Erika Kirk Leads Turning Point USA Event at Utah State Following Charlie Kirk's Death at Utah Valley University

[00:00] And tonight, Turning Point USA debate

[00:02] returns to Utah for the first time since

[00:04] Charlie Kirk was killed on Utah Valley

[00:07] University's campus. That was on the

[00:09] 10th. And tonight, Turning Point is at

[00:11] Utah State University for an event that

[00:13] was planned before its founders's death.

[00:16] Debbie Woreren anchoring our live team

[00:18] coverage of the event tonight, including

[00:20] security measures at the university and

[00:22] who is speaking on behalf of Charlie

[00:25] Kirk this evening. Debbie,

[00:28] >> well, it just got a lot more lively up

[00:30] here, Mike. In fact, it looks like one

[00:32] of the Turning Point USA uh members was

[00:35] just getting the crowd all amped up, and

[00:37] the line is much longer now than it was

[00:39] in the last hour. In fact, it's really

[00:42] uh concentrated here, but now goes for I

[00:45] would say at least a thousand people now

[00:47] are in line at this point waiting for

[00:49] this. Now, this Turning Point USA event

[00:51] has been in the works for quite a while,

[00:54] even before everything happened at USU.

[00:56] And Erica Kirk says what happened at

[00:59] Utah Valley University will not stop

[01:01] them. I

[01:03] >> think that that's exactly what Charlie

[01:04] would have wanted. He wouldn't want

[01:05] things to go on hold or on pause for

[01:08] him. He would only want this to empower

[01:09] our organization and our entire nation.

[01:14] USU spokesperson Amanda Dorito says in

[01:16] regard to community safety, USU has

[01:19] rigorous security protocols for all

[01:21] major events year round.

[01:23] >> With recent events, I think that there

[01:25] will be extra lockdown on political

[01:27] events in the coming weeks.

[01:30] >> Now, there were day events previously

[01:32] planned, but the school canled those and

[01:34] kept the indoor event as scheduled. Now,

[01:37] in the aftermath of Charlie Kirk's

[01:39] death, we've heard college students

[01:41] saying that they are a little bit on

[01:42] edge about attending tonight's events.

[01:45] But if tonight's turnout is any

[01:46] indication, it seems that people are

[01:48] excited to openly discuss some of our

[01:50] country's biggest issues, and that is

[01:52] safety. Now, new specialist Aaron Cox

[01:55] joins us now. She is inside, and uh

[01:58] students are looking to hear a message

[02:00] that they want to pass along tonight.

[02:02] Aaron,

[02:04] >> that's right, Debbie. The doors are just

[02:06] barely opening up for the press to walk

[02:08] in and they're going to open up for that

[02:09] big long line right there soon enough.

[02:12] We're going to hear from many different

[02:14] speakers tonight. There's a whole panel

[02:16] slated for them. First, we'll hear from

[02:18] Alex Clark. She's a podcaster with the

[02:20] Turning Point USA. She covers pop

[02:22] culture, health, and fitness with a mix

[02:24] of politics. And again, she's been with

[02:26] Turning Point USA since about 2019. So,

[02:29] we'll hear from her. Then there will be

[02:31] a panel with Senator Mike Lee,

[02:33] Representative Andy Biggs, who's from

[02:35] Arizona, Jason Chafitz, and Governor

[02:38] Spencer Cox. All here to talk about

[02:41] politics and to have a healthy debate.

[02:43] Now, of course, like Mike said earlier,

[02:45] this is one of the spots that Charlie

[02:47] was meant to come on this date. Um, and

[02:50] of course that has made this event a

[02:52] little bittersweet for students out here

[02:53] as they've waited. But there's a high

[02:55] energy out here. as we walk into the

[02:57] doors. We'll let you more and we'll send

[02:59] it back to you now.

[03:03] >> All right, Aaron, thank you. Well,

[03:04] security is top of mind for everyone

[03:06] here, including for that Turning Point

[03:08] USA staff. Utah T Utah State says they

[03:12] will use the same protocol for safety

[03:14] that they use for athletic events. So,

[03:16] what that means is everyone going into

[03:19] the venue will go through metal

[03:20] detectors and anyone who brings a

[03:22] firearm must have a Utah concealed carry

[03:25] permit. Backpacks and bags larger than

[03:27] 6.5 by 4.5 inches will not be allowed

[03:30] and all bags will be searched. Now,

[03:32] there are no signs allowed and there is

[03:35] no re-entry. The president for Utah

[03:37] State's Turning Point USA chapter says

[03:39] the school was already planning for

[03:41] increased security.

[03:43] >> We already had talked with campus

[03:44] security and like the local police about

[03:46] how it was going to need intense

[03:48] security. There was like there was a lot

[03:49] of protest on campus um originally when

[03:52] they heard that Charlie Kirk was coming.

[03:53] There was a petition, there was

[03:54] protests, things like that. So, we had

[03:56] already we were already prepared for um

[03:58] quite a lockdown of that event.

[04:01] >> Now, the university says it is

[04:03] collaborating with local, state, and

[04:04] federal law enforcement agencies to make

[04:06] sure approp appropriate security

[04:09] measures are in place. Now, just a few

[04:11] weeks ago, hundreds gathered here on the

[04:14] USU campus, and they held a vigil for

[04:17] Charlie Kirk after his murder. Students

[04:20] and the community honored Charlie with

[04:22] songs, prayer, and candles that they lit

[04:24] at the USU quad. Now, during the vigil,

[04:27] Kirk's political beliefs were not

[04:28] brought up a single time, and instead it

[04:31] focused on his faith and love of family.

[04:33] Speakers at the vigil said that's what

[04:35] Charlie Kirk would have wanted.

[04:38] >> Just stand for what you believe. I think

[04:40] that's the main point that Charlie

[04:42] wanted to get across and I'm going to

[04:45] try my best to do that.

[04:48] Other students who attended the vigil

[04:50] said they felt comfort knowing there

[04:51] were other people mourning Charlie with

[04:54] them. Now back here on on campus. It is

[04:57] getting exciting out here. And as we

[04:58] keep hearing the crowd getting riled up,

[05:01] uh it's been something to notice because

[05:03] up to this point, it's just been a

[05:04] pretty quiet, calm crowd getting to go

[05:07] into what we know is generally speaking

[05:09] kind of a rally type atmosphere. So

[05:11] we'll have coverage here throughout the

[05:13] night. And this big thick line, it looks

[05:15] like some people now are starting to go

[05:17] in. We know that they were going to

[05:18] start letting people in about 5:15.

[05:20] Maybe they decided to do that a little

[05:22] bit early, but the show starts at 6:30

[05:24] and we'll talk a lot more about that

[05:26] coming up in just a few minutes.

[05:27] Michael, I'll send it back to you.

[05:28] >> Yeah, hoping for a safe event uh

[05:30] tonight. Debbie, thank you. We will have

[05:32] much more on tonight's event. That's

[05:34] tonight on KSL5 News at 6.