Charlie Kirk's family signals intent to sue Utah university, police, officials

Attorneys representing the family of Charlie Kirk planned to sue the state of Utah, Utah Valley University, and the local university police department for the 2025 assassination, according to a claim notice sent last week and obtained by Fox News. Attorneys sent the notice a day before the first anniversary of the conservative commentator’s assassination while addressing a large crowd on Utah Valley University’s campus green. The wrongful death of Kirk resulted from the negligence and wrongful acts by the state and various university parties, according to the notice. The filing parties included Kirk’s widow, his parents, his two children, and his estate.

What negligence does the family allege? UVU parties created foreseeable danger for Kirk and left the Turning Point USA founder helpless to a rooftop shooter, according to the notice. Parties failed to understand the significance of Kirk’s campus visit and took no risk assessment to prepare or dedicate proper security resources to keep the venue safe, the notice continued. About 3,000 people attended the event, but only six campus police were assigned as security because the then-UVU president rejected the campus police chief’s request for more officers, the notice alleged.

TPUSA informed the university police chief of a student concern about the risk posed by the accessibility of campus rooftops. The UVU police chief responded via text that, “I got you covered,” leading TPUSA to believe that he would secure the site, according to the notice. The notice alleged that the threat of a rooftop shooter should have been front-of-mind for university officials after the attempted assassination of Kirk’s friend and political ally, President Donald Trump.

Has the university said anything? UVU spokeswoman Sharon Turner told WORLD on Wednesday that the university knew of the Kirk family’s notice claim. The university remained focused on supporting the campus community and planned to address the legal matter through its established processes, Turner added.

Dig deeper: Read Joanna Insco’s report on whether U.S. political violence is worse one year after Kirk’s assassination.