Charlie Kirk’s Security Chief Claims He Was Hamstrung On Day Of Assassination

The owner of the company providing security for Turning Point USA (TPUSA) founder Charlie Kirk on the day of his assassination said in a interview posted Monday that he was hamstrung by federal and state laws while trying to secure the event where Kirk was assassinated.

Kirk was gunned down during a Sept. 10 TPUSA “Prove Me Wrong” event at Utah Valley University, during which he was debating attendees. Brian Harpole of Integrity Security Solutions told podcaster Shawn Ryan during Monday’s episode of “The Shawn Ryan Show” he had acquired certificates to pilot drones, but was unable to use them due to federal and state regulations.

“I spent thousands of dollars on drones last year and got my guys licenses,” Harpole said. “But if the area lies in the Provo, Utah, airspace, I can’t fly. It’s a 107B, we can’t break the rules.”

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Title 14, Chapter I, Subchapter F, Part 107, Subpart B has restrictions on operating drones, including a prohibition on flying them over people who do not have shelter should the drone crash. Utah state laws require compliance with the federal regulations, according to UAVCoach.com.

“And then you had secondary restrictions, probably due to heavy foot traffic with the school,” Harpole added. “But I can’t go in and break the rules. There’s laws for a reason. And so, now the school could have flown drones, the PD, but they didn’t have them. But Orem PD has a drone unit, active, professional and that police department, I will tell you, is awesome. They were there, they helped, both on the soft side and the hard side.”

“Do you have a MOU [memorandum of understanding] or mutual aid agreement with the school?” Harpole recounted asking the Orem Police Department, but learned that Utah Valley University’s police department did not request assistance from the Orem Police Department.

Utah Valley University and the Orem Police Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.

“I can’t go in and break the law, I can’t make my guys break the law,” Harpole told Ryan, who asked if the failure to seek assistance was “malicious.”

“I would say, did you ask? Did you ask this awesome PD that would probably help you in a heartbeat that you have a MOU with?” Harpole said.

Harpole said that his company wasn’t just obligated to protect from physical threats, but to also preserve the client’s reputation.

“The drones would have been awesome, but I can’t break the law,” Harpole said, adding that he also was precluded from using “overwatch” in the form of snipers.

“This is not a State Department job, I don’t have an ITAR and this isn’t Iraq,” Harpole said. “This is Utah. I can’t go in and set up observation points with snipers.”

President Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt during an outdoor July 13 campaign rally in Butler County, Pennsylvania, being slightly wounded in the shooting that killed former volunteer fire chief Corey Comperatore and seriously injured two other attendees. Trump’s would-be assassin was killed on a nearby rooftop in an open air setting over one year before Kirk’s assassination by a Secret Service sniper shortly after opening fire on Trump.