UPDATE: Turning Point USA spokesman and executive producer of The Charlie Kirk Show, Andrew Kolvet, said on Saturday evening that TPUSA does not believe the person in question “was attempting anything nefarious.”
“This individual was doing advance security for a known guest planning to attend the memorial service tomorrow,” Kolvet said. “We do not believe this person was attempting anything nefarious, however the advance was not done in proper coordination with the TPUSA security team or US Secret Service. Also important to note that this was before the site had been fully sealed and locked down.”
“Every precaution is being taken to ensure everyone’s safety,” he added.
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Original story: An armed man displaying “suspicious behavior” was arrested Friday at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, according to federal authorities.
On Sunday, a special memorial event for assassinated conservative activist Charlie Kirk will be held at the stadium. The event will include speeches from Kirk’s widow Erika Kirk, President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and others.
The suspicious man was allegedly falsely posing as law enforcement.
“The U.S. Secret Service in coordination with local law enforcement in Glendale, Arizona, is investigating an individual who was observed exhibiting suspicious behavior at State Farm Stadium,” Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi confirmed to Fox News.
“The individual was approached by Secret Service and stated during the encounter that he was a member of law enforcement and that he was armed. The individual is not a member of authorized law enforcement working the event and is currently in custody,” Guglielmi added.
A source told Fox that the man, who has yet to be publicly identified, “is a former deputy sheriff out of Idaho” and “identified himself with expired credentials.”
“They are going through his background and trying to figure out what he was up to there,” the source added.
The event has been designated by the Department of Homeland Security as a Special Event Assessment Rating (SEAR) Level 1 event, which gives it Super Bowl-level security.
“This designation is reserved for events of the highest national significance and enables the federal government to provide the full range of law enforcement and security resources necessary to support local officials in ensuring a safe and successful event,” a DHS official said, according to The Hill.
The service for Kirk, who founded Turning Point USA at just 18 years old, is expected to turn out at least tens of thousands of Americans, with anticipated overflow since the stadium holds little more than 63,000 people.
The Daily Wire will stream the Turning Point USA event across all platforms at 2:00 p.m. ET on Sunday.
Related: Trump And Top Conservatives To Gather Sunday In Arizona To Remember Charlie Kirk
