Charlie Kirk Memorial Service: Confusion over armed man at memorial site uncovers security concerns; Turning Point USA clarifies following arrest

A confusion emerged at State Farm Stadium, Glendale, where Charlie Kirk's memorial service is set to be held on Sunday (September 21, 2025) after a man was arrested and charged by police with carrying a gun into the football stadium. The arrested man, identified as Joshua Runkles, was a private security worker and was doing “advance security” work for a guest, a Turning Point USA spokesperson said on Saturday evening (September 20, 2025).

According to the US Secret Service, the man had knives and guns on him when he was arrested. The clarification from the spokesperson from Kirk’s group, which allayed concerns that the man had been trying to target the event, comes after the initial arrest of the man on Friday afternoon (September 20, 2025) had heightened concerns over the service.

The security has been beefed up in Glendale, Arizona, to prepare for the more than 100,000 people who are expected to attend. The suspicious man claimed to be a law enforcement member, the Secret Service said. Kirk, the 31-year-old conservative firebrand and a close ally of US President Donald Trump was assassinated in Utah on September 10.


US Secret Service agents had decided the man was suspicious and approached him inside State Farm Stadium, where the Arizona Cardinals play, officials said. When they did, the man falsely claimed that he was a law enforcement member and acknowledged that he had a weapon, according to Bart Graves, a spokesperson for the Arizona Department of Public Safety, as reported by NYT News Service.

Man identified as Joshua Runkles

Graves said police had charged the man, Joshua Runkles, 42, with impersonating a law enforcement officer and carrying a weapon into a prohibited space. Runkles was booked into jail but has since been released on bond, Graves said. Court records were not available online. Graves said police were trying to determine why the man entered the stadium two days before the memorial was set to be held. Runkles lives or recently lived in North Carolina, records show, according to NYT News Service.

A man who answered a call to a phone number connected to him claimed that he was not the same man and then did not respond to further calls. Man was doing “advance security” work for a guest, says Turning Point USA spokesperson. After Runkles' arrest was reported Saturday, a spokesperson for Kirk's group, Turning Point USA, said on social media that the man had been doing "advance security" work for a guest planning to attend the service.

The spokesperson, Andrew Kolvet, said the man had not properly coordinated with Turning Point or with the Secret Service. But Kolvet added, "We do not believe this person was attempting anything nefarious." He declined to identify the guest associated with the man doing security work.

Man was carrying knives and guns, the Secret Service said

Anthony Guglielmi, head of communications for the Secret Service, said that the man had knives and guns on him when he was arrested. Local law enforcement first encountered Runkles outside the stadium, Guglielmi said, and it was only after he entered the venue and was approached by Secret Service officers that he was detained. Guglielmi added that, at the time, security officials had still been working to establish a "hardened perimeter."

State Farm Stadium can seat up to 73,000 people, but officials said they believe many more than that may try to attend the memorial for Kirk. Turning Point is based in Phoenix, and Kirk and his family lived in nearby Scottsdale for several years.

President Trump and Vice President JD Vance scheduled to speak during event

The event is not ticketed, and people are allowed in on a first-come, first-served basis. President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and several Cabinet members are scheduled to speak. On Saturday afternoon, the streets and parking lot around the stadium were barricaded by police officers. The City of Glendale has blocked roads with large blue garbage dumpsters.

A few of Kirk's supporters strolled along the fenced-off perimeter of the stadium, discussing how early they would have to wake up Sunday to make it inside. Darrell Black, 75, said he and his wife drove two days from Houston and had scheduled an Uber ride for 2 a.m. Sunday to take them as close to the venue as they could get. "We are trying everything we can to be in there," he said, as quoted by NYT News Service.