Thousands turn out for Turning Point's return to Utah 3 weeks after murder of Charlie Kirk

[00:02] r

[00:02] covering both events. Heidi.

[00:04] >> Well, Mark, Utah Valley

[00:06] University had more than 3000

[00:08] students in attendance just

[00:09] three weeks ago here at Utah

[00:12] State University. More than

[00:13] double that. Tonight, we're

[00:15] hearing 6500 people stood in

[00:16] line outside of the spectrum.

[00:18] Tonight, they're still taking

[00:19] down some of the fencing, the

[00:21] security measures that were put

[00:22] in place. Hindsight 2020 of

[00:23] course, after what happened

[00:25] with Charlie Kirk and the

[00:27] assassination there. Security

[00:28] here was tight on campus.

[00:30] Governor Spencer Cox, former

[00:32] Congressman Jason Chaffetz,

[00:33] Senator Mike Lee also supposed

[00:34] to be here but had to join with

[00:37] a video from Washington DC

[00:38] because they were working on

[00:40] possibly not shutting the

[00:42] government down on the stage

[00:43] tonight. Some of those people I

[00:44] mentioned were answering

[00:45] questions from the audience,

[00:47] questions that normally they'd

[00:48] be asking to Charlie Kirk. They

[00:50] did their best to fill those

[00:51] shoes. And the first question

[00:53] of the night went to Governor

[00:55] Spencer Cox. And it was on the

[00:56] issue of transgender bills. One

[00:57] of those questions was his idea

[00:59] and his views on transgender

[01:01] athletes. It's something that

[01:02] Charlie Kirk had called out the

[01:04] governor for on social media in

[01:05] the past.

[01:07] >> It's no secret that you and

[01:09] Charlie did not historically

[01:10] see eye to eye. There are

[01:12] multiple instances of Charlie

[01:13] calling you out for refusing to

[01:15] protect women's sports back in

[01:17] 2022, and even going so far.

[01:21] And even going so far as to say

[01:24] that you should be expelled

[01:25] from the Republican Party.

[01:27] Since Charlie's assassination

[01:29] at Utah Valley, you've seemed

[01:31] to change your tune about

[01:32] Charlie. How's Charlie Kirk's

[01:34] death personally impacted you?

[01:36] >> Yeah. Thank you. So, you

[01:38] know, I don't know that my tune

[01:40] about Charlie has changed. I've

[01:42] learned a lot from Charlie over

[01:43] the years. That might surprise

[01:45] you. And I would hope that that

[01:47] Charlie's tune, if I had an

[01:49] opportunity to talk to him

[01:51] today, might have changed a

[01:52] little bit about me.

[01:56] >> Now, the governor saying

[01:58] that he probably agreed with

[02:00] Charlie Kirk 99% of the time,

[02:01] but not all the time. The

[02:02] governor went on to explain his

[02:04] stance on transgender youth

[02:05] playing sports, bringing up the

[02:06] fact that Utah passed laws to

[02:08] prevent minors from

[02:10] transitioning and that minors

[02:11] already transitioning had to

[02:12] prove that they would not take

[02:14] away scholarships from female

[02:15] student athletes. He also spoke

[02:16] about signing Utah's bathroom

[02:18] bill into law. You can see that

[02:20] full exchange if you'd like to.

[02:21] It's posted on our website at

[02:23] kutv.com. We have had a full

[02:25] team up here on campus today

[02:27] covering the events. Brian Will

[02:28] has been talking to students

[02:30] all day long, and also was

[02:31] inside that crowded Spectrum

[02:33] arena tonight with thousands of

[02:34] students who were there hoping

[02:36] to ask their questions and hear

[02:37] a little bit about what the

[02:38] conversation would continue

[02:40] after Charlie's death. Brian.

[02:43] >> Heidi. Thousands of students

[02:45] and community members lined up

[02:47] here to get inside this event

[02:48] here at Utah State. And a lot

[02:50] of them, quite a few of them I

[02:52] talked to, said they came to

[02:54] hear what their leaders had to

[02:56] say. And because of Charlie

[02:56] Kirk.

[02:57] >> I see this empty chair. And

[02:59] it just it does something to me.

[03:02] I know it does something to you.

[03:04] >> Tuesday's event at Utah

[03:06] State started by paying tribute

[03:07] to Charlie Kirk. Many in the

[03:09] crowd saying they came here for

[03:12] Charlie.

[03:12] >> After what happened at UVU.

[03:15] I still wanted to come up and

[03:17] be helpful and show support.

[03:18] >> Alex Clark with Turning

[03:20] Point USA hosted the event

[03:21] called this is the Turning

[03:23] Point Tour.

[03:23] >> I'm not here to eulogize

[03:25] Charlie Kirk. I am here to pass

[03:27] the torch on to every single

[03:29] one of you.

[03:29] >> Walker Manning was one of

[03:31] the more than 6000 people in

[03:32] attendance, according to

[03:34] organizers. He came here to

[03:35] hear more about this

[03:37] conservative movement.

[03:38] >> The turning point spirit

[03:39] like fighting for freedom.

[03:40] Fighting for faith, fighting

[03:41] for open markets and limited

[03:44] government and coming to try

[03:45] and continue Charlie's mission.

[03:47] >> Republican Utah Senator Mike

[03:49] Lee made a virtual appearance

[03:50] from Washington, D.C. then a

[03:54] panel including Arizona

[03:54] Representative Andy Biggs,

[03:57] former Utah Representative

[03:57] Jason Chaffetz, and Utah

[03:59] Governor Spencer Cox took to

[04:01] the stage when it came time for

[04:03] Governor Cox to speak. He was

[04:05] booed by the crowd. When asked

[04:10] how the shooting changed him

[04:12] politically.

[04:13] >> I think it changed. It

[04:14] changed all of us.

[04:16] >> The panel went on to talk

[04:17] about Charlie, his legacy, and

[04:19] what they hope to see in the

[04:20] future of the country.

[04:23] >> And support Charlie in

[04:23] Turning Point.

[04:26] >> Now, the event wrapped up

[04:28] around 9 p.m. tonight without

[04:30] any major security issues, at

[04:33] least on this side of campus.

[04:35] Heidi.

[04:36] >> Brian. Thank you. There was

[04:38] an overwhelming amount of

[04:39] security on campus today when I

[04:41] was arriving around 230 this

[04:42] afternoon. There was an alert

[04:44] coming out from Utah State

[04:45] University about a suspicious

[04:46] package. Students were forced

[04:48] out of the building and out of

[04:51] class. What's the latest update

[04:52] on that scare? Earlier today?

[04:54] >> Yeah, Heidi, it's all clear

[04:56] now, but still no word on

[04:58] exactly what that package was

[05:00] and why police had to detonate

[05:01] it. Now, we were over on that

[05:03] side of campus earlier when

[05:04] that alert came in. You know,

[05:06] you as you. Police evacuated

[05:08] Old Main on campus around 245

[05:09] while classes were still in

[05:11] session. A student told me

[05:13] someone came in and told them

[05:14] they had to leave. Now, dozens

[05:17] gathered on the quad about 200

[05:17] yards from that building, and

[05:19] about ten minutes later, a

[05:20] second alert from us saying the

[05:22] evacuation was due to a

[05:24] suspicious package. The bomb

[05:25] squad showed up and right as me

[05:27] and my photographer Leah got

[05:29] here around 330, we heard this.

[05:34] >> Whole.

[05:37] >> Both like, grabbed on to

[05:38] each other and started backing

[05:40] up like we didn't think

[05:41] something was going to actually

[05:42] like go off to be honest. My

[05:44] heart dropped. I was like, wait,

[05:45] like, I thought this was going

[05:47] to be like one of those, like,

[05:49] false alarms. But then, yeah,

[05:50] it was there was a boom.

[05:52] >> Students and staff were

[05:53] allowed to safely return about

[05:54] an hour later, and classes in

[05:56] there did resume. The all clear

[05:59] was given right around 4:00.

[05:59] Now again, we're still waiting

[06:01] to hear what the bomb squad

[06:02] found, why they had to detonate

[06:04] it, and what the reason was.

[06:06] And if there are any suspects

[06:07] in this case, Heidi.

[06:10] >> Brian. Thank you. As we're

[06:12] speaking to students this

[06:13] afternoon and others from the

[06:14] community who are coming on

[06:15] campus, they were happy to see

[06:17] how much security was here

[06:18] tonight and everything going on

[06:19] with the event without a hitch

[06:21] after that hiccup earlier

[06:22] during the day. Also, talking

[06:24] to a lot of students who said

[06:25] they were happy to be here

[06:27] carrying on what Charlie Kirk

[06:28] wanted to see happening,

[06:29] students having conversations

[06:30] and getting involved in

[06:32] politics. Many of them, though

[06:34] sad that it had to be this way.

[06:36] Reporting live from the campus

[06:37] of Utah State University. I'm

[06:40] Heidi Hatch. Back to you, Mark.

[06:43] >> Heidi. Thank you. It's been

[06:45] nearly three weeks since

[06:46] Charlie Kirk was shot and

[06:48] killed at UVU. And today, the

[06:49] Associated Press released a

[06:50] report that found the event

[06:52] lacked key public safety tools.

[06:54] >> David Ochoa talked to a

[06:56] security expert about what was

[06:58] in that report and what did it

[06:59] say? David.

[07:01] >> Well, there were.

[07:03] >> A few things that the report

[07:03] focused on, such as drones, the

[07:05] size of the police force, a

[07:07] subpar emergency response

[07:08] system, and more. According to

[07:12] the Associated Press, Utah

[07:13] Valley University didn't meet

[07:15] the same safety standards that

[07:16] are typical at other events

[07:19] across the country. Was there

[07:19] anything in that report that

[07:21] surprised you?

[07:22] >> No, not at all.

[07:23] >> Chris Bertram is a retired

[07:24] deputy chief of police, and he

[07:26] says the AP report hones in on

[07:28] some of the things that experts

[07:29] on the safety and security side

[07:31] of things have identified.

[07:32] >> What we saw in the AP report

[07:33] was, you know, a little more

[07:35] direct. I think we've been

[07:36] somewhat especially from local

[07:37] news media. We've been somewhat

[07:39] compassionate about some of the

[07:40] things that we've said about

[07:42] the security gaps or perceived

[07:43] security gaps that we may have

[07:46] seen at the university.

[07:46] >> The report looks at things

[07:48] like no drones were used to

[07:49] scout rooftops, the small

[07:50] police force, safety resources

[07:52] that haven't grown with the

[07:54] university, emergency radio

[07:55] channels that didn't meet

[07:56] standards, and a provision that

[07:58] was removed from a state law

[07:59] that would have required the

[08:01] university to undergo a safety

[08:03] assessment. Bertram says we'll

[08:04] learn more once the official

[08:06] investigation is finished and

[08:07] he expects it to be critical.

[08:08] >> There are a lot of gaps that,

[08:11] you know, we're probably not

[08:13] filled in as a result allowed,

[08:15] you know, security and safety

[08:17] not to be, as you know, to the

[08:19] level that it should have been.

[08:21] >> Bertram believes the

[08:21] security assessment will show

[08:23] that there wasn't enough

[08:24] planning, and not enough

[08:25] officers or security were at

[08:27] the event. Now, you can read

[08:30] more from that report at our

[08:32] websit