Turning Point USA Chief Operating Officer (COO) Tyler Bowyer said the assassination of Charlie Kirk could have been prevented if Utah Valley University police had used drones or permitted TPUSA’s security team to deploy theirs.
Bowyer made his remarks during an interview with Culture Apothecary podcast host Alex Clark.
The episode was published last week and featured a detailed discussion about the security breakdown at the event where Kirk was killed.
“Every single event that’s held is a combination of our security team working with the local police. In this case, on university campuses, it’s the university police,” Bowyer explained during the interview.
He outlined how TPUSA divides security duties with law enforcement.
The security detail, he said, focuses on direct protection of the speaker, while campus police are tasked with larger perimeter oversight, rooftops and surrounding areas.
“In this case, for Utah Valley University, their responsibility was to protect the campus, all of the perimeter, rooftops, everything else. When we go out in public, our team handles those things where there isn’t a police department to work with or to do that with, whether it’s a drone program or covering all those angles or perimeter,” Bowyer stated.
TPUSA depended on the university police to carry out those broader security tasks, according to Bowyer.
He noted that some observers have since asked why drones were not used during Kirk’s final event.
“There are some elements here where it’s like, there are people asking, ‘Well, why wasn’t this done?’ Charlie’s team would have done anything and everything, particularly if it was completely within our purview,” Bowyer said.
Bowyer stressed the dedication of Kirk’s security staff, saying they considered him family.
“The team loved Charlie like a brother and would have taken a bullet for him, so they are dealing with the weight of his loss on their watch,” he said.
He also urged supporters to keep the security team in their prayers, emphasizing that they are facing criticism online.
“We’re praying for them. We hope that everybody is praying for them, because they’re being unfairly targeted by people online who are making suggestions,” Bowyer said.
The COO said the tragedy underscores the importance of updating campus security measures.
“A really competent drone program, for example, would have saved Charlie’s life. That should be the standard protocol on every single campus. Without question, there should be eyes on every rooftop at all times,” he explained.
Bowyer predicted that evidence of security failures will emerge during the trial of the shooter who killed Kirk.
He suggested that the absence of aerial surveillance will be a major point of discussion.
The COO shared a clip of his interview on social media, which prompted a wave of comments from followers raising similar concerns about the lack of drones.
One commenter wrote, “just wondering why there wasn’t a drone flying and looking at those rooftops and windows.”
Bowyer responded directly to that question.
“I’ve addressed this. We have our own drone program. Shot down by Campus police. Orem Police has a state of the art program, the question I have is why the Campus police didn’t use it,” he wrote.
Another supporter posted a message questioning whether routine rooftop surveillance should have been performed.
“I really hated to say anything and I love you guys and I pray for yall daily. But it has bothered me so much that it was left unattended. I mean, isn’t that part of a routine check? You see where the speaker is going to be and you check every line of sight? Has the police department spoke at all about this?” the commenter asked.
Bowyer again pointed to campus police as the authority in charge of that responsibility.
“Yes that is the police, as I have said. Not the bodyguards. Huge failure in my opinion. A drone operation who have been the fail proof backup to [not physically securing the roof],” he replied.
He clarified that TPUSA’s team could not physically secure every rooftop in view of the event location.
Their primary responsibility was staying close to Kirk.
That limitation, Bowyer argued, made drones or other aerial surveillance an essential tool for police.
Bowyer maintained that Utah Valley University police should have used their own drone program during the event.
In the absence of that, he said, they should have permitted TPUSA’s trained team to operate drones as a protective measure.
The COO added that the lessons learned from Kirk’s assassination should set a new standard for campus event security.
He argued that drone surveillance should no longer be considered optional, but part of mandatory protocol whenever high-profile public figures are scheduled to appear on college grounds.
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