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LOGAN, Utah – Turning Point USA returned to Utah Tuesday night for its first event in the Beehive State since the conservative campus organization’s founder, Charlie Kirk, was assassinated at a college speaking event earlier this month.

Kirk was scheduled to appear on campus at Utah State University in Logan as part of his speaking tour, but a revamped cast of speakers includes Gov. Spencer Cox, Rep. Andy Biggs and former Rep. Jason Chaffetz.

‪Cox received a mix of boos and cheers, but the moderator urged hecklers to calm down — ‬invoking Kirk’s memory and calling for an uninterrupted discussion.

Kirk had criticized some of Cox’s more moderate positions. The governor is a Republican.

Ex-fbi Agent Turned Uvu Professor Breaks Down The Evidence Trail Tyler Robinson Left For Detectives

He acknowledged that while he had disagreements with Kirk in life, Kirk’s assassination changed him personally and politically. Cox called Kirk’s assassination “an attack on American ideals.”

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“It was treasonous,” he said, before noting that Utahns wouldn’t respond with rioting and violence — prompting a loud cheer.

Kirk was shot and killed in the courtyard at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10.

Cox called Kirk’s murder “the first high-profile assassination of his lifetime.”

The suspect, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, faces charges including aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm, witness tampering and obstruction. He could face the death penalty if convicted.

“The person who committed this horrific crime is responsible for their decision,” Cox said.

Fox News contributor Jason Chaffetz, who witnessed the shooting, described seeing Kirk collapse.

“I saw him fall back,” he said. “It was terrifying.”

Chaffetz revealed President Donald Trump’s reaction to hearing about the shooting, saying Trump told him, “I don’t know that I’d be President without Charlie Kirk.”

On Tuesday, supporters showed up hours early from all around Utah for the event, which saw greatly enhanced security measures, including drones, security at every door, uniformed police officers and teams in tactical gear, including counter-snipers.

The crowd topped an estimated 5,000 in what organizers said was likely the biggest crowd drawn to date.

Early in the event, the leader of the campus chapter thanked police and security guards for their presence, prompting thundering applause.

Turning Point Usa Says Security Lacked Jurisdiction To Monitor Rooftop When Charlie Kirk Was Assassinated

During the discussion session, Cox emphasized that they were working with law enforcement to learn everything they could from the UVU attack and to prevent it from happening again by adding more security and safety technology at events.

“I hate that we have to go through security to get into things because it feels very un-American to me,” Cox said. “But I also know that we need to protect not just the people who are on stage, but the people who are out in this audience tonight.”

One student raised concerns about universities indoctrinating students, using the example of Robinson, who attend Utah State University for one semester. The student asked what steps government could take to prevent higher education from becoming “indoctrination camps.”

“We’re not trying to replace forcing liberal ideas on all of our students with conservative ideas. This is the founding of Western thought,” Cox said.

“These are Aristotle…Marcus Aurelius…our Founders…Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass and Martin Luther King studied in college. We have to have a foundation to even have these debates, and we’ve lost that foundation,” he continued.

Chaffetz tied the issue to free speech and safety. He stressed that freedom means the right to live life as you choose.

“We’re all children of God,” he said. But Chaffetz drew the line when speech becomes violent.

“Those people need to be arrested. They need to be detained…and some of them need to be incarcerated.”

Prior to their remarks, Sen. Mike Lee appeared remotely, blaming the looming “Schumer shutdown” and his Senate responsibilities for not being present in person.

“I desperately wish I could be there with you in person. And under any other circumstance, I would be,” Lee opened. “My virtual appearance will have to suffice for now, but it really is an honor. And a pleasure to be asked to pay tribute to my friend Charlie Kirk.”

The event had kicked off just a few hours before the deadline to pass a bill to fund the government.

Lee recalled first meeting Kirk as a teenager, introducing him to his daughter as a “future president of the United States.”

Biggs described Kirk’s death as a turning point.

“Charlie’s martyrdom is catalyzing the public across this country,” he said.

He urged young conservatives to follow Kirk’s example.

“Be courageous,” Biggs pressed. “Live a life of value and meaning.”

Turning Point Usa Draws 2,000 At First Tour Event Since Kirk’s Assassination

Before Kirk was set to speak at the TPUSA event, Utah State University issued a statement in response to concerns raised by students and alumni. The university acknowledged receiving messages expressing unease about the event, which was organized by the campus’s chapter. Hours before the event started, a bomb squad detonated a “suspicious device” that was found on campus.

The university emphasized its commitment to free speech, academic inquiry, and maintaining a neutral platform for the exchange of ideas.

“Anytime a controversial speaker comes to campus, university community members have several options and can decide what is right for them,” the school wrote.

While student organizations are allowed to invite speakers of their choosing, the university clarified that it does not endorse or align with any group’s views.

Original article source: Turning Point USA returns to Utah for first time since Charlie Kirk assassination

Nearly three weeks after the assassination of Charlie Kirk, Turning Point USA returned to Utah for a stop on its “This is The Turning Point” campus tour. Fox News Digital visited Utah State University for the event and spoke with attendees.

Attendees began lining up as early as 3 p.m. for the 6:30 p.m. event. Security was significantly heightened compared to previous events, including officers and personnel stationed at every corner, snipers positioned on multiple rooftops, drone surveillance overhead, K9 units, metal detectors, bag checks, and a strict no re-entry policy once inside the venue.

Utah Students Lift Voices In Prayer At Vigil For Charlie Kirk’s Christian Legacy: ‘Felt Called By God’

Charlie Kirk Built A Movement. Now, These Conservative Influencers Are Continuing His Legacy

“There is a lot of fear right now due to the amount of violence, but I do think that more of us need to stand up,” said Utah State student, Gavin.

“I think a few weeks ago, you know, as we can see, there wasn’t as much security and just walking up to the venue, drones flying around, everything, it made the atmosphere feel more surreal almost, just looking back at what happened a couple weeks ago,” said Utah native, Jackson.

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I was really looking forward to coming and seeing Charlie Kirk, But coming here, I feel like it’s a way to kind of show that my support towards him and what he did for all of us,” said Utah State student Nick.

Utah native Cammie said, “I’m hoping that we can all come out better educated and that we’ll be able to find ways to debate whether we agree or disagree. But honestly, I hope everybody can take home the fact that hatred is not the answer, violence is not answer, and that can just be peacemakers.”

“I think there’s more danger now,” said Jax, a student at Utah State.

Madison, also a student, shared, “It’s a little more heavy, but I’m not just gonna hide. I’m gonna stand back and not, you know. I still gotta put my voice out there. I’m still gonna go out, show my beliefs.”

Young Conservatives Fear Campuses Unsafe After Charlie Kirk Killing, But Vow To Press On

“I want there to be a lot of inspiration that comes from this event to influence people to stand up for what they believe in, stand up for their faith, and stand up for the same mission that Charlie Kirk was for and preached with civil discourse and civil conversation,” Gavin added.

A “suspicious device” was detonated by law enforcement at Utah State University on Tuesday afternoon prior to the first Turning Point USA event in the state since Charlie Kirk was assassinated. A device was located and deemed to be a non-explosive device. Out of an abundance of caution, the bomb squad detonated the suspicious device. Old Main building is now clear and safe. All scheduled events may resume as normal,” the university statement read.

Fox News’ Adam Sabes, Garrett Tenney, and Claudia Cowan contributed to this report

Original article source: Turning Point Utah stop marked by resilience and heightened security

By HANNAH SCHOENBAUM and JILL COLVIN, The Associated Press

LOGAN, Utah (AP) — Thousands of supporters came together to honor Charlie Kirk Tuesday night as Turning Point USA’s college tour returned to Utah for the first time since its founder was assassinated on a college campus in the state earlier this month.

The event at Utah State University in Logan was about two hours north of Utah Valley University, where Kirk was killed Sept. 10 by a gunman who fired a single shot through the crowd while Kirk was answering student questions.

Conservative podcast host Alex Clark kicked off the event, which she described as the the group’s largest on-campus tour stop.

“I’m not here to eulogize Charlie Kirk,” she said, but to “pass the torch on to every single one of you.”

Hours before the event, the campus in Logan temporarily evacuated a building but later deemed it safe after a “non-explosive” device was found. Authorities are investigating but the university does not believe the package was a threat or related to the Turning Point event, school spokesperson Amanda DeRito told The Associated Press.

Security at the event was tight, with a heavy law enforcement presence surrounding the arena, a no-bag policy, metal detectors and drones overhead.

Campus police at the college where Kirk was killed didn’t fly a drone to monitor rooftops or coordinate with local law enforcement to secure the outdoor event, which lacked several key safety measuresand practices that have become standard in the U.S., an AP review has found.

The assassination of a top ally of President Donald Trump and a significant figure in his Make America Great Again movement has galvanized conservatives, who have vowed to carry on Kirk’s mission of encouraging young voters to embrace conservatism and moving American politics further right. Kirk has been celebrated as a “martyr” by many on the right, and Turning Point USA has seen tens of thousands of requests to create new chapters in high schools and colleges.

Tuesday’s event, scheduled before Kirk’s death, showcased how Turning Point has been pressing forward without its charismatic leader, who headlined many of its events and drew crowds. The national tour includes some of the biggest conservative names, including Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly and Glenn Beck.

Blame game

The event featured a panel with three prominent Republicans, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona and former Rep. Jason Chaffetz of Utah, who urged students to turn their anger into action.

Chaffetz spoke with emotion about being there Sept. 10 when Kirk was killed.

“Nobody should have to witness and go through what I went through, what my family and those 3,000 people went through at UVU,” he said, choking up. “I will never unsee that. I will always feel it.”

Several speakers blamed the left for stoking rhetoric that led to the assassination, with Biggs saying it was “coming from one side.”

Cox, who has been criticized in the state as not conservative enough, was repeatedly booed and jeered by the crowd, including when he acknowledged that, “There are violent people on the far right.”

Still, he criticized the idea that speech equates to violence. That mindset, he said, leads people to believe that “because someone said something that you don’t like, that’s violence towards me, which justifies me being violent towards this person for speaking.”

“That’s exactly what happened in this case, and that is a destructive mind virus in our society today,” he said.

As Cox encouraged people to engage kindly with those who hold different viewpoints, Biggs countered: “The issue is the other side will not hear our voice.”

Attendees pay tribute

The school’s basketball arena was filled with red and white “MAGA” hats, chants of “USA,” and blaring country music before the event kicked off Tuesday. Volunteers handed out posters reading, “I am Charlie Kirk” and “In honor of Charlie Kirk, this is the Turning Point.”

Attendees said they’d come to pay tribute to Kirk alongside others he’d inspired and to try to heal together.

“I feel like the tension is super high, especially being in the same state where it happened. But I’m super excited for it,” said Jada Chilton, from Salt Lake City. “It’s kind of just healing my soul, kind of being that I actually get to come to a Turning Point event even though the main spirit of it isn’t here.”

Chilton said listening to Kirk on TV, in debates and on his podcast had been her “daily regimen.” She’d bought tickets to the event 30 minutes before the assassination, which left her shattered.

“I was on the floor sobbing,” she said.

She described Tuesday’s security as “insane,” with police officers “everywhere.”

“It makes you feel more comfortable, but it just is sad and disappointing, honestly, that we have to,” she said.

Susan Goldsberry, 75, of Cache Valley, Utah, didn’t know much about Kirk before the assassination, but loves everything she’s found out about him since.

“Everything he says, I just love,” she said, breaking down in tears.

“It was a horrible thing that happened,” she said. “I think he could have done so much more, but I hope, I hope people keep his message going.”

Charlie Kirk’s widow says, ’We have our marching orders’

Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, has pledged to continue the organization’s work. She now oversees Turning Point and said she will lead the group as her late husband intended, closely following plans he laid out to her and to staff.

“We’re not going anywhere. We have the blueprints. We have our marching orders,” she said last week on Kirk’s podcast, which she also vowed would continue with rotating hosts and decades of clips of her husband.

“My husband’s voice will live on,” she said.

Colvin reported from New York. Associated Press writer Jonathan J. Cooper contributed to this report from Phoenix.

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Utah is on the verge of becoming the West’s energy powerhouse. As the home of one of the largest solar-and-battery projects in the nation, with plans to host a first-of-its-kind nuclear facility, the state is proving that it can build. Gov. Spencer Cox’s “Operation Gigawatt” initiative aims to double Utah’s energy production. But that’s only half the battle; successfully delivering that power across Utah and other Western states is the other half.

Across the country, the grid is riddled with bottlenecks that block power from flowing where it’s needed most. In the West, vast distances between rural energy resources and booming cities compound the problem. And looming demand, from AI data centers to reshoring factories, asks more of our transmission system.

But there’s a solution, and it starts with states working together.

Two decades ago, a bipartisan group of governors led a coalition of eleven Midwestern utilities to coordinate the buildout of the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) transmission system — a regional transmission network that aimed to cut costs, boost reliability, ensure resource adequacy and fuel economic growth. MISO, the regional grid operator, provided a centralized platform to plan, advocate for and execute this buildout.

That same playbook can work in the West, and Gov. Cox is already laying the groundwork as chair of the Western Governors’ Association (WGA).

His recent call for better transmission policy is exactly the kind of leadership that can drive regional cooperation. The WGA can assess the energy needs of each state and collaborate with major utilities to support shared goals. The right steps can turn the vastness of the West from a challenge into an advantage. By building new transmission lines, power can flow from unaffected areas during the coldest winter storms and the hottest summer heatwaves. A grid that extends beyond local weather patterns strengthens both affordability and reliability — precisely when families need it amid rising costs and demand.

Western states can also leverage improved technology to build more transmission miles with less land. High-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission lines are uniquely suited to fully harness our diverse energy mix. They can deliver power efficiently across long distances with minimal line loss while also providing additional resilience benefits to the grid and taking up less space than conventional solutions.

Western governors have a chance to lead together by advancing coordinated regional grid planning and pressing for a federal permitting package that cuts through red tape. Utah already has a compact to collaborate with Idaho and Wyoming. Expanding this to include all of the Western states will formalize cooperation, accelerate planning and ensure that the region’s energy innovation is matched by the infrastructure needed to deliver it.

Gov. Cox has set the right priorities: build more energy, foster innovation and position Utah as an energy powerhouse. The next step is making sure that power reaches the people who need it — both here in Utah and across the West. Drawing on past successes, Gov. Cox can create a working group within WGA to ensure transmission builds the support the region’s economic and energy needs. A future of energy abundance depends on moving forward together by pushing for federal permitting reform and building a coordinated Western grid worthy of the resources and leadership already taking shape in the region.

The Utah college where conservative leader Charlie Kirk was assassinated lacked several key public safety measures and practices that have become standard safeguards for security at events around the country, an Associated Press review has found.

Utah Valley University’s outdoor courtyard, where Kirk showed up on Sept. 10 to debate students, was surrounded by several tall buildings, leaving Kirk vulnerable. That was made all the more potent because campus police didn’t fly a drone to monitor rooftops or coordinate with local law enforcement to secure the event. It deployed only six officers from a force that was already small for a campus its size. There were no bag checks or metal detectors.

A sniper took position on a nearby roof and killed Kirk with a single shot about 20 minutes after the event began, escaping notice from campus police.

Security at Utah Valley University will come into sharper focus in the coming months as lawmakers and the public seek answers about what could have been done differently.

“Absolutely there were security failures; it left him exposed,” said Greg Shaffer, who oversaw Kirk’s security from 2015 to 2022. “It was egregious enough that someone was able to take advantage and kill him.”

In an interview, the AP asked the university president, Astrid Tuminez, if there was a security failure on campus surrounding the Kirk assassination. “Somebody was killed and that’s a tragedy, I think that’s what I would say right now,” she responded. Tuminez declined to answer more detailed questions about campus security, citing a pending external review. A university spokesperson also declined to answer questions about staffing, equipment, security planning and budgets.

No drones monitoring rooftops

The day Kirk spoke at UVU, it was clear and sunny — the perfect weather for a drone to have had a clear view of the roofs of the surrounding buildings, including where the assassin fired a deadly shot from a bolt action rifle at Kirk from about 400 feet (122 meters) away.

But no drone had been deployed, though security experts said rooftop sniper attacks were a clear threat. That was evident as recently as last year when a rooftop gunman in Butler, Pennsylvania, fired shots at a rally held by President Donald Trump during his campaign, killing one, injuring two and wounding Trump.

Ty Richmond, president of event services for security firm Allied Universal, said the attempted assassination Trump exposed the risk of failing to secure elevated areas. He said drones, which cost as little as $2,000, and video surveillance should be part of the tools used to assess and address threats at any outdoor event.

“It was either not done comprehensively or not done at all, because that should have been a natural ability to identify and detect any high ground risk and exposures that you would have in a situation like that,” Richmond said.

The UVU campus had numerous cameras, including at least one overlooking the buildings around the courtyard. A university spokesperson declined to say whether someone was actively monitoring it or if it was operating.

A smaller than average police force

UVU has an enrollment of 48,000 students, though Tuminez said that includes 16,000 students who are in high school and don’t take classes on campuses.

The university has 23 police officers, or one for every 1,400 on-campus students, according to a 2024 UVU report. The average public university has around one officer for every 500 students, according to a 2024 U.S. Department of Justice study.

“There is not a campus police department in this country that could provide the level of security necessary for a large scale outdoor event with 3,000 people,” said S. Daniel Carter, a campus safety consultant. “They would need help, typically from a local law enforcement agency.”

UVU had six campus police officers present at the event along with Kirk’s personal security detail, campus police Chief Jeffrey Long said after the shooting. Utah County Attorney Jeffrey Gray said during a news conference that a UVU police officer had been watching the crowd from an “elevated position.”

Officials at the Utah County Sheriff’s Office and Orem Police Department, both of which have drones, said they were not involved in security for the event.

A UVU spokesperson said unlike other schools with larger security staffs, they don’t have dormitories to secure. However, other Utah schools of similar size with largely commuter populations have higher ratios of officers to students.

Weber State University, a mostly commuter public school with more than 33,000 students, about half of whom are also enrolled in high school, has a public safety drone and 41 full and part-time police officers. And the University of Utah, with 36,000 primarily commuter students, has 46 officers.

Overall spending on public safety varied at those universities in 2025 — $2.3 million at Weber State and $16.2 million at the University of Utah where a 2018 murder of a student led to more spending on security. UVU officials declined to share a current budget for their department, but a legislative audit showed $1.6 million was earmarked for public safety in 2020 out of a nearly $250 million campus budget.

Safety resources didn’t match school’s growth

UVU, located between Salt Lake City suburbs and Brigham Young University in Provo, grew from a community college of less than 9,000 in the early 1990s to roughly 48,000 this year thanks to the addition of four-year degrees and campus expansions. But public safety failed to keep up, said two former campus public safety leaders. Both spoke on condition of anonymity because they feared repercussions.

Val Peterson, UVU’s vice president for administration & strategic relations, rejected pleas for more safety resources, including hiring more officers and offering higher salaries to keep skilled personnel, the former public safety leaders said. Peterson, who is also a Republican state lawmaker leading state appropriations, oversees UVU’s public safety and has been with the university for more than 30 years.

Both former campus public safety officials each recalled Peterson telling them multiple times in meetings related to public safety funding about a decade ago that because a shooting had not occurred on campus in decades, it would not happen in the future. Peterson believed the sleepy campus was safe from harm, they said. UVU’s president declined to comment on Peterson’s alleged remarks.

Former UVU police Sgt. Bryan Cunningham also recalled those comments and, he said, officers warned the administration in budget discussions related to public safety that the campus could be the scene of an “active shooter nightmare” due to its layout and understaffed police department.

Peterson did not respond to requests for comment sent by phone and email to his private and public offices.

A sub-par emergency response system

At the time of the shooting, the university was without a fire marshal to help plan for safety at large events. And as recently as 2023, two of the university’s three emergency radio channels did not meet state standards for signal strength, according to an internal review shared with the AP. The review did not include information about the third channel.

Patchy reception was a serious problem that could hamper public safety personnel from coordinating during emergencies, one of the former campus public safety officials noted.

The university boosted the signal at one building in the past year, Utah Communications Authority Executive Director Tina Mathieu said. She was not aware of any other improvements.

A university spokesperson didn’t respond to questions about campus emergency radio signal strength.

Campus safety assessments removed from proposed state law

Utah lawmakers pushed to improve public school security after the deadly 2022 elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, by creating a task force, appointing a state security chief and requiring an “armed guardian” be present at every public school. They also mandated all K-12 schools conduct rigorous safety assessments.

Rep. Ryan Wilcox, a Republican who chairs the task force, introduced legislation this year to require public universities to conduct the same assessments, but the provision was removed by the state senate.

“I don’t believe the provision in the bill would have changed the outcome of the current situation,” said Republican Sen. Ann Millner, who co-chairs the task force. She said that public universities should be entrusted to implement their own public safety practices “aligned with institutional realities” and that any assessments would likely have taken a long time to complete.

But Wilcox said the lack of mandatory security assessments can allow for vulnerabilities to go unnoticed: “Because those assessments haven’t been done, I don’t know what I don’t know about how prepared we are.”

“We’re going to learn everything we can possibly learn from that,” he said of Kirk’s death. “It’s a complete disaster.”

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Associated Press reporter Claudia Lauer in Philadelphia contributed to this report. Brook is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.