Armed man arrested near Charlie Kirk memorial venue
Authorities detained an armed man who was pretending to be affiliated with law enforcement at the location of Sunday's planned memorial for conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Authorities detained an armed man pretending to be affiliated with law enforcement near State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., ahead of Sunday’s planned memorial for conservative activist Charlie Kirk. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI UPI
Sept. 20 (UPI) -- Authorities detained an armed man who was pretending to be affiliated with law enforcement at the location of Sunday's planned memorial for conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
The man has not been identified or officially arrested but was armed when local and U.S. Secret Service agents detained him overnight at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., officials confirmed on Saturday.
Officials said the man was "exhibiting suspicious behavior" when he was detained and told police and the Secret Service he was affiliated with law enforcement.
Police confirmed he is not a member of any law enforcement agency and are looking into why he was at that location.
The memorial for Kirk is scheduled to take place Sunday at the stadium, which can hold more than 63,000 people.
President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance are expected to speak at the memorial for Kirk, who was shot and killed earlier this month while on stage at a speaking event in Utah.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has given the event a Special Event Assessment Rating Level 1 designation.
DHS and several other federal agencies are warning of possible security threats at the event from "violent extremists and unaffiliated lone offenders," according to an unclassified assessment obtained by the Arizona Mirror.
The event begins at 11 a.m. MST.
Possible security threats "may view the memorial service or related events as attractive attack targets due to the attendance of these individuals, other senior US government officials, state and local government officials, and political activists, and due to major international media attention," the assessment reads.
