Americans watched in horror as a conservative champion was gunned down in broad daylight on a college campus.
The assassination sent Charlie Kirk's security team searching for answers.
And Charlie Kirk's Security Chief revealed one tragic failure that left jaws on the floor.
Security director warned about exact rooftop used by assassin
Two days before Tyler Robinson fired the shot that killed Charlie Kirk, the warning came through crystal clear.
Brian Harpole, a veteran cop running Kirk's security detail, texted Utah Valley University Police Chief Jeff Long about students having unrestricted access to rooftops overlooking the speaking area.
Not just any rooftops — the exact building Robinson would use 48 hours later.
"Hello, Chief Long. We received this message today from the student group," Harpole wrote on September 8, 2025. "There is student roof access pretty close to where CK will be set up at the Utah Valley. The Sorenson Student Center has a couple staircases that go up to the walkways on the roof."
Long asked if Harpole's team needed roof access.
What Harpole said next should haunt everyone at UVU.
"I was told students have access above us," Harpole texted back. "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."
Chief Long's response? Three words that would prove deadly.
"I got you covered."
September 10 arrives. Robinson climbs that exact staircase, takes position on that exact roof, and fires the shot that kills Kirk.
Nobody from UVU ever secured it. Nobody blocked the stairwell. Nobody was watching.
Long said he had it covered. He lied.
Podcaster left speechless by damning evidence
Harpole revealed the devastating exchange on The Shawn Ryan Show, holding his phone up to show the actual text messages.
Shawn Ryan — a former Navy SEAL who's seen combat — could barely process what he was hearing.
"Holy s***," Ryan said, stunned.
Here's what makes this even worse. Harpole brought 12 security contractors to UVU that day, nearly double his usual staffing, because he knew the venue was dangerous.
His team built concentric security zones around Kirk. They set up double presidential-style barricades and positioned vehicles as hard barriers behind the stage.
None of it mattered because the threat came from the one place UVU promised to secure but didn't.
"Probably literally all they had to do is post anybody at that stairwell," Harpole said.
Just one cop at one door. That's all it would have taken.
UVU deployed six uniformed officers for 3,000 people in an outdoor venue surrounded by multiple tall buildings with roof access.
Six cops. Three thousand attendees. Multiple unsecured elevated positions.
And when Kirk's security chief flagged the obvious vulnerability and asked for help, UVU's police chief said "I got you covered" and then covered nothing.
"What else am I to do when a command level person from an accredited police department says, 'I've got this area?'" Harpole asked. "We can't go in and break the rules. There's laws for a reason."
Harpole's private security team was confined to about 30 meters around Kirk's speaking position due to jurisdictional limits. They couldn't legally access campus buildings, secure rooftops, or control student movements.
That's the university's job. That's what they promised to do.
Harpole has tried calling Chief Long multiple times since Kirk's assassination to get answers.
Long has never returned a single call.
This is how universities protect conservatives who come to campus
Let's be clear about what happened here. This wasn't incompetence — it's a pattern.
Utah Valley University knew Charlie Kirk was coming. They knew he was controversial. They knew left-wing activists would show up to protest.
And they did the absolute minimum required to claim they provided security while ensuring Kirk remained maximally vulnerable.
Harpole requested drone support to monitor the rooftops. UVU denied it.
The Orem Police Department has drones and a SWAT unit literally minutes away under a mutual aid agreement. UVU never asked them to help.
No bag checks. No metal detectors. No coordination with local law enforcement beyond those six campus cops.
Compare that to what happened less than two weeks earlier when Kirk spoke in California. Tulare County Sheriff's Department conducted three days of reconnaissance before the event.
They researched escape routes, identified local activists who opposed Kirk, and deployed 60 officers for a crowd of 2,000 people.¹ They used drones to monitor every rooftop.
Kirk walked away from that event without a scratch.
At UVU, they provided one-tenth the security for 50% more people in a venue surrounded by unsecured tall buildings.
You do the math on whether they wanted Kirk protected or exposed.
"Absolutely there were security failures; it left him exposed," said Greg Shaffer, who ran Kirk's security from 2015 to 2022. "It was egregious enough that someone was able to take advantage and kill him."²
When the Associated Press asked UVU President Astrid Tuminez directly whether security failed, she couldn't even answer the question.
"Somebody was killed and that's a tragedy, I think that's what I would say right now," Tuminez responded.³
That's not an answer. That's a dodge. Someone asked you if your campus police failed to protect a speaker and you said "it's a tragedy."
No kidding it's a tragedy. The question was whether you failed, and your refusal to answer tells us everything.
The pattern extends far beyond one campus
Here's what conservatives need to understand. Universities have figured out how to silence speakers they don't like without technically canceling them.
They approve the event to avoid First Amendment lawsuits. Then they provide just enough security to check a box while leaving the speaker completely vulnerable to attack.
If violence happens, they shrug and say "we had officers there" while ignoring that six cops can't secure an outdoor venue for 3,000 people surrounded by accessible rooftops.
It's the heckler's veto evolved. Now it's the assassin's veto.
Create an unsafe environment, do the bare minimum on security, and when someone gets hurt — or killed — blame the "tragedy" instead of your deliberate choices that made it possible.
UVU announced an independent review of security protocols in September. Two months later, they still haven't released findings or a timeline.
Don't hold your breath. Universities investigating themselves for failing to protect conservatives always reach the same conclusion: nobody did anything wrong, let's add some officers next time, case closed.
Meanwhile, Chief Long won't return phone calls. President Tuminez won't answer questions. And Charlie Kirk is dead.
Brian Harpole did everything right. He identified the vulnerability. He requested help through proper channels. He got a promise from the police chief.
That promise was worth nothing.
Kirk trusted UVU to keep him safe. They told his security team "we got you covered." Then they left the door wide open for his killer and acted surprised when someone walked through it.
That's not a security failure. That's negligence. And someone needs to answer for it.
¹ Fox News, "Charlie Kirk assassination at Utah Valley University raises security questions," September 16, 2025.
² Associated Press, "Utah college where Kirk was shot lacked key public safety tools," September 30, 2025.
³ Ibid.
