A bullet blew a bullet on the Utah campus for less than 24 hours and claimed that the life of conservative activist Charlie Kirk was a polarized figure in the political arena, quickly canceling public events.
Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) decided to postpone the stop in North Carolina this weekend on a “fighting oligarch” trip, while Trump allies Steve Bannon and Rudy Giuliani have plans for New York rally due to “increasing security concerns.”
Popular left-wing Twitch streamer Hasan Piker will debate Kirk later this month at Dartmouth College Tell Politico He would “wait for the temperature to drop” before having face-to-face events.
Kirk’s assassination was a result of a series of attacks on high-profile politicians, including two attempts to assassinate President Trump, that security experts say will change the way large political events are held, with open spaces increasingly seen as risk.
“In the current threatening environment, outdoor places where political activities should be avoided at all costs,” said Art Acevedo, former head of the Houston and Miami Police Department.
Even with safety equipment as powerful as the U.S. Secret Service, experts say it is very difficult to build a company around outdoor gatherings. The gunman who opened fire on Butler, Pennsylvania during the 2024 presidential campaign took the gunman from more than 400 feet. Kirk shoots from a distance of nearly 200 yards and shoots with powerful bolts that imitate the rifle.
Kirk suspects the killer, Tyler Robinson, 22, Authorities said they were arrested Friday morning. Utah Governor Spencer Cox said the ammunition was restored and linked to the shooting, with anti-fascist carvings on it.
A PBS/MARIST poll conducted last year found that five Americans believed that violence would have justifiable reasons to “put the country back on track.”
Democratic lawmaker Melissa Hortman was killed with her husband in June at her home in Minnesota. In April, police arrested a man who allegedly tried to catch fire at Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s residence while Democrats sleep in it with their family.
Politicians are not the only ones to be targeted. The killing of a healthcare industry executive in Manhattan last December turned the suspect Luigi Mangione into the object of public obsession, with some applauding the vigilant behavior.
As Americans increasingly view their political enemies as enemy combatants, researchers studying extremist violence and incident security professionals say Kirk’s killing on Wednesday could mark a turning point in how well-known people can protect themselves.
“It’s increasingly difficult for public politics and other figures to protect them anywhere, but even more so in outdoor settings, as screening people and equipment in those open spaces is becoming increasingly difficult.”
Kirk was reported by campus security officials and about six Utah Valley University police officers and a handful of private security officers were protected Wednesday, according to campus security officials. Although this presence may prevent close-range threats, snipers and other attackers with remote capabilities will not be affected.
Often, security professionals try to create three “protection rings” around the focus of public activities, said Kent Moyer, founder of the international security firm World Protection Group.
The inner ring is usually made up of obstacles and security personnel, designed to separate Kirk from the crowd in front of him, rather than those hundreds of yards away. In the middle circle, security personnel are within the focus of the incident, farther away from the crowd, and try to make people move strangely or aggressively. The outer ring will search for bags and screens before attending the event.
There appeared to be no participants in the event where Kirk was killed, and it was legal to carry a gun publicly on Utah’s university campus.
Levin said he hopes to see drones deployed in similar incidents in the future, an assessment seconded by Acevedo.
“If you’re going to be outdoors, it’s better to make sure you’re surveillance of the roof.”
Levine said that when conducting risk assessments, police and security professionals need to recognize that politicians themselves are no longer the sole target of political violence.
Levin calls “special actors” increasingly likely to slam people with political and policy stances they consider unfair. Although Kirk himself is not a politician, he is a beloved on Trump’s track, and his radical group Turning Point USA is often driven by young voters to support the president.
“It’s not just elected officials. It’s an expert, among them the people of the business, people involved in policy and education,” Levin said.
However, heavy-duty safety details are not cheap.
Although elected officials are protected by a range of federal and state law enforcement agencies, political influencers like Kirk must rely on their own suppliers and security personnel hired by what they say are places.
Levin warned that given that some people have accepted “dehumanized” remarks after Kirk’s killing, law enforcement officers assigned to political events should be highly alert to retaliatory attacks in the near future.
Specifically, he noted that while Kirk’s killer was not identified at the time, Trump’s Oval Office rhetoric blamed Kirk’s death on “radical left” late Wednesday, although Kirk’s killer has not been identified and federal law enforcement officials have not disclosed the motive for the shooting.
Trump also launched many attacks on Republicans in his speech, while not mentioning Hotman’s murder, the 2022 attack on U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s husband or January 6, 2021 attacks on the U.S. Capitol – all violent attacks.
“Although more focused on hard rights, more and more people believe that violence makes sense and can achieve political outcomes,” Levine said.
