Update on That Armed Man Who Was Taken Into Custody at Charlie Kirk Memorial Site

I reported on Saturday the concerning news that an armed man was taken into custody by security at the site of the Charlie Kirk memorial at the State Farm Arena in Glendale, Arizona.

Police said he had been exhibiting "suspicious behavior" that got their attention.

"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 told Fox News Digital on Saturday.
"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.

The man, Joshua Runkles, was charged with impersonating a law enforcement officer, a felony, and carrying a weapon into a prohibited place, a misdemeanor, the Arizona Department of Public Safety said.

"An investigation is ongoing to determine his intent and purpose at the stadium. Runkles has since been released on bond," according to Arizona DPS.

However, Turning Point USA spokesperson Andrew Kolvet said that the man had been doing advance security for a guest at the memorial service and that nothing “nefarious” was involved.

“This individual was doing advance security for a known guest planning to attend the memorial service tomorrow. 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,” Kolvet wrote.
“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.”

That's good news, if it was just confusion and nothing untoward.

I think, given all the people who are going to be in attendance, people are likely hypersensitive, as they should be. It has been given the highest level security designation. It was designated as a Special Event Assessment Rating (SEAR) Level 1 event. Thousands were in line for the memorial early in the morning. More than 100,000 are expected to attend, including President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Kirk's wife, Erika Kirk, who are all expected to deliver remarks.

Many have now moved to form TPUSA chapters since Kirk's assassination at high schools and colleges.

UPDATE: In the past 8 days, TPUSA has received 62,000+ requests from high school and college students nationwide to start a chapter or get involved with an existing chapter.@tpusastudents https://t.co/Y2M1NBaSLr
— Turning Point USA (@TPUSA) September 18, 2025

Number of New Chapter Requests for TPUSA Explodes—'This Will Birth an Army of Charlie Kirks'

The memorial is being carried live by CBS News, CNN, Fox News, ABC News, and NewsNation, with Fox having correspondents on the ground at the stadium. You can view it for free on Charlie Kirk's Rumble page here.