Memorial Service Security Preparations for Charlie Kirk at State Farm Stadium in Glendale Arizona

[00:00] In just a few hours, a memorial service

[00:02] for Charlie Kirk begins in Arizona. Both

[00:05] the president and vice president will

[00:07] attend. Local and federal law

[00:10] enforcement are teaming up to keep

[00:12] everyone there safe. The memorial takes

[00:14] place at State Farm Stadium. That's

[00:16] where the NFL's Arizona Cardinals play.

[00:19] Thousands are expected in and around the

[00:21] stadium to fa pay their final respects

[00:23] to Charlie Kirk. KUTV's Anakah Johns

[00:26] joins us live from State Farm Stadium in

[00:29] Glendale, Arizona. Anakah, how are law

[00:32] enforcement there securing such a

[00:34] high-profile event?

[00:37] Yeah, good morning. Back home in Salt

[00:39] Lake City again. I'm here in Phoenix,

[00:41] Arizona. I just want to give you guys a

[00:43] look at the current crowd that we're

[00:44] seeing turn out for Charlie Kirk earlier

[00:47] early this morning. I'm going to have my

[00:48] photographer Chris begin panning around.

[00:50] There are thousands of people here

[00:52] lining up already. It is currently 6

[00:55] a.m. here local time and security is at

[00:58] the top of everyone's mind for this

[01:00] event since as we know the president,

[01:02] the vice president and other high

[01:04] officials in our government are going to

[01:06] be in attendance here along with as

[01:08] we've mentioned thousands of people. So

[01:11] the Glendale Police Department, I spoke

[01:12] to them earlier and they they say that

[01:14] they're no stranger to large events. Now

[01:16] as we mentioned before this is being

[01:18] held at their football stadium which has

[01:20] been the host of three Super Bowls. the

[01:22] latest one being in 2023. So, they're

[01:25] pretty used to handling these big

[01:27] crowds. But when it comes to an event

[01:29] involving so many high-profile

[01:31] dignitaries, things can get a little bit

[01:33] more complicated. Now, the US Department

[01:35] of Homeland Security has designated the

[01:37] event as a level one special event

[01:39] assessment rating or SEIR event. This is

[01:42] the same security rating as Super Bowl

[01:44] games, the Rose Bowl, and major

[01:46] marathons like the Boston Marathon.

[01:48] Federal teams like the FBI and Secret

[01:50] Service are teaming up with the local

[01:51] police departments for the event.

[01:54] Glendel PD says from their department

[01:56] alone, they will have SWAT, a drone

[01:58] team, a bomb dog, and several undercover

[02:00] detectives working to keep everything

[02:02] moving smoothly and safely. However, due

[02:05] to the nature of Kirk's death, the

[02:06] number of expected attendees, and the

[02:08] possibility of protests, the Glendale

[02:10] Police Department wants to emphasize

[02:12] they will not hesitate to take immediate

[02:14] action to keep everyone out of harm's

[02:16] way. We're going to be fully prepared to

[02:19] take any action that we need to. That

[02:21] includes enforcement action. You know,

[02:22] if if anyone is uh wild and out, if

[02:25] anyone is misbehaving, if anyone is

[02:26] breaking the law, yeah, we're going to

[02:28] take enforcement action and we'll handle

[02:30] that appropriately.

[02:33] Now, for the memorial, the doors open at

[02:35] 8 a.m. local time and then this will

[02:36] start at 11:00. Now, with this enhanced

[02:39] security measures in place, officials

[02:40] here are asking for people just to be a

[02:42] little bit more patient since there are

[02:44] longer wait times that are expected.

[02:46] Reporting live in Glendel, Arizona, I'm

[02:48] Anakah Johns, KUTV 2 News.

[02:50] Anakah, thanks a lot. And we'll be

[02:52] checking in with Anakah throughout the

[02:53] newscast. The memorial is hosted by

[02:55] Turning Point USA. Some of the country's

[02:58] top political leaders will be there. As

[03:00] Anakah just mentioned, both President

[03:02] Trump and Vice President Vance will

[03:04] speak at the memorial. The event is open

[03:07] to the public. No ticketing, but there

[03:09] will be metal detectors and X-ray

[03:11] machines. No bags are allowed inside the

[03:14] stadium. Here

[03:16] in Utah, Utah Valley University hosted a

[03:19] vigil to unite people on campus after

[03:21] Charlie Kirk was killed at UVU. People

[03:25] attended the vigil with flowers and lead

[03:27] candle and LED candlesticks. The

[03:30] university said this event, which

[03:31] happened on Thursday, provided a space

[03:33] for remembrance, healing, and

[03:36] reaffirming shared values.

[03:39] I just love that they're doing that and

[03:41] and having a place for everyone to have

[03:43] closure in a sense and and have peace

[03:46] instead of violence.

[03:49] Speakers at the vigil also spoke about

[03:51] the importance of finding strength in

[03:54] being together.

[03:56] In times of loss and hardship, it can be

[03:59] easy to focus on differences. But

[04:02] Charlie reminded us that our true

[04:04] strength is found in what brings us

[04:07] together.

[04:08] He also reminds us about courage.

[04:12] Charlie said, "If you believe in

[04:13] something, you need to have the courage

[04:16] to fight for those ideas. Not run away

[04:19] from them or try to silence them." I

[04:22] think courage in this moment doesn't

[04:24] just mean standing up for what we

[04:26] believe in, but also finding the bravery

[04:29] to reach across differences, to listen

[04:32] to each other, and to extend kindness

[04:36] even when it isn't easy.

[04:40] Along with speakers, the vigil also

[04:42] featured a choir performance. And you

[04:44] can watch the memorial service taking

[04:46] place in Arizona this morning right here

[04:48] on KUTV and on KJS channel 14. will also

[04:52] stream it online at kutv.com and on the

[04:56] KUTV 2 News mobile app.