Armed man arrested at Charlie Kirk memorial venue with major names set to attend

Police have arrested an armed man at the memorial venue for American conservative speaker Charlie Kirk, who was shot dead earlier this month.

Thousands of people are expected to visit State Farm Stadium, Arizona, today (21 September) as part of a memorial service for the 31-year-old, with several high-profile Republican politicians and US President Donald Trump expected to be in attendance.

Security expert Will Geddes told LADbible he hoped venue security was up to the task of stopping people bringing 'malicious items in', and the man arrested was found with a gun and a knife in his possession, which surely counts as that.

The expert said a stadium provided certain security advantages, as pretty much everyone in the place could be seen, resulting in a lack of hidden vantage points for nefarious activity.

The man arrested, who the Arizona Department of Public Safety have named as 42-year-old Joshua Runkles, was charged with carrying a weapon into a prohibited place and impersonating a police officer.

A memorial is taking place at the Arizona State Farm stadium (CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty Images)

Officials allege that the man arrested had tried pretending to be police and presented 'inactive law enforcement credentials' as he said he had been at the venue to provide security.

Charlie Kirk's Turning Point USA group later said that Runkles had been at the stadium to provide 'advance security for a known guest' and they 'do not believe this person was attempting anything nefarious'.

They said they believed the 42-year-old's attempts to scope the place out for security had not been properly co-ordinated with the US Secret Service, who are at the stadium because Donald Trump and JD Vance are expected to attend.

If an event has the US Secret Service involved then it's probably best if your own security calls ahead and checks out that it's alright for them to also scope the place out, otherwise kerfuffles of this nature may occur.

Geddes said he thinks the biggest threat to the memorial event at the stadium would not come from inside the venue but outside, as the security expert said police may find themselves busy with 'protests or counter-protests'.

The arrested man had a gun and knife, and said he was there to provide security for someone but didn't coordinate with the US Secret Service (CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty Images)

"Things are very volatile right now, and the assassination has only added even more emotion," the security expert explained.

"We've got to anticipate there will be some situations outside of the stadium and that people will turn up and want to have their five seconds' worth of protest, but hopefully the police will deal with it discreetly and it doesn't escalate into something mad."

The suspect arrested for shooting Kirk is 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, who is alleged to have shot Kirk from the roof of a nearby building before escaping from the campus of Utah Valley University.

Robinson was charged with aggravated murder and several other offences, meaning he is eligible for the death penalty and officials have made it clear they'll be seeking that if Robinson is convicted.