‘All Hands On Deck’: Charlie Kirk’s Memorial A Major Test For US Secret Service

Last Updated:September 15, 2025, 22:57 IST

Charlie Kirk’s memorial will draw Donald Trump, Marco Rubio, and top Republicans, posing major security challenges for the US Secret Service amid heightened threats

A poster of conservative activist Charlie Kirk is displayed at a memorial following the fatal shooting of Kirk, at the Turning Point USA headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona, US, September 12, 2025 (Reuters)

With the memorial service for right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk scheduled to be held on Sunday, President Donald Trump high-level administration and Republican Party officials, and top political influencers will be attending the event. However, the event will pose an enormous test for the law enforcement, particularly the US Secret Service.

The memorial service will be held at the massive State Farm Stadium in Glendale, just outside Phoenix.

“The Secret Service joins the nation in offering our deepest condolences to the Kirk family and friends,” Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement. “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.”

According to CNN, State Farm Stadium has a capacity of more than 63,000 people, and registration to attend the event is open to the public, requiring a name, email, cellphone and ZIP code. However, the stadium has a retractable roof, meaning it can be enclosed or open air.

CNN quoted Jonathan Wackrow, a former US Secret Service agent, as saying: “This location may be seen as an attractive target for a hostile actor because of its visibility. The potential for it to be disrupted through a series of different threats, or even the threat of a threat, is something that law enforcement really has to focus in on and then put the mitigation protocols in place now.”

According to CNN, this will require efforts to mitigate the possibility of incidents like vehicles ramming into crowds and biological threats, the positioning of counter-snipers in and outside the arena, and the protection of high-profile figures such as Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has indicted he’s likely to attend.

Meanwhile, CNN quoted a Republican congressional aide as saying that the White House has requested an additional $58 million in security funding for the executive and judicial branches following Kirk’s assassination.

“This is going to push the Secret Service to its limit,” Wackrow said, “It’s all hands on deck — but there’s multiple decks.”

“I am sure that the moment that this event is over on Sunday, there will be planes ready to bring everybody back to New York, but you potentially have a gap that’s exposed in New York,” he said. “And if you think that foreign entities aren’t watching that and looking for it, don’t be fooled. They are.”

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