last September.

On Wednesday, Kirk’s family issued a wrongful death notice, attributing the failure to prevent his on-campus assassination to “reckless decisions” made by officials at Utah Valley University (UVU). It’s worth noting that a wrongful death notice often precedes legal action.

“Tragically, the UVU Parties failed to rise to the occasion,” the notice states. “Through a series of stunning failures and reckless decisions, the UVU Parties created a foreseeable danger to Charlie.”

The family claims that UVU officials did not grasp the importance of Kirk’s appearance on campus, which, they argue, resulted in inadequate preparations.

The notice contends that UVU Police lacked a documented security plan for the event, failed to conduct a security briefing beforehand, and left rooftops unsecured even after risks were communicated to the police chief.

Turning Point USA reportedly had informed Chief of Police Jeffrey Long about the potential rooftop threat after the campus chapter recognized the security concerns. When they requested enhanced security measures, Chief Long allegedly responded, “I got you covered.”

“The risk of a rooftop shooter should have been especially top-of-mind,” the notice reads, pointing to the attempted assassination of President Trump, a close friend of Kirk’s, by a rooftop shooter the previous year as a key example.

Additionally, the family criticized the university for hosting the event outdoors and for only assigning six campus police officers to an event expected to draw thousands of attendees.

“All of these failures placed Mr. Kirk in danger,” the notice asserts. “He 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.”