A man armed with both a gun and a knife was detained by the Secret Service inside State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, just days before Charlie Kirk’s memorial service is set to take place there, according to The Washington Post.
The memorial is scheduled for Sunday and has already triggered heightened security preparations. Authorities say the arrest happened Friday inside the stadium, though before any official security perimeter had been established.
Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi confirmed to Fox News Digital that the suspect was stopped “in the stadium, but it was prior to the setup of any secure perimeter.”
Officials say the man claimed he was there to provide private security and presented what turned out to be expired law enforcement credentials. A federal source later told Fox News, “This guy is a former deputy sheriff out of Idaho. He came and identified himself with expired credentials. They are going through his background and trying to figure out what he was up to there.”
In a statement, Guglielmi added: “The U.S. Secret Service in coordination with local law enforcement in Glendale, Arizona, is investigating an individual who was observed exhibiting suspicious behavior at State Farm Stadium. The individual was approached by Secret Service and stated during the encounter that he was a member of law enforcement and that he was armed. The individual is not a member of authorized law enforcement working the event and is currently in custody.”
The discovery comes as security teams prepare for a high-profile and emotionally charged event honoring the conservative activist, underscoring the extraordinary precautions surrounding the gathering.
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