The assassination of Charlie Kirk last year occurred in one of our country’s most secure geographic regions, declassified data shows, presenting significant concerns as to America’s preparedness for further, more sophisticated attacks.

Kirk’s death had a profound impact on the nation, with many comparing it in significance to the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy and civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr. The shooting occurred a little more than a year after then former President Donald Trump was nearly killed in Butler, Pennsylvania, in an assassination attempt as he sought a second term in office.

The attacks have come as many predict another large scale conflict in the Middle East may soon materialize. That prior September, concerns were raised after a high confidence alert was issued that weapons of mass destruction may have breached American borders. Targets were believed to be locations with large gatherings, such as the presidential inauguration, which would result in a deathcount many times that of September 11; sports stadiums and concert venues have also been sites of concern.

When Charlie Kirk was killed at Utah Valley University while speaking at an outdoor event, many thought it was due to a lapse in his security’s protective detail or even that of the local police. What hasn’t been discussed was that the shooting, which is believed to have had ties to a foreign intelligence service, also demonstrated a blemish on the failures of the unacknowledged American surveillance state in one of the country’s most secure civilian communities.

The Great Salt Lake region is known to be a hotbed of American intelligence services, with many recruiting into its ranks from nearby colleges, such as Brigham Young University. With many highly classified projects across the nation requiring multi-generational American lineages, often referred to as the great-grandparent rule, the community is well vested by being the seat for many ancestry services, such as FamilySearch and AncestryDNA.

However, it is its absence from declassified spy satellite captures that further demonstrates its national importance and significance. Only three other civilian zones in the Contiguous United States have been stricken from declassification: the greater Zanesville, Ohio region, the greater Welch, West Virginia region and the greater Quincy, California region; all known to be strategic areas of national importance. Only a few other sites, of known military bases, have been withheld: Fallon, Nevada and Pensacola, Florida.

However, considerable effort was made to obscure Salt Lake City and its greater region from appearing to be withheld from declassification. A KH-9 American Spy Satellite mapping frame capture was released, with a resolution of roughly 20 to 30 feet, ensuring that obtainable ground details are nearly impossible to identify. The two main cameras on the platform were capable of capturing images of the ground at a resolution of greater than two feet, yet those captures of the greater Salt Lake region remain classified.

When one image of Zanesville was finally released, captured in the early 1970s, it was nearly entirely cloud clovered. French foreign intelligence services have discreetly attempted to link the community to American intelligence services, such as the CIA, with additional references to underground construction projects. Zanesville, like the greater Salt Lake City area, are some of the only parts of the country for which declassified spy satellite imagery is missing after 1973; an official explanation has never been given.

While some captured frames, such as at Area 51, have been withheld from declassification as they would show superior yet-to-be-revealed craft designed to protect and defend the American way of life, obstruction of civilian towns is much harder to explain away. A comprehensive analysis of American spy satellite archives shows numerous instances in which captures were withheld over areas containing important underground construction projects, all with links to various American intelligence services.

The failure to prevent a foreign-linked assassination of a high-profile political commentator in such a closely protected city demonstrates a colossal failure of the overwhelming American monitoring apparatus. While unacknowledged, this system is capable of listening to every phone call, digesting every digital device communication, geolocating every electronic gadget and tracking the movement of every citizen, including via their various modes of travel. The system is so capable that even whispers and handwritten notes are said to be able to be siphoned up with ease for analysis.

It’s unclear exactly how the assassination was able to take place without intervention, however, some believe it is only a precursor of what is to come, a warning shot, per se. In the days before his death, Kirk began to become vocal about Israel’s involvement in Gaza and its skirmishes with Iran; he had received significant funding from the pro-Israel lobby.

In the days following his death, a large memorial service was planned to recognize and honor Charlie Kirk. State Farm Stadium, in Glendale, Arizona, home of the Arizona Cardinals, was selected as it could hold north of 70,000 attendees.

While publicly the venue made lots of sense, privately, many within the government worried about such a large open memorial service, especially considering the legitimate threat warnings about a weapon of mass destruction being deployed against a sporting venue.

Numerous members of the Presidential Line of Succession were slated to attend, including President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

It is highly irregular that the President, Vice President and Speaker of the House are together outside the protective bubble of Washington, D.C. It was even more daunting that it left 92-year-old Senator Chuck Grassley as the acting president, should a catastrophic event have eliminated or incapacitated those ahead of him in the line of succession.

During the attacks of September 11, 2001, then 82-year-old Senator Robert Byrd, also the President Pro Tempore of the United States Senate, was left to fend for himself as others further down in the line of succession were whisked away to secure locations.

Many other prominent figures attended including FBI Director Kash Patel, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and Attorney General Pam Bondi, as well as those outside government, like Elon Musk and Tucker Carlson.

Many of Trump’s family, however, did not attend, including his wife, Melania, his two daughters, Ivanka and Tiffany, as well as his son, Barron. Other prominent figures, like Vivek Ramaswamy, did not attend.

President Trump was transported from Washington, D.C. to Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, via his Boeing VC-25, tail number 92-9000, commonly known as Air Force One. To the casual observer, it may have appeared that the plane took a deviated flight, but nothing too out of the ordinary. However, a closer observation shows that the plane purposely flew directly over many sites of national importance, some publicly known, others not.

From its flight path trajectory, it’s clear that the plane made a diversion over Omaha, Nebraska, home of the United States Strategic Command. However, using gaps in declassified data, it’s possible to further align its abnormal flight path that day with sites of suspected national importance.

For example, Air Force One flew directly over the dam at Dillon State Park in Muskingum County, Ohio. Many have relayed to this outlet that during its construction, a bomb shelter was also built – its purpose unknown. During 9/11, fighter jets were seen circling the lake, providing what many described as protective aerial defense. Many aerial images of the dam and its surrounding area from its time of construction remain withheld from public government archives, classified for an unknown reason.

However, others state that those anomalies are nothing more than strange coincidences. Author Rose Ellen Jenkins, author of Before Dillon, a book about the construction of the lake and dam, denies ever hearing of any such preposterous underground construction. Further, upon contact, she stated that she reached out to the sources she used for her book, and all confirmed never hearing anything of the sort.

Further west, the plane also flew over Buck Creek State Park in Springfield, Ohio. Images of that lake’s construction also have imagery missing from government archives. Many locals report rumors about an underground facility having been constructed below the lake. Further, some describe strange lights coming out of the lake at night, moving in ways conventional aircraft are not believed to be capable of.

In Illinois, the plane flew over Decatur, then adjusted its flight path northwestward. For an unknown reason, the town was the site of a rare KH-7 American Spy Satellite capture. At the time of its deployment, the satellite’s film was used extremely sparingly stateside, often only to test its capabilities at identifying objects on the ground, such as planes or airshafts.

After making its way over Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha, Nebraska, Air Force One traveled further westward towards Denver, Colorado. While the town is known to have many military connections, it’s the wilderness to the west of the community that is of particular interest. Many infrared American KH-9 Spy Satellite captures have been withheld from declassification of the area. Only a few other regions have been withheld from this particular type of declassifcation, including Muskingum County, Ohio; where Dillon Lake is situated.

When entering Utah, Air Force One flew over a section of Interstate 70 east of Crescent Junction, again the target of a rare KH-7 American Spy Satellite capture. This was again repeated when the plane flew over Prescott, Arizona, home to the Prescott National Forest. Further, Phoenix, Air Force One’s final destination, is home to Luke Air Force Base, where the plane landed. Intriguingly, numerous satellite captures of the town have also been withheld from declassification.

Similar patterns were observed that day as to the flight of Vice President Vance, and his plane, Air Force Two. While over Kentucky, it flew directly over Williamstown, the site of a major military communication hub as well as suspected underground facilities. The plane made a further diversion northwest to pass over Saint Louis, Missouri, another major military communication hub with a significant underground presence. Further, it made a pass over Wichita, Kansas, which features a major military base, before landing in Phoenix.

After the event, as Air Force One was ferrying President Trump back to Washington, D.C., an American E4-B ‘Doomsday Plane’ appears to have left Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado, rendezvousing with AF1 above Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, before eventually landing at Whiteman Air Force Base, home of the B-2 stealth bomber, in Missouri.

According to publicly available data, of the three remaining ‘Doomsday Planes,’ one was hangered at Oklahoma City and two others in San Antonio, one of those likely undergoing maintenance.

At least one E-6 Mercury appeared to have also been airborne that day, over the State of Washington. Its purpose is to serve as an airborne command post, capable of relaying and transmitting the order for the use of nuclear weapons.

Though as with the E4-B ‘Doomsday Planes,’ just because an aircraft wasn’t transmitting its location on the public airwaves, doesn’t mean it wasn’t in the air defending the country. The public may never know the full extent of assets deployed to protect the nation from a surprise attack that day.

The concern, however, of a weapons of mass destruction attack on the nation has only now escalated. Intelligence officials worry that it isn’t a question of if an attack will occur, but when and where, necessitating another full-scale military conflict in the Middle East.