A man who was charged with carrying a gun into the football stadium where Charlie Kirk’s memorial service is set to be held on Sunday was a private security worker, a spokesman for Mr. Kirk’s group said on Saturday evening, allaying concerns that the man had been trying to target the event.
The initial arrest of the man on Friday afternoon had heightened concerns over the service, which has drawn a large security apparatus to Glendale, Ariz., to prepare for the more than 100,000 people who are expected to attend.
U.S. Secret Service agents had decided the man was suspicious and approached him inside the State Farm Stadium, where the Arizona Cardinals play, officials said. When they did, the man said falsely that he was a law enforcement member and acknowledged that he had a weapon, according to Bart Graves, a spokesman for the Arizona Department of Public Safety.
Mr. Graves said the police had charged the man, Joshua Runkles, 42, with impersonating a law enforcement officer and carrying a weapon into a prohibited space. Mr. Runkles was booked into jail but has since been released on bond, Mr. Graves said. Court records were not available online.
Mr. Graves said the police were trying to determine why the man entered the stadium two days before the memorial was set to be held on Sunday morning. Mr. Runkles lives or recently lived in North Carolina, records show. 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.
After Mr. Runkles’s arrest was reported on Saturday, a spokesman for Mr. 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 spokesman, Andrew Kolvet, said the man had not properly coordinated with Turning Point or with the Secret Service. But Mr. 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.
Anthony Guglielmi, the head of communications for the Secret Service, said that the man had both knives and guns on him when he was arrested.
Local law enforcement first encountered Mr. Runkles outside the stadium, Mr. Guglielmi said, and it was only after he entered the venue and was approached by Secret Service officers that he was detained. Mr. 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 Mr. Kirk, the 31-year-old conservative firebrand who was assassinated in Utah last week. Turning Point is based in Phoenix, and Mr. Kirk and his family lived in nearby Scottsdale for several years.
The event is not ticketed and people are allowed in on a first-come, first-served basis. President 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 already barricaded by police officers. The City of Glendale has blocked roads with large blue garbage dumpsters.
A few of Mr. Kirk’s supporters strolled along the fenced-off perimeter of the stadium, discussing how early they would have to wake up on 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. on 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.
The Department of Homeland Security has designated the memorial a top-level security event, similar to the Super Bowl or the New York City Marathon.
Jose Miguel Santiago, a spokesman for the police department in Glendale, said setting up security measures was an “all hands on deck” operation that was similar to how agencies prepared for the Super Bowl that was held at the stadium in 2023.
But a major difference between that event and this one is that the police had years to prepare for the Super Bowl and just about a week to form a plan for Mr. Kirk’s service. Still, Mr. Santiago was confident that officials with his department — as well as the many federal and local agencies they are collaborating with — would be ready.
There will be hundreds of police officers circling the stadium, Mr. Santiago said, in addition to drones flying through the air and metal detectors. He said the police department has access to more than 300 security cameras in locations around the stadium.
“Every kind of security measure you can possibly think of will be in place,” he said.
Mr. Santiago said that Turning Point reported that more than 200,000 people had already registered for the event, indicating that they planned to attend. A designated overflow venue nearby — the Desert Diamond Arena — holds about 19,000 people.
The football stadium will open to attendees beginning at 8 a.m. local time, three hours before the event is scheduled to start.
Turning Point has told people to expect “T.S.A.-level screening,” referring to the airport security agency, and has warned of long wait times. The group has also said that no bags will be allowed inside the stadium, even if they are clear.
Kieran Corcoran contributed reporting. Kitty Bennett contributed research.
Chris Hippensteel is a reporter covering breaking news and a member of the 2025-26 Times Fellowship class, a program for journalists early in their careers.
Jack Healy is a Phoenix-based national correspondent for The Times who focuses on the politics and climate of the Southwest. He has worked in Iraq and Afghanistan and is a graduate of the University of Missouri’s journalism school.
Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs reports on national stories across the United States with a focus on criminal justice. He is from upstate New York.
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