A Utah university at the center of one of the most shocking political assassinations in recent American history is stonewalling journalists who want answers.
Utah Valley University in Orem responded to a Daily Caller News Foundation public records request with a stack of documents so thoroughly censored they raised more questions than they answered — and then refused to hand over other files altogether.
The DCNF had sought the personal communications of UVU Police Chief Jeff Long in connection with the September 10 murder of conservative commentator and Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk.
What the outlet got back were fifty documents riddled with blacked-out names, chopped sentences, and gaps where key information once lived.
Long did not respond to the DCNF’s request for comment, said the outlet.
The university leaned on a roster of legal exemptions to justify the blackouts, telling the DCNF that releasing the full records could “jeopardize the security of public property, buildings or systems,” “jeopardize the life or safety of an individual,” and run afoul of personal and educational privacy protections, among other cited grounds.
Nine separate redactions pointed to a Utah state law shielding active law enforcement investigations and protecting a defendant’s right to a fair trial.
Two more covered attorney-client communications.
UVU also acknowledged that additional records exist that fall within the scope of the DCNF’s request — and flatly declined to release them.
Even photographs of post-shooting campus renovations, including images of a large American flag installed at the university following Kirk’s death, arrived partially blacked out.
The scrubbed records offer only glimpses into what was happening at UVU in the days surrounding the killing.
One email dated September 8 showed an unidentified person receiving clearance for Kirk’s TPUSA chapter to use amplified sound during the campus event.
“I don’t see a problem with this, [redacted],” came the reply, according to the DCNF.
Another email, sent September 9 — the day before Kirk was shot — appeared to reference an attempt to pass a message directly to Kirk.
“[Redacted] wants us to get a message to Charlie Kirk,” it read, followed by a phone number. The sender and recipient remain hidden behind redactions.
The security setup that evening had already drawn sharp public scrutiny long before the records request. UVU deployed just six campus police officers to manage an outdoor event attended by roughly 3,000 people. No metal detectors screened attendees. No ticketed entry system controlled access to the grounds.
Utah Republican State Rep. Ryan Wilcox did not mince words about what he saw, calling the situation “a complete disaster.” The university launched a formal security review shortly after.
Authorities say 22-year-old Tyler Robinson arrived at the event with a rifle concealed inside his pant leg. While Kirk stood outdoors debating political ideas with students, Robinson moved through the campus, climbed to the rooftop of UVU’s Losee Center, and fired a single fatal shot. He then walked away from the scene.
Robinson evaded capture for 33 hours until his own parents, recognizing him from photographs released by the FBI, persuaded him to turn himself in.
Utah prosecutors have stated that Robinson’s family members heard him voice contempt for Kirk’s political positions following the start of a relationship he had with a transgender roommate, who is expected to appear as a witness at trial.
This records obstruction is not an isolated incident. When FOX13, a local television station, submitted its own records request seeking UVU’s security plan for the TPUSA event, the university refused, citing the same categories of legal exemptions.
FOX13 appealed — and in February, Robinson’s own legal team went to court to argue those records should stay buried.
The loudest allegations against Chief Long came from Brian Harpole, who led Kirk’s private security team that night. Harpole went on record with podcast host Shawn Ryan in November, saying he had flagged a specific vulnerability to Long before the event even began — the accessible rooftop of UVU’s Sorenson Center, located directly across from where Robinson ultimately set up his shot.
Officers positioned there, Harpole said, likely would have spotted the gunman.
Long responded by text message, Harpole said, and offered a straightforward assurance.
“He comes back and his last correspondence was, ‘I got you covered,’” Harpole recounted. “What else am I to do when a command-level person from an accredited police department says, ‘I’ve got this area’?”
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Harpole also addressed Long’s continued public silence as professional fallout has hit others connected to the event. “Why this hadn’t come out and why he won’t stand up like a man and admit this, I don’t know, but he’s watching a bunch of men lose their careers and he’s okay with it,” Harpole told Ryan.
Long addressed reporters on the day of the shooting and acknowledged that his department had not succeeded in preventing Kirk’s death.
“We train for these things, and you think you have things covered and — you know, these things, unfortunately, they happen,” he said.
“You try to get your bases covered and unfortunately, today, we didn’t. And because of that, we had this tragic incident.”
