Judicial Watch Uncovers Anti-Charlie Kirk Emails at Utah University
FBI Records Reveal Thomas Crooks Behavior before Trump Shooting
Judicial Watch Sues Secret Service for Records on Accidental Gun Discharge
Judicial Watch Sues ATF for Records on Oklahoma City Bombing
More than 2,000 Terrorists Removed from U.S., Countless More Remain
Judicial Watch Uncovers Anti-Charlie Kirk Emails at Utah University
We obtained 133 pages of records from Utah Valley University (UVU) revealing sharply anti-Charlie Kirk messages from individuals identified as university faculty or instructors in the weeks following Kirk’s assassination on the UVU campus.
Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, was killed on September 10, 2025, while kicking off a speaking tour at college campuses.
We received the records through a Utah Government Records Access and Management Act (GRAMA) request for emails and text messages concerning Kirk involving then-UVU President Astrid S. Tuminez.
The records include a September 22 email apparently written by a UVU instructor to President Tuminez. The writer referred to “students we are trying to educate” and attacked Kirk in stark terms:
Charlie Kirk appealed to the worst of us. He spoke his prejudices openly, not to test free speech, but to shape minds. He targeted impressionable youth, feeding on their fears and anxieties….
The hidden message in his rants was clear: hate is natural, and to resist it is to deny who you are. Hate masquerading as justice is nothing of the sort. True justice seeks fairness, accountability, and protection for all, while hate targets, divides, and destroys….
That is why we must resist any effort to memorialize him or turn him into an icon…. Charlie Kirk did not stand for civility, compassion, or truth. There was nothing civil about him.
***
To memorialize him would be a grave mistake.
In a November 4, 2025, email a self-described “faculty member” at UVU writes:
I’ve had a hard time dealing with the aftermath of the shooting on our campus, and in particular, I cannot understand how people could support or mourn someone who was so divisive and spewed such vituperation in his “debates.” I regret that he was invited to UVU at all, and wish you had rethought the decision to allow him a forum on our campus.
***
Also, there has been talk of a memorial to Charlie Kirk that will be placed on the UVU campus. The legislature seems determined to make it happen, and they have enormous power in Utah. I ask you to resist their desire to desecrate our campus with a memorial to such a divisive and hateful public figure. Please do not let it happen. It does not align with our brand of inclusiveness and welcoming. Should a memorial to him be erected on our campus, I fear you will lose many faculty members, including myself.
***
I would not work at a university that supports Charlie Kirk’s ideals in any way.
The records reveal that just nine days after Kirk was assassinated, a person whose name is redacted was already proposing a $1 million fundraising effort called “Our Better Selves for a Better America.”
I would like to raise $1 million for this proposal. I took the liberty of starting a draft. I’d like a very quick turnaround so I can fundraise quickly. I have one pledge for $100k. I would like to raise the other $900k quickly.
UVU subsequently established “Our Better Selves for a Better America” as a university-wide initiative focused on civil dialogue, disagreement, conflict resolution, and civic responsibility.
The newly released records show that, behind the university’s public appeals for unity and free expression, some members of the UVU faculty were expressing a very negative attitude toward Kirk and his supporters.
Charlie Kirk was assassinated while exercising his right to speak on a college campus. These records reveal that, even as Utah Valley University publicly called for free expression and civil discourse, some faculty members were making hateful and vicious comments about him, objecting to his invitation to campus, and threatening to leave if his memory were honored.
We previously obtained records from Utah Valley University through this same records request detailing the university’s efforts to immediately pave over the site where Kirk was murdered.
FBI Records Reveal Thomas Crooks Behavior before Trump Shooting
Thomas Matthew Crooks, who attempted to assassinate Donald Trump at a July 2024 campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, purchased “a chest rig and ceramic plates,” and exhibited increasingly unusual behavior, including talking to himself, pacing at night, staying awake for extended periods and exhibiting impulsivity issues.
We learned this from 180 pages of heavily redacted Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) records we received through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit.
We filed our July 2025 FOIA lawsuit after the FBI failed to respond to a July 2024 request for records concerning Crooks and the assassination attempt (Judicial Watch Inc. v. U.S. Department of Justice (No. 1:25-cv-02216)).
In a July 15, 2024, FD-302 FBI interview report, an individual whose name is redacted wrote:
Thomas purchased ammo online, going from website to website until he found a site that would sell to him. Thomas recently bought a chest rig and ceramic plates. Thomas had recently gotten into rapid action range transition shooting where shooters would enter a timed range and switch between weapons while moving.
***
As Thomas became older, he started to get more agitated when [Redacted] and [Redacted] asked questions. Thomas talked to himself a lot. After community college he would talk to himself more and more, moving his hands and speaking to himself. This activity kept [Redacted] awake at night as sometimes. Thomas would stay up all night dancing in [redacted]. Thomas seemed to have endless energy.
***
Thomas was never diagnosed with any mental health disorders as a child, but did have impulsivity issues.
A July 15, 2024, FBI interview report states that Crooks purchased firearms courses from Keystone Shooting Center online, including a basic carbine course beginning May 25, 2024, a basic handgun course beginning June 13, 2024, and an intermediate handgun course beginning June 22, 2024. The courses were purchased using the email address [email protected].
A July 25, 2024, FBI report states that Crooks was seen with two older men at a firearms store. Employees of Keystone Armory in Edinboro, PA, contacted the FBI about Crooks’ May 2024 visit:
The individual believed to be Crooks was accompanied by a white male believed to be around his mid 30s and another older white male with a gray beard, potentially … the individual’s father. The individual believed to be Crooks and the two other males can be seen wandering throughout the firearms store looking at various firearms. The individual believed to be Crooks subsequently purchased 20 rounds of Red Army 7.62x54R 148 gr FMJ and left shortly thereafter.
The store provided the FBI with a receipt of ammunition purchase, a list of the store’s witnesses of the “person of interest” and “video/photo surveillance from outside and inside the business.”
A July 15, 2024, FBI electronic communication titled “Review of Samsung S136 – Web Browser History Indicated Visits to Mailfence.com” describes a review of Crooks’ Android phone including an examination of his web browser history and his use of Mailfence, an encrypted email service based in Belgium. The communication states: “Review of the web browser history of the device revealed the device accessed mailfence.com multiple times from 15 April 2024 to 8 July 2024.”
In a July 15, 2024, electronic communication, the FBI Counterterrorism unit requested assistance from a foreign government concerning information on the Samsung S136 device belonging to Crooks.
A July 21, 2024, FBI report quotes a former Community College of Allegheny County laboratory classmate who said he “tried to get to know Crooks, told him jokes and invited him to go out.” According to the classmate, Crooks was “very self-isolated and kept to himself.”
Crooks seemed to be very smart, and he clearly had the best grades in the class as he was teaching others. However, Crooks had severe social anxiety and would respond to any kind of small talk or social interaction with an aggressive foot tap. He was shy and did not have any friends. Although he would help other laboratory groups, Crooks did not interact with anyone else in the class. He kept to himself.
We were provided with two additional sets of records, available here and here. The latter production contains several law enforcement exemptions under (b)(7)(C), which constitutes an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, and (b)(7)(E), which discloses investigation techniques.
These records provide important new pieces of the puzzle about Thomas Crooks and his activities before he attempted to assassinate President Trump. The American people deserve to know – in a timely manner – what the FBI knew about Crooks, his activities, his contacts and the circumstances surrounding the assassination attempt.
In June 2026, we forced the release of 48 heavily redacted pages from the FBI through a FOIA lawsuit that indicated that a Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) officer at the July 2024 presidential rally for Donald Trump in Butler, PA, recovered a “gray remote device” with an antenna from Crooks’ pocket after he was killed.
In May 2026, we received, in response to a court order, an audio recording of a 911 call placed by the father of Crooks.
In April 2026, our lawsuit forced the release of the first FBI records about the Butler assassination attempt, revealing that law enforcement personnel broadcast radio warnings about an “unknown male acting suspiciously” prior to the shooting.
In April 2026, our FOIA lawsuit forced the release of records from the FBI that showed that Crooks was reportedly involved in an altercation with a group of people and making “hateful comments” directed at President Trump at the Butler, PA, rally.
In August 2024, we uncovered documents from the district attorney’s office in Butler County, PA, detailing the extensive preparation of local police for the rally at which former President Trump was shot. The preparation included sniper teams, counter assault teams and a quick response force.
In August 2024, in response to a separate open records request, we obtained bodycam footage of the July 13 assassination events from the Butler Township Police Department.
Judicial Watch Sues Secret Service for Records on Accidental Gun Discharge
We filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit with the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) seeking records concerning the reported accidental discharge in March 2026 of a Secret Service agent’s service weapon at Philadelphia International Airport while the agent was assigned to former First Lady Jill Biden’s protective detail (Judicial Watch Inc. v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security (Case 1:26-cv-03190)).
We sued after the Secret Service failed to respond to a March 27, 2026, request for records about the reported accidental discharge, including investigative reports, witness statements, photographs, disciplinary records, internal directives, and electronic communications among Protective Operations officials.
A Secret Service agent assigned to former first lady Jill Biden accidentally shot himself in the leg at a Philadelphia airport in March 2026. A Secret Service spokesman called it “a non-life-threatening injury following a negligent discharge while handling a service weapon.”
The spokesman also said that the Secret Service’s Office of Professional Responsibility was going to review “the facts and circumstances of this incident.”
A reported negligent discharge by an armed Secret Service agent assigned to a protective detail at a busy international airport raises serious questions about training, supervision, and accountability.
In May 2026, we sued for records related to the Obama-era 2012 Secret Service prostitution scandal in Cartagena, Colombia.
In April 2026, we sued the Homeland Security for records related to an August 31, 2025, incident in which a club member allegedly carried a loaded semi-automatic handgun past Secret Service screening checkpoints at Trump National Golf Club in Virginia while President Donald Trump was on site.
Also in April, our FOIA lawsuit forced the release of records from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) that show that would-be Trump assassin Thomas Crooks was reportedly involved in an altercation with a group of people and making “hateful comments” directed at President Trump at the Butler, PA, rally site before the July 13, 2024, assassination attempt.
In February 2026, our lawsuit forced the release of the first FBI records about the Butler assassination attempt.
In December 2025, we filed a FOIA lawsuit for Secret Service communications records related to Code Pink protesters who disrupted a dinner held by President Donald Trump at a restaurant in Washington, DC, on September 9, 2025.
In July 2025, we sued the U.S. Department of Justice for all records regarding Thomas Matthew Crooks, who attempted to assassinate Trump on July 13, 2024, (Judicial Watch Inc. v. U.S. Department of Justice (No. 1:25-cv-02216)).
In March 2025, we sued Homeland Security for records related to security provided for the July 13, 2024, rally in Butler, PA, during which there was an assassination attempt on Trump (Judicial Watch Inc. v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security (No. 1:25-cv-00704)).
In September 2024, following up on reports that the Biden Secret Service denied Trump’s requests for additional Secret Service protection, we filed a FOIA lawsuit for Secret Service and other records regarding potential increased protective services to Trump’s security detail prior to the attempt on his life at his July 13 campaign rally in Butler, PA (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security (No. 1:24-cv-02495)).
In August 2024, we uncovered documents from the district attorney’s office in Butler County, PA, detailing the extensive preparation of local police for the rally at which former President Trump was shot. The preparation included sniper teams, counter assault teams and a quick response force.
In August 2024, in response to a separate open records request, we obtained bodycam footage of the July 13 assassination events from the Butler Township Police Department.
In September 2024, following up on reports that the Biden Secret Service denied Trump’s requests for additional Secret Service protection, we filed a FOIA lawsuit for Secret Service and other records regarding potential increased protective services to Trump’s security detail prior to the attempt on his life at his July 13 campaign rally in Butler, PA (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security (No. 1:24-cv-02495)).
In September 2024, we filed a FOIA lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice for messages among top leaders of the Federal Bureau of Investigation referencing social media posts of Special Agent Jeffrey Veltri, head of the Miami Field Office, which is investigating the September 15 assassination attempt against Donald Trump (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of Justice (No. 1:24-cv-02740)).
Judicial Watch Sues ATF for Records on Oklahoma City Bombing
We filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) for records about former ATF confidential human source Carol Elizabeth Howe, also known as Sarah Collins, whose activities as an ATF confidential source and subsequent testimony raised questions about information available to federal investigators before and after the Oklahoma City bombing (Judicial Watch Inc. v. U.S. Department of Justice (Case 1:26-cv-03189)).
The Oklahoma City bombing occurred in April 1995 at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. Official narratives identify Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols as the primary perpetrators.
We sued in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia after the ATF failed to comply with an August 2025 FOIA request for all records related to Howe, including investigative reports and other records documenting or assessing information she provided to the agency. The request also seeks records maintained in the ATF’s Confidential Informant Master Registry and Reporting System (CIMRRS), as well as records of communications of ATF Special Agent Angela Finley-Graham concerning Howe.
Significant ATF records concerning Howe have not yet been made public. Certain records created 25 years or more before the date on which they are requested can no longer be withheld under FOIA.
Howe identified herself as an ATF confidential source during her December 1997 testimony at the trial of Oklahoma City bombing defendant Nichols. Her relationship with the ATF was also addressed in April 1997 testimony by former ATF Special Agent Angela Finley-Graham in (United States v. Viefhaus and Howe). Howe was identified as Confidential Informant 53270-183, or CI-183, and Finley-Graham was identified as her ATF handler.
According to records cited in the FOIA request, Howe was associated with the pseudonyms “Freya” and “Lady MacBeth.” Reports describe Howe as an ATF informant who operated at Elohim City, an Oklahoma compound that was part of the ATF’s investigation of extremist groups. Howe reportedly died in a house fire in January 2025.
Americans have a right to know what the ATF knew about Carol Howe, what information she provided and how federal investigators handled it. These records could shed important light on the ATF’s confidential-source operation and the investigation surrounding the Oklahoma City bombing. The government should stop stonewalling and release the records.
More than 2,000 Terrorists Removed from U.S., Countless More Remain
We’ve got a serious problem with terrorists who were allowed into our country under President Biden and remain in our communities today. Our Corruption Chronicles blog has the chilling details.
While the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) celebrates the removal of over 2,000 “Known or Suspected Terrorists (KST)” from the United States, the chilling reality is that there are likely many more dangerous criminal aliens still roaming around neighborhoods throughout the nation. That is because under Biden’s disastrous open border policies over 1.7 million Special Interest Aliens (SIA) from over two dozen countries that DHS determined pose a national security threat to the U.S. entered the country, mostly through the Mexican border. This means that, although it is a decent start and Americans should be grateful that the Trump administration is mitigating the damage of Biden’s policies, a few thousand hardly puts a dent in the problem.
From January 20, 2025, to September 9, 2026, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which operates under DHS, has arrested 2,150 KSTs in the U.S. and deported 2,015, according to an announcement issued this month. Created after the 9/11 terrorist attacks to secure the nation, DHS consists of 22 different federal departments and agencies with over 260,000 employees in areas ranging from border security to emergency response, aviation and cyber security. The goal is to keep America safe, though under Biden the agency seemed to steer away from the mission. A record-breaking 7.6 million illegal aliens entered the country, including hundreds of thousands with serious criminal records and over 1.7 million SIAs from some 26 nations that pose a security threat, including Afghanistan, Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Nigeria, Syria, and Turkey, China, North Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Mauritania, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Venezuela. Many SIAs—including some on the U.S. terrorist watchlist—were released inside the country under Biden, risking public safety and national security.
A congressional probe revealed that, among the largely unvetted aliens were at least 382 on the U.S. government’s terrorist watchlist who were released into the country. Among them was an illegal alien from Afghanistan, Mohammad Kharwin, arrested by Border Patrol near Imperial Beach, California in early 2023. Federal agents suspected he was on the U.S. terrorist watchlist because information matched a person on the list. Nevertheless, the feds released Kharwin in the U.S. He flew from Istanbul, Turkey to Mexico City, Mexico before traveling to the U.S. border and, despite red flags, ICE placed him on its non-detained docket along with millions of other illegal aliens and instructed him to report to an agency office in Sacramento, California. Around two weeks later, ICE removed Kharwin from its Alternatives to Detention (ATD) program and DHS allowed him to apply for asylum and work authorization and fly domestically. The Afghan national remained free in the United States for about a year until biometric and biographical information positively identified him on the terrorist watchlist and ICE Fugitive Operations arrested him in San Antonio, Texas. Kharwin is reportedly a member of Hezb-e-Islami, a group responsible for attacks in Afghanistan that killed at least nine American soldiers and civilians from 2013 to 2015.
Thankfully, the days of known terrorists being released inside the country are in the past. Among the thousands removed by the Trump administration are Abraham Hermosillo Alvarez, an illegal alien from Mexico, who was arrested in Omaha, Nebraska and charged with being the ringleader of the failed terrorist plot against Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Freedom 250 in June. He entered the U.S. on a B-2 visitor visa and failed to depart before it expired in December 2001. The Obama administration granted him Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) in 2014. Another terrorist removed in the last year is Felipe Linares De Oliveira Del Aquilla, an illegal alien from Brazil and commander of two foreign terrorist organizations (FTO), Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) and Comando Vermelho (CV). Others include Iranians in the U.S. illegally with admitted ties to Hezbollah and a Jordanian terrorist convicted of throwing Molotov cocktails at the homes of Israeli armed forces.
Until next week,
