The memorial service for Charlie Kirk, to be held on Sunday at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, AZ, will feature security as tight as that for the Super Bowl.
The Department of Homeland Security has made the memorial service a "Special Event Assessment Rating (SEAR) Level 1 event." This designation allows the federal government to assign as many law enforcement resources and security apparatus as needed, as it would for the most tightly secure venues in the country.
This includes especially tight security prior to the event. As it turns out, this was a sensible precaution. The Secret Service detained an armed man, claiming he was law enforcement connected to the memorial event, after he was “exhibiting suspicious behavior” while walking the venue.
The Secret Service stated: “The individual is not a member of authorized law enforcement working the event and is currently in custody. The U.S. Secret Service and local law enforcement are investigating the circumstances as to why he was at the location.”
Scheduled to attend the memorial service are Donald Trump, JD Vance, members of Congress, and more than 100,000 people.
The man had at least one gun and one knife when he was stopped, according to a law enforcement official familiar with the matter, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing. He also presented “inactive law enforcement credentials” and told Secret Service agents he was at the site to provide private security, the official said.
A spokesperson for the Glendale Police Department referred questions to the Secret Service.
The Department of Homeland Security has made Kirk’s service a Special Event Assessment Rating (SEAR) Level 1 event — a designation that allows the federal government to assign it sweeping security resources, akin to a Super Bowl.
Secret Service teams have been on the ground for several days coordinating security with other federal, state and local law enforcement officials, and were expected to begin setting up a perimeter around the stadium Saturday, the law enforcement official said.
Several federal law enforcement agencies have issued a security assessment to state and local police, indicating that they are tracking "several threats of unknown credibility" against memorial attendees.
"Violent extremists and unaffiliated lone offenders 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 bulletin reads.
Indeed, Trump should seriously consider sending his deep regrets at not attending, because the security situation is as unsettled as its ever been in the United States, in my experience.
The left has shown it is not going into hiding after Kirk's death, and may see Kirk's assassination as a clarion call for action. Who knows what goes through the heads of Antifa crazies or other left-wing activists?
As thorough as the Secret Service and other law enforcement agencies try to be, authorities in Glendale had a week to plan for this event. For an event like the Super Bowl, they have up to two years to plan, rehearse, and game out security scenarios.
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