EXCLUSIVE: Arizona Cops on High Alert and Bracing for Charlie Kirk Funeral Chaos at State Farm Stadium — 'Same Ordeal' as Super Bowl Planning
Charlie Kirk's funeral is being staffed as if it was the Super Bowl.
Sept. 16 2025, Published 7:45 p.m. ET
Police in Glendale, Arizona, will be on high alert at Charlie Kirk's funeral on Sunday, September 21, making sure everything goes smoothly outside State Farm Stadium as if it were the Super Bowl, a spokesman exclusively tells RadarOnline.com.
"We'll be providing the same level of service that we provide for any other event. We'll have officers patrolling the area and monitoring everything from outside the stadium," Police Administrator Jose Santiago explained.
Kirk was assassinated on September 10 while speaking to college students in Utah.
'Same Kind of Ordeal'
Kirk's funeral will be held at the 63,000 capacity State Farm Stadium.
President Donald Trump, a close friend and ally of Kirk's, will be in attendance, which means a significant Secret Service presence will be on hand at the event.
Santiago notes that the Arizona Department of Public Safety will be working with the Secret Service inside the venue. At the same time, the Glendale P.D. will coordinate with the federal law enforcement agency outside.
"We're going to handle this as we would any other major event," Santiago explained.
He added: "We obviously had a very successful Super Bowl when it was here, and we handle major events when it comes to concerts, sporting events, and that's basically how we'll handle this as well...the same kind of ordeal for us."
The stadium, which is home to the NFL's Arizona Cardinals, hosted Super Bowls in 2023, 2015, and 2008. It also served as the kickoff venue for Taylor Swift's Eras tour in March 2023.
High Alert for Disruptors
A man attempted to vandalize the Kirk memorial outside of Turning Point USA headquarters.
The Glendale P.D. will be on high alert for any troublemakers trying to disrupt Kirk's celebration of life, as one person already cruelly attacked a memorial to the late Republican crusader.
Mourners gathered at Turning Point USA's headquarters in Phoenix on September 13. The popular podcaster founded the conservative youth politics organization in 2012.
Fans left flags, flowers, photos, and other memorabilia in Kirk's memory. Still, a 19-year-old man was arrested for attempting to vandalize the site by kicking over vases and stomping on floral displays. Ryder Corral even wore a black shirt with the identical logo that Kirk's alleged killer, Tyler Robinson, wore when carrying out the assassination.
'Sunday Best' Attire
Funeral attendees are encouraged to wear patriotic 'red, white, and blue.'
State Farm Stadium has a capacity of 63,400, and Kirk's funeral is open to the public. Still, attendees have been asked to register at a website set up by Turning Point USA.
Doors will open at 8 a.m. Mountain Standard Time, with the service starting three hours later. The dress code is "Sunday Best – Red, White, or Blue," according to the memorial's site.
Kirk was assassinated while kicking off his fall campus tour at Utah State University, with a bullet piercing his neck as he was in the middle of debating a student. Robinson, 22, was later arrested and charged with aggravated murder in Kirk's death, claiming to his alleged transgender lover that he'd "had enough of his hatred."
Secret Service Plans
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President Trump survived an assassination attempt in July 2024.
Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement: “The Secret Service joins the nation in offering our deepest condolences to the Kirk family and friends. Joint security planning is underway for the memorial and funeral of Charlie Kirk, and appropriate public safety-related information will be provided as the process matures in the coming days."
The service came under fire in July 2024, after Trump, 79, was nicked by a would-be assassin's bullet while at an outdoor presidential campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. As in Kirk's killing, it was fired from a faraway rooftop with a long-range rifle. Trump had turned his head to look at a sign at the last second, narrowly missing being struck in the head, while the bullet grazed his ear.
Shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks was killed at the scene by law enforcement, while the Secret Service would later undergo a series of reforms and leadership changes.
