“There Will Be Copycats”: After Charlie Kirk Assassination, Threat Expert Talks Public Event Risks

The Sept. 10 assassination of Charlie Kirk, the influential conservative activist and prominent media personality, at an open-air college event in Utah has reverberated across America. Among those likely reflecting deepest on the killing are other outspoken celebrities whose business is public performance — along with the security experts whose job it is to protect them.

The Hollywood Reporter spoke to James Hamilton, a seasoned advisor to the country’s most at-risk individuals, about the evolving challenges of threat assessment and mitigation. The former FBI agent created the bureau’s Close Protection School and served on its director’s own protective detail before an extended tenure in private practice, first as a key figure at the entertainment industry-favored Gavin de Becker & Associates and, more recently, his own eponymous firm.

Hamilton, who notes that protection clients often review their existing arrangements following publicized violence, explains that the environment in Utah — a large…