(Ken Silva, Headline USA) The head of conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s security team blamed Utah Valley University’s campus police department for Kirk’s Sept. 10 assassination, blasting UVU Police Chief Jeff Long in a recent interview with CIA contractor-turned-podcaster Shawn Ryan.
Turning Point USA’s security provider, Integrity Security Solutions founder Brian Harpole, said Long promised him that campus police would have the rooftops covered.
“We told the chief there was student access to the roof pretty close to where Charlie would be set up, and he came back and said, ‘I got you covered,’ but he never called us back,” Harpole said. “All they had to do was post anybody at that stairwell or let us do our job. Why he won’t stand up like a man and admit this, I don’t know.”
Harpole released screenshots of texts between him and Long, where the police chief indeed tells him, “I got you covered.” The conversation appears to be referring to the walkway above where Kirk’s tent was—not the rooftop of where alleged assassin Tyler Robinson shot from, which was on top of the Losee Center some 200 yards away.
This was a message exchanged between Charlie Kirk’s head of security and the UVU chief of police regarding the rooftop. Join me LIVE tonight on Vigilance Elite Patreon for a complete breakdown of the tragic events that led up to—and followed—the shooting that claimed the life of… pic.twitter.com/qYWEMDq8XB
— Shawn Ryan (@ShawnRyan762) November 14, 2025
Nevertheless, Harpole said it was his team’s job to cover the immediate 30-yard radius around Kirk, while the police should have been responsible for the rest of the site. Harpole also blasted Long, who only had six officers working that day, for not asking the local Orem Police Department for drones, additional officers, or other help.
“Why didn’t you ask for help? Especially when this crowd grew, and grew, and grew. When this goes from 1,500 to 2,000 to 3,000 people, you need to say, “We need some help.” Swallow your pride, or whatever it is,” Harpole said.
“Do I need to call a grown-ass man and say, ‘Hey, are you doing your job?’ Do I need to do that?”
Harpole further urged the public to make public records requests to UVU to see the full conversation between him and Long. Headline USA did file a request for all of the communications between Kirk’s team and UVU, but was denied on the grounds that the request was too broad. This publication has tailored down its request to only the comms between Long and Harpole, and will release them if the request is successful.
“We told the chief there was student access to the roof pretty close to where Charlie would be set up, and he came back and said, ‘I got you covered,’ but he never called us back. All they had to do was post anybody at that stairwell or let us do our job. Why he won't stand up… pic.twitter.com/H3xVovYjJ9
— Shawn Ryan (@ShawnRyan762) November 18, 2025
Meanwhile, Utah Valley University Police Department has declined to comment about Harpole’s allegations.
“At this time, it would be inappropriate to make any response or comments before the case has been fully adjudicated. Doing so would be irresponsible and could potentially compromise the integrity of the criminal proceedings,” UVU Police Department spokeswoman Christine Nelson said in an email to this reporter.
Headline USA was the first publication to identify Kirk’s security team, doing so in a Sept. 28 article about how his firm allegedly “shorted” Kirk’s previous security provider, Shaffer Security Group, for the Turning Point USA contract. Harpole didn’t respond to numerous requests for comment at the time.
Ken Silva is the editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.
