Kirk family may have path around archaic law shielding gov't in police chief’s alleged ‘got you covered’ text

Utah law granting broad immunity to government entities and their employees could make it difficult for Charlie Kirk’s family to pursue a wrongful death claim against the state and Utah Valley University — but there's a key piece of evidence they've raised in legal filings that could clear the hurdle, according to a trial attorney and legal analyst.

"Utah law makes it very difficult for the Charlie Kirk family to proceed with a civil claim against the state and the university," said Randolph Rice, a Maryland-based attorney and former prosecutor who is following the case.

The Utah Governmental Immunity Act shields government entities and employees from many civil damages claims, he said.

CHARLIE KIRK'S FAMILY ALLEGES UVU KNEW OF ROOFTOP SECURITY RISK BEFORE HIS ASSASSINATION: LEGAL FILING A lawsuit from the family of Gabby Petito against the Moab Police Department alleged that officers were negligent in their response to a traffic stop involving Brian Laundrie two weeks before he killed her.

A judge dismissed the case on governmental immunity grounds.

The Petito family is appealing.

GABBY PETITO'S MOTHER URGES PUBLIC 'RIPPLE EFFECT' TO HELP FIND THE MISSING 5 YEARS AFTER DAUGHTER'S MURDER "Generally speaking, they are immune from any type of civil suit, meaning money damages," Rice said — but there is a potential exception.

Kirk's family filed a notice of claim, which is a precursor to a lawsuit, last week — alleging that Utah Valley University, the state of Utah and key officials failed to properly secure the event even after acknowledging responsibility for rooftop security, leading to his wrongful death.

CHARLIE KIRK ASSASSINATION: NEW UVU PRESIDENT SAYS IT WILL CONTINUE TO 'HOST THE FRAYS,' EMBRACE FREE SPEECH Among the claims in the filing, UVU Police Chief Jeffrey Long allegedly told Turning Point USA organizers "I got you covered" when they raised concerns about rooftop access around the campus courtyard.

That text message could be key to overcoming Utah's immunity law, he said, because Kirk was shot and killed by a sniper on a rooftop.

SURVEILLANCE VIDEO TIMELINE TRACKS ACCUSED CHARLIE KIRK ASSASSIN ACROSS UVU CAMPUS BEFORE FATAL ROOFTOP SHOT FOLLOW THE FOX TRUE CRIME TEAM ON X SIGN UP TO GET THE LATEST TRUE CRIME NEWS LIKE WHAT YOU'RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE "What they're going to try to do is, and I'm guessing this, is they're going to say, look, because of the fact that they detrimentally relied on that, we're not bound by the Governmental Immunity Act," Rice said.

"That goes away or we get around that.