INTERNACIONAL
Kirk family has powerful evidence — but Utah law could derail wrongful death case: experts
A Utah government immunity law could upend the Kirk family’s efforts to bring a wrongful death lawsuit against Utah Valley University over alleged security failures surrounding Charlie Kirk’s assassination.
Attorneys for Kirk’s family filed a notice of intent to sue on Sept. 9, one day before the anniversary of his death. The filing alleges a series of security failures by the university, including declining additional police officers, failing to adequately address concerns from Kirk’s security team and not having an adequate security plan in place for his visit.
But legal experts say the Kirks face an uphill legal battle because Utah law grants government entities — including their officers and employees — broad immunity from lawsuits arising from a lengthy list of circumstances, including the performance or failure to perform discretionary functions and claims involving assault, battery, false imprisonment, malicious prosecution and civil rights violations.
«Unfortunately, Charlie Kirk’s family is going to have a very difficult time prevailing in a wrongful death case in Utah,» Tenielle Brown, a University of Utah law professor, told Digital. «And that’s because Utah’s government immunity statute is phrased in such a way that says even if the state and UVU were reckless, they retain immunity in cases that arise out of a battery, and that would include gunshot wounds.»
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Kirk, 31, co-founded Turning Point USA in 2012 and grew the conservative youth organization into a major force on high school and college campuses nationwide. He was shot and killed while speaking at Utah Valley University in Orem on Sept. 10, 2025.
Neama Rahmani, president of West Coast Trial Lawyers, told Digital that wrongful death claims against the government are already difficult for plaintiffs to win because government entities generally enjoy broad immunity from lawsuits stemming from assaults or batteries committed by third parties.
«I’ve handled lack of security cases, including lack of security cases against the government,» Rahmani told Digital. «They are tough because you are trying to hold the police or city, county or state responsible for someone else’s criminal actions.»
But Rahmani suggested the Kirk family’s strongest evidence could be a message from UVU Police Chief Jeffrey Long acknowledging concerns about rooftop access to the Sorenson Center, a building located «pretty close» to where Kirk was scheduled to speak. The Sorenson Center sits directly west of the Losee Center, where prosecutors say Tyler Robinson fired the shot that killed Kirk. In response to the security concerns, Long messaged Kirk’s team, «I got you covered.»
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«That means they’re gonna argue that they assume the responsibility to make sure Charlie Kirk was safe, and they failed to do so,» Rahmani said of the Kirk family. «In cases where you have the government taking on a duty, that tends to be better than simply arguing that the government has a duty to protect everyone because we know that murders happen all the time, and you can’t sue the government just because someone is killed.»
But Brown said Utah law can shield government officials from lawsuits even when they fail to perform their job functions.
«There have been a number of cases where the plaintiffs and the family of the victims have sued for either wrongful death or battery,» Brown told Digital. «And in some cases, the government did behave recklessly, and they could show carelessness and recklessness and the plaintiffs were not able to prevail because it arose out of a battery. And that’s unusual. Most states don’t have that broad of a statute.»
Brown pointed to the case of Mika Scott, a 19-year-old Utah Valley University student who sued Utah County and the Utah County Sheriff’s Office after Shawn Leonard, a prisoner with a violent criminal record who had escaped from a work-release program, raped her in 2010.
«They were supposed to screen inmates to make sure that they weren’t violent,» Brown told Digital. «And then when they went out in the community on the job sites, they were supposed to make sure that they were policing the boundaries so that these inmates couldn’t escape and in a really terrible situation.»
«And she could have shown carelessness and maybe even recklessness, but because of the government immunity statute and because this claim arose out of a battery, she was not able to prevail against the state,» Brown continued.
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The Utah Supreme Court addressed the statute’s language in its 2005 decision in Wagner v. Utah, which held that civil battery does not require an intent to cause physical or psychological injury.
«The court said, it may not be prudent for the state to continue to retain immunity here,» Brown told Digital. » And they’re kind of signaling to the legislature that the legislature should probably change the statute to allow for suits in cases like Charlie Kirk’s.»
«But the state has not revised the statute and so it still says very clearly that you can’t sue the state if the claim arises out of a battery,» Brown continued.
Brown said state workers who are not elected cannot be held accountable at the ballot box for failing to do their jobs.
«The president of UVU, the campus police, those people are not elected, and so if you were to say sovereign immunity is all about letting people decide whether they’re state actors or careless at the ballot box, then you vote them out of office,» Brown said.
«That doesn’t work,» Brown continued. «That argument doesn’t for the UVU president because nobody can vote them of office, nobody is having any political check on the campus police.»
Astrid Tuminez, who served as the school’s president at the time of Kirk’s assassination, stepped down from her position in May 2026 after eight years. She and Long are named in the filing by Kirk’s family.
«We are aware of the notice of claim,» a Utah Valley University spokesperson said in a statement to Digital. «UVU addresses legal matters consistent with our established processes. Our focus remains on supporting our campus community.»
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Kirk leaves behind his wife Erika Kirk and their two small children.
Digital reached out to the Kirk family’s lawyers for comment.
charlie kirk, precedents, controversies state and local, judiciary, erika kirk, utah, law
INTERNACIONAL
Trump’s DOJ makeover hasn’t changed where the political cash is flowing — and the gap is growing
The Trump administration has sought to eliminate what it alleges is partisan bias within the Justice Department, but the vast majority of political donations from individuals identifying themselves as DOJ employees are still going to Democratic-aligned committees, according to a Digital analysis of federal campaign finance records.
Between January 2025 and August of this year, just over 75% of campaign contributions from individuals identifying themselves as Department of Justice employees went to Democratic committees, the analysis of federal campaign finance records found.
Digital analyzed roughly $300,000 in political contributions recorded by the Federal Election Commission between January 2025 and August 2026 from donors who listed their employer as «Department of Justice,» «DOJ» or a variation of those names. Contributions were categorized by the political affiliation of the recipient candidate or committee, while independent-expenditure committees were classified according to the candidates or parties they supported. When exporting data from the Federal Election Commission’s dashboard, an option to include donations from «unique individuals only» was selected to filter out duplicative records.
As the Trump administration has progressed, the partisan slant of DOJ donations has become more pronounced. Through 2025, about 70% of donations from those identifying themselves as DOJ staff went to Democratic committees, a figure that rose to just under 90% in 2026, according to Digital’s findings.
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Attorney General Todd Blanche and his predecessor, Pam Bondi, both claimed that the Trump administration inherited a deeply corrupt DOJ, pointing to allegations that the agency was inundated with political bias under President Joe Biden’s tenure.
«There are a lot of people in the FBI and also in the Department of Justice who despise Donald Trump, despise us,» Bondi said in early 2025. «Right now, we’re going to root them out; we will find them, and they will no longer be employed.»
Critics have pushed back against claims of political weaponization during the Biden administration, arguing that high-profile investigations into President Donald Trump and other conservatives originated from legitimate legal concerns.
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Both of Trump’s attorneys general under his second administration have made strides to recruit a greater number of ideologically aligned lawyers while attempting to push those out who may not be willing to advance the administration’s interests.
In early February 2026, DOJ chief of staff Chad Mizelle publicly encouraged lawyers who «support President Trump» to contact him about becoming federal prosecutors. Stephen Miller amplified the appeal on social media with the caption «patriots needed,» and sitting U.S. Attorney Jason Quiñones reposted the appeal alongside the phrase «we are hiring!» Mizelle later defended the approach as ensuring that executive-branch lawyers were in line with the elected president’s agenda.
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The administration’s personnel overhaul has coincided with a substantial exodus of attorneys from federal service.
Over 10,000 attorneys have left federal service since Trump took office for a second term.
Digital reported in July that well over 100 federal attorneys had left the Trump administration for roles in Democratic-run state attorneys general offices. Many of these lawyers took decades of experience with them, prompting concerns that the Trump administration could be depriving itself of the ability to handle highly technical legal matters.
Some of these seasoned former federal lawyers have since joined legal action against the Trump administration.
While a significant number of government lawyers have left federal service under Trump, and some prominent conservatives have joined the administration, campaign finance records show that Democratic committees continue to receive the overwhelming majority of political contributions from donors identifying themselves as Justice Department employees.
Among the most common recipients of donations from those identifying themselves as DOJ employees were Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Georgia, and Emily’s List, a pro-abortion group associated with the Democratic Party. Some conservative committees, such as those in Trump’s network of PACs, were also common targets for Justice Department donors.
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Much of the DOJ’s work concerns investigations and prosecutions unrelated to partisan politics, and the campaign finance records do not establish whether employees’ political preferences have influenced the department’s day-to-day operations.
Progressive critics, to the contrary, have alleged that the Trump administration is using the Justice Department to target its political enemies.
«Those who were fired from the Department were fired for a reason. Those who resigned or took the fork in the road option likely aligned more with the priorities of President Biden and would naturally leave, which is common during transitions,» a DOJ spokeswoman previously told Digital. «The Administration gave career employees the fork in the road option to intentionally reduce the size of the government and eliminate unnecessary layers of staff who don’t effectively contribute to the mission of aggressively tackling crime.»
The DOJ did not respond to a request for comment when reached by Digital on Monday.
politics, justice department, attorney general, todd blanche, republicans elections
INTERNACIONAL
Fanny Uribe, alcaldesa de la isla Santa Cruz, Galápagos: “Las familias dejaron sus hogares con lo puesto y perdieron todo”
El fenómeno El Niño arrasa con distintos destinos turísticos de América Latina. Las inundaciones repentinas de las últimas horas dejaron al menos tres muertos, miles de personas afectadas, casas anegadas y decenas de vehículos arrastrados por la fuerza del agua.
Los episodios más graves se registraron en el noroeste de México y en las islas Galápagos de Ecuador, en un contexto de preocupación por las lluvias torrenciales que azotan a la región hace días.
El estado de situación de México
Las ciudades de Guaymas, en el estado de Sonora, y San José del Cabo, en Baja California Sur, sufrieron precipitaciones extraordinarias que provocaron inundaciones y graves daños materiales.
En Guaymas, las lluvias dejaron al menos dos muertos, según informó el medio mexicano ABC Noticias. Las víctimas viajaban en un vehículo que fue arrastrado por la corriente generada por el desbordamiento de los arroyos.
De acuerdo con los registros de la Comisión Nacional del Agua (Conagua), las lluvias superaron los 106 milímetros. El temporal provocó inundaciones en al menos 16 rutas principales y afectó a más de 240 casas, además de ocasionar la caída de árboles, postes de alumbrado y cortes temporales del suministro eléctrico.
La fuerza del agua también arrastró numerosos vehículos. Uno de los sectores más comprometidos fue el arroyo Las Palmas, cuyo caudal aumentó considerablemente y generó situaciones de extremo peligro para los habitantes.
Ante la magnitud de la emergencia, el Ejército mexicano activó el Plan DN-III-E, mientras que la Secretaría de Marina puso en marcha el sistema de emergencia para colaborar con las evacuaciones, los rescates y la asistencia a las familias damnificadas.
Galápagos: un muerto y alrededor de 2.000 familias afectadas
La emergencia también alcanzó al archipiélago de Galápagos, en Ecuador, donde las fuertes precipitaciones provocaron inundaciones en la isla Santa Cruz.
Según informó la agencia EFE, al menos una persona murió y unas 2.000 personas resultaron afectadas por las lluvias, que las autoridades vincularon con el fenómeno El Niño.
La situación obligó a declarar el estado de emergencia en Santa Cruz y a suspender temporalmente los vuelos comerciales para priorizar el traslado de ayuda humanitaria, con unas 10 toneladas de suministros que envió el Gobierno de Ecuador.
En Puerto Ayora, la principal localidad de la isla, también se interrumpió el suministro de agua mediante la red pública. Además, se habilitaron cuatro alojamientos temporales para recibir a las personas que debieron abandonar sus casas.
@pulsoguayaco)
El impacto de las precipitaciones fue grave en las zonas residenciales. La alcaldesa de Santa Cruz, Fanny Uribe, señaló a la agencia AFP que “muchas familias perdieron prácticamente todas sus pertenencias y debieron abandonar sus hogares con lo puesto”.
Por su parte, el servicio de emergencias ECU 911 reportó el desbordamiento de cauces, inundaciones en viviendas y daños en carreteras. Según el mismo reporte, también se informó inicialmente sobre dos personas desaparecidas.
El Ministerio de Salud Pública informó que 85 personas habían recibido atención médica, mientras que las autoridades coordinaron el envío de asistencia humanitaria desde Guayaquil con apoyo de las Fuerzas Armadas.
Alerta climática y restricciones turísticas
Las consecuencias del temporal también alcanzaron la actividad turística. El Parque Nacional Galápagos dispuso el cierre temporal de distintos atractivos naturales para proteger a los visitantes y facilitar las tareas de emergencia.
Entre los lugares afectados se encuentran las playas de Garrapatero, Puerto Chino y Baquerizo, además de Las Grietas, Puntudo y El Chato, según informó la agencia EFE.
inundación
INTERNACIONAL
Mató a sus dos hijos y a su suegra, filmó los crímenes y mandó un escalofriante mensaje a su esposa: qué revelaron las autopsias
Un brutal crimen familiar conmocionó a una pequeña localidad de Francia, donde un hombre de 42 años habría asesinado a sus dos hijos, de 6 y 10 años, y a su suegra de 74, antes de quitarse la vida.
El caso ocurrió el 2 de septiembre en Gy, una localidad del departamento de Haute-Saône, en el este del país. La investigación reveló detalles estremecedores sobre cómo murieron las víctimas y un mensaje que el presunto asesino le habría enviado a su esposa después de filmar la escena.
“Esto es lo que te merecés”, fue la frase que, según el relato de un primo del hombre, acompañó las imágenes que recibió la mujer, de quien se estaba separando.
Los resultados de las autopsias, difundidos por la Fiscalía de Vesoul y publicados por medios franceses como Le Parisien y TF1, permitieron reconstruir las lesiones que sufrieron las víctimas.
Qué revelaron las autopsias de los dos chicos y su abuela
El fiscal Arnaud Grécourt informó que los dos nenes, identficados como Eden y Nino Monnot, murieron por un disparo cada uno, recibido en la parte posterior del torso.
De acuerdo con los peritos forenses, las características de las heridas permiten considerar que los disparos fueron efectuados a corta distancia. Los médicos no encontraron otras lesiones sospechosas en los cuerpos de los menores.
La autopsia de la abuela, de 74 años, reveló una secuencia de violencia todavía mayor.
La mujer murió por una hemorragia masiva provocada por tres puñaladas en el tórax y el abdomen. Los especialistas determinaron que las heridas habían sido causadas con gran violencia.
Además, encontraron hematomas en la cara, los brazos y el pecho, compatibles con golpes o maniobras de sujeción. También detectaron lesiones en el cuello que sugerían un posible estrangulamiento manual.
En cuanto al padre de los chicos, la autopsia estableció que murió por un único disparo debajo del mentón.
La principal hipótesis de los investigadores es que el hombre asesinó a sus familiares y después se suicidó.
El video del crimen y el mensaje que recibió su esposa
Uno de los detalles más impactantes del caso surgió del testimonio de Charles Martino-Herter, primo del presunto asesino, quien habló con la prensa francesa después de la tragedia.
Según contó, el hombre habría filmado los asesinatos y enviado las imágenes a su esposa, con quien atravesaba una separación.
“Esto es lo que te merecés”, habría sido el mensaje que acompañó el video.
El familiar también aseguró, en declaraciones a TF1, que el hombre llamó a otros integrantes de su familia y se quitó la vida mientras ellos presenciaban la comunicación.
La Fiscalía informó que los investigadores estaban analizando los dispositivos electrónicos secuestrados y las comunicaciones que pudieron haberse producido antes y durante los crímenes.
Por lo tanto, el relato sobre el video y el mensaje todavía debía ser corroborado mediante la investigación judicial.
Cómo encontraron los cuerpos y qué contaron los vecinos
Los investigadores encontraron los cuerpos de los dos nenes dentro de un vehículo utilitario, mientras que los del padre y la abuela estaban en una vivienda prefabricada ubicada junto a la casa que la familia estaba construyendo.
El hombre, identificado por la prensa francesa como Jean-Paul M., vivía allí mientras avanzaban las obras de su futura casa.
Su esposa, que trabajaba como auxiliar de enfermería, no se encontraba en el lugar cuando ocurrió la tragedia.
Autopsia
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