Charlie Kirk's Family to Sue University, School's Police Department

The family of slain Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk has signaled their intent to sue Utah Valley University and the school’s police department, among others, citing “a series of stunning failures and reckless decisions” that ended in the conservative icon’s assassination last year.

The Kirk family has filed a Notice of Claim against the State of Utah, Utah Valley University (UVU), the Utah Valley University Police Department, Chief Jeffrey Long, and Astrid Tuminez, who was UVU’s president at the time of the assassination, as well as potentially others.

Dangers posed by accessible rooftops on campus went unaddressed — despite repeated warnings — Turning Point USA (TPUSA) said in a statement to Breitbart News, citing a text exchange between TPUSA staff and Utah Valley University Police Department Chief Jeffrey Long.

WATCH — New Video Released Shows Alleged Charlie Kirk Assassin Walking Around Utah Valley University Campus:

“Hello Chief Long — we received this message today from the student group…. ‘there is student roof access pretty close to where [Charlie Kirk] will be set up at Utah Valley,'” TPUSA staff wrote to Chief Long.

In their exchange, the TPUSA official added, “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,” to which Chief Long replied, “I got you covered,” according to the filing.

“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 of Claim adds.

WATCH — Trump to Breitbart: Charlie Kirk’s Assassination Is “a Sad Cloud over the Country”:

The claim goes on to note, “The UVU Parties, not TPUSA, had the power and authority to block walkways or cordon off a part of campus and limit access, excluding other students and the public to create a safe event,” adding that the university “could even have relocated the event.”

The notice added the following:

Through a series of stunning failures and reckless decisions, the UVU Parties created a foreseeable danger to Charlie. 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 filing from the Kirk family’s counsel, which was dated September 9, 2026, and addressed to the Utah Office of the Attorney General, also pointed out that the TPUSA event “came against a well-known backdrop of risk.”

“Charlie Kirk was a once-in-a-lifetime public and political figure. He built the largest conservative campus and youth activist organization in America, Turning Point USA, in just under a decade. His social media footprint was vast, and his political star was just rising,” the claim stated.

The notice added that Kirk’s “outsized public influence came with costs and risks,” and that the frequent death threats he received were “publicly known and reported on well before” the Turning Point USA founder “ever stepped foot on UVU’s campus.”

The claim also mentions that the university’s “failure to understand the significance” of Kirk’s visit to campus “led to a lack of proper preparation,” adding, “It is clear that the UVU Parties did not conduct a meaningful risk assessment before approving the outdoor location,” and “did not have a written security plan for the Tour event.”

“Further, the UVU Parties did not have a security briefing before the Tour event where the risks associated with unsecured rooftops on campus — risks that had been identified and communicated to Chief Long,” the filing declared.

Only six campus police officers were assigned to the TPUSA event, where “thousands of attendees” would be present, “despite requests for additional officers,” the claim stated, adding that the university also failed to monitor the event in real time.

The notice went on to cite surveillance footage shown during the preliminary hearing for the assassin suspect, Tyler Robinson, that showed someone running across the roof of the university’s Losee Center to what one police officer called a “sniper’s pad.”

“If such footage had been monitored in real-time, Kirk’s tragic death could have been avoided,” the claim asserted.

WATCH — TPUSA Honors Charlie Kirk on First Anniversary of His Death:

Kirk was fatally shot while speaking at an outdoor event at Utah Valley University on September 10, 2025. The assassin fired a gun from the rooftop of a campus building while the Turning Point USA founder was speaking before a crowd of roughly 3,000 people.

The Notice of Claim from the Kirk family’s counsel cites six specific “failings and negligence of the UVU Parties,” which are listed as the following:

1. Failure to understand the significance of Mr. Kirk’s visit to campus which led to a lack of proper preparation.
2. Deciding to permit the Tour to take place in an outdoor venue without dedicating sufficient security resources to make that venue safe.
3. Assigning only six campus police officers to an outdoor event with thousands of attendees, despite requests for additional officers.
4. Failing to exercise its exclusive power to keep Mr. Kirk Safe.
5. UVU put Mr. Kirk at additional risk by ignoring the specific tip it was given regarding the risk associated with rooftop access.
6. The UVU Parties’ omissions, actions and misconduct led to Mr. Kirk’s death.

Those involved in these claims as prospective plaintiffs are Charlie Kirk, the Estate of Charles Kirk and his heirs, Erika Kirk, Minor G.K., and Minor M.K., as well as potential claims by other Kirk family members, including his parents, Robert Kirk and Kathryn Kirk.