Video threat made against Utah Valley University following Charlie Kirk assassination

A college student has been arrested in Utah after authorities said he posted a video threatening violence at Utah Valley University, where conservative activist Charlie Kirk was assassinated last week.

The Summit County Sheriff’s Office said the FBI alerted them on Tuesday about a video posted by 20-year-old Blake Francis Rogers, according to KUTV reporter Heidi Hatch. In the recording, which was about a minute long, Rogers identified himself and said he was in Park City, Utah.

Rogers claimed he was beginning a journey to Utah Valley University to “finally kill woke” and referenced the campus as the place where Kirk was killed.

According to court documents cited by WCAU in Philadelphia, Rogers, a student from Drexel university in Pennsylvania, admitted to making the video and posting it as an unlisted YouTube link shared with about a dozen people.

Deputies located Rogers at a home in Summit County and contained the area out of concern that he might be armed. When they made contact, he told them he knew they were there “because of the video I posted last night.” He was taken into custody without incident.

The suspect told investigators the threats were meant as a joke and that he used the term “woke” as a vague idea rather than a specific group.

Authorities said Rogers’ actions created a valid threat that forced multiple emergency responses and preparations for a possible attack. He was arrested under suspicion of making a terroristic threat and held on $1,000 bail.

Utah Valley University in Orem has remained on alert since September 10, when Charlie Kirk, the 31-year-old founder of Turning Point USA, was shot and killed by a sniper during an event on campus.