Cameras and SD Cards Removed From the Scene (Claims)
:::caution Legal Disclaimer Nothing on this page is a claim of fact that any living person or organization knew of, planned, participated in, or covered up any crime, or acted illegally, immorally, or unethically. This page documents questions and allegations raised in public commentary — not findings of fact. All persons and organizations named are presumed innocent; the allegations referenced are unproven and have not been established in any court. Tyler Robinson is charged, not convicted. :::
This page catalogues a reported cover-up mechanism raised in public commentary: the claim that within seconds to minutes of the shot that killed Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University on September 10, 2025, event-production audio-visual (AV) staff — not law enforcement — allegedly removed camera SD cards, unhooked cameras, and that a nearby home's camera unit was taken down before any officer sealed the scene as evidence. These are attributed allegations, not established facts. Tyler Robinson is charged, not convicted.
The claim
The core allegation, associated most prominently with commentary from Candace Owens and numerous X accounts, is that the people who handled the cameras closest to Kirk in the first moments were TPUSA production staff, and that their first move was reportedly to secure or extract recording media rather than render aid or preserve an untouched scene. Proponents argue that whoever controls the SD cards and the master camera angles controls the most important record of what actually happened. Critics respond that chaotic-scene behavior and theft-prevention explain the same actions. The crime-scene camera actions and the TPUSA production footage pages carry the detailed timelines.
The rear "behind-the-head" camera
Proponents place special weight on the camera positioned behind Kirk's head, facing toward the wound and the rooftop line. According to circulating accounts (for example @blesamerica, @Uncommonsince76, and @sj27426), that rear camera's chip was reportedly removed within roughly five minutes of the shot. Commentary names a brown-shirted man in sunglasses — whom some posters believe may be "Rick Cutler" — as the figure who took down the camera behind Charlie after what proponents describe as a staged "mechanical issue" moments before the shooting. All named individuals are living and presumed innocent; these are unverified social-media identifications, not findings.
The AV lead and the "more expensive camera left behind"
Commentary identifies Terryl (also spelled Terrell) Farnsworth of Visual Impulse LLC, described as a TPUSA AV lead, as moving to camera positions within minutes and filming Kirk's removal. In remarks attributed to Candace Owens, she said of him: he "specifically grabbed that camera's SD card" and "left the camera, which is more expensive" — an act she frames as targeting the recording rather than the valuable hardware. Owens also asserted that "the executive who took the video SD card had never been to a University event before or after." Commentary further alleges that SD cards were handed to Phillip Goldsberry Jr., another member of the AV crew. These are attributed characterizations of living people who have not been charged; presented as reported allegations only.
The "sim cards out of cameras" remark
Former Navy SEAL Rob O'Neill, appearing on a NEWSMAX panel alongside Brig. Gen. Blaine Holt, is quoted describing what bothered him about the response — that people around Kirk appeared focused on "getting sim cards out of cameras, removing cameras," and moving Kirk off the spot, rather than on first aid. O'Neill also listed "camera confiscation," "quick cleanup," and paving over the scene among his concerns. His remarks are opinion and observation from a public interview, not a forensic finding.
The nearby residence camera and the mic audio
Two further threads feed the cover-up framing. First, a nearby home's floodlight-and-camera unit was reportedly removed via ladder — proponents ask who took down a private residence's camera and why. Second, Kirk was wearing a RØDE Wireless PRO transmitter that, per the manufacturer's specs cited in circulating posts, records 32-bit audio internally on the device itself and "could only be turned off remotely." Commentators (naming Farnsworth and Goldsberry) ask publicly: "where's Charlie's audio from that day?" — arguing that internal recording could confirm or refute a blast versus a rifle report. They also note that Mikey McCoy reportedly filmed a close-up of Kirk being mic'd up and ask, "where's that video?" See the SUV transporting Charlie page for the related debris and mic claims.
Why it matters
If AV staff removed recording media before officers established a chain of custody, the most direct visual and audio record of the shooting would have passed through private hands before any evidence seal. That is the reason the episode is catalogued here under Cover Up (Possible) — as an unresolved question about who controlled the footage and audio in the first minutes, not as a proven act of tampering.
Counterarguments, skepticism, and innocent explanations
There are ordinary, lawful explanations for the same facts, and they should be weighed seriously:
- Police-directed removal. TPUSA has reportedly said that officers instructed staff to secure equipment, which would make the handling lawful and directed rather than a private seizure.
- Theft prevention. In a chaotic, panicked crowd, grabbing small removable media and expensive gear can be a routine reflex to prevent loss or theft, not concealment.
- Ordinary chaotic-scene behavior. People who work an event will instinctively move to their own equipment; that is not, by itself, evidence of a plan.
- Presumption of innocence. Terryl/Terrell Farnsworth, Phillip Goldsberry Jr., Mikey McCoy, and every other named individual are living private persons, charged with nothing, and are presumed innocent. TPUSA is a living organization and has offered lawful explanations. Nothing here is a finding of wrongdoing, and Tyler Robinson is charged, not convicted.
Sources
- Statements attributed to Candace Owens on the SD-card handling ("grabbed that camera's SD card ... left the camera, which is more expensive"; "the executive who took the video SD card had never been to a University event before or after"), as captured in mid-2026 research.
- Circulating X accounts on the rear camera's chip removal within about five minutes — @blesamerica, @Uncommonsince76, @sj27426.
- Rob O'Neill and Brig. Gen. Blaine Holt, NEWSMAX panel (@RobFinnertyUSA / @NEWSMAX), on responders "getting sim cards out of cameras, removing cameras."
- RØDE Wireless PRO specification claims circulating on X: internal 32-bit recording that "could only be turned off remotely"; open questions on Charlie's audio directed at Phillip Goldsberry and Terryl Farnsworth, and on Mikey McCoy's reported mic-up close-up.
- Commentary naming a brown-shirted figure ("Rick Cutler") taking down the camera behind Charlie after a reported "mechanical issue" (unverified social-media identification).