10 Inches of Dirt Hauled Away Immediately
Nothing here states as fact that any agency destroyed evidence or acted illegally. Biohazard cleanup and campus remediation are ordinary after a violent death. This page records what citizen investigators and a contractor have said about when soil left the tent courtyard and why residue analysts care. Unproven allegations are labeled as such.
If a small charge detonated under the tent on September 10, 2025, soil is one of the best residual surfaces left behind. Military explosives such as PETN are repeatedly described in public commentary as highly soil-absorbed — low water solubility means wash-down does not remove them; you dig. That is why the claim that roughly ten inches of dirt were stripped and hauled away under the tent before the landscaping crew even arrived sits on this residue-cover-up list as its own item — separate from the later cement / paver install.
The two-crew timeline (as reported)
The public record, as assembled from contractor interviews and online amplification, describes two phases:
| Phase | Who (as described) | When (as reported) | What |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 — Excavation | Unidentified "government" / state / grounds / biohazard team | Before Sunday Sept 14 — some posts say within ~a day of the shooting | Strip grass and soil (~6–10 in.), haul it off, power-wash |
| 2 — Hardscape | Landscaping / paver crew (Dan Merrell / Hardscape Utah in the dominant account) | Sunday Sept 14 into Monday | Install pavers on already-dug ground under a "by Monday" deadline |
The point here is phase one: it did not wait for the ordinary 48-hour-plus landscaping schedule. The dirt was already gone when the paver contractor showed up. Full contractor detail lives on the 10 in. of dirt removed (Cover-Up) and Dirt Removed Before Pavers (Tent) pages. This page keeps the residue frame.
Dan Merrell's first-hand marker
Utah contractor Dan Merrell (Hardscape Utah), in a Jimmy Rex Show interview widely clipped from May 2026, is the main named witness to the excavated state:
"When I showed up I took pictures of what it looked like, they had taken out about ten [inches] of it. It didn't cross my mind."
He describes himself as the second team. Per Candace Owens' retelling of the longer interview (clipped by @ProjectConstitu):
"before he had even arrived on that Sunday … they had sent another government team to the soil."
Merrell also relays that on-site coordinators said the job was "above our pay grade" and that "the governor and the FBI said they want this done by Monday." Neither the Utah Governor's office nor the FBI has, in materials reviewed here, publicly confirmed that quote. Merrell's role was paver install on pre-prepared ground — see cement and pavers.
Why residue theory fixates on the haul-away
Candace Owens and parallel commentary argue:
- PETN and similar compounds cling to soil.
- Low water solubility means pressure-washing is not enough — published chemistry notes used in her segment say you would need to dig the soil out.
- Therefore a deep, early excavation of the tent pad is exactly what you would do if you needed energetic residue gone before any independent sampler arrived.
- Bomb-sniffing dogs and later swabs of the courtyard surface become moot once the matrix is in a dump truck.
Amplifying posts include @FurkanGozukara ("excavating 10 inches of soil… hide PETN"), @todd20006, and high-reach threads from Alex Jones framing the dig-and-repave as classic scene sanitization. A July 2026 post by @lime_joe claimed Judicial Watch obtained UVU employee texts and ~64 pages of cleanup records in which the FBI demanded soil removal ~10 inches deep — that document set has not been independently reproduced on this site; treat as an open lead.
Depth figures: six vs ten inches
As explained on the CoverUp — Dirt Removed page, circulating numbers are not necessarily contradictory:
- ~4–6 inches — biohazard layer of blood-soaked sod (ordinary remediation language).
- ~10 inches — total depth Merrell photographed once paver base over-excavation is included.
Residue analysts care about any porous layer that left the site without a logged sample. Ordinary paving does over-excavate. The contested questions are who ordered the first dig, where the soil went, and whether any bag was retained for lab work.
The routine-procedure reading, and investigators' answer
The reading officials could give, and how investigators answer it:
- Biohazard protocol. Blood-soaked grass is medical waste; universities and contractors remove it.
- Scene already released. If investigators released the courtyard after processing the roof, woods, and body-related evidence, UVU facilities can alter the ground for reopening and trauma mitigation.
- Lead investigator gap. David Hull's reported testimony that he learned of paving from the news is serious chain-of-command criticism.
- Investigators' answer: biohazard removal and scene release do not require skipping a residue test, and the soil under the tent was the surface most likely to hold residue from a detonation at the mic. No court has examined why that test was never made public. This page makes no finding of wrongdoing by UVU, its contractors or any agency.
What has not been established
- That PETN or any explosive was in the soil.
- That the FBI ordered excavation for the purpose of destroying residue.
- The identity of the first crew, the landfill or incinerator destination, or a disposal manifest.
- Wrongdoing by Merrell, UVU grounds staff, or any named official.
Open questions
- Exact calendar date and hour of the first excavation (before Sunday Sept 14).
- Manifest / CID number for hauled soil — was any retained as evidence?
- Were explosive-residue or metal-fragment screens run on retained soil before disposal?
- Do Judicial Watch / GRAMA packages confirm an FBI depth directive, or only biohazard cleanup language?
- Disclosure path: Tyler Robinson defense discovery and Fix laws.
In-Section Links
- Removing Explosive Residue Cover-Up
- Dirt Replaced With Cement / Pavers
- Ceiling Mudded / Painted
- 10 in. Dirt — Cover-Up section
- Tent — Dirt Before Pavers
- FBI Crime-Scene Paving
X.com posts:
- Candace / Merrell — soil excavated, PETN absorption
- Furkan Gözükara — 10 inches before paver
- Alex Jones — dug and re-poured concrete
- Joseph L Trahan — 10 inches, 20×20 radius checklist
Interesting In This Area
- PETN resists water, so soil, not wash-down, is where residue survives.
- Merrell arrived to find ten inches already gone before his paver work.
- The same list covers clothing, the SUV and the ceiling.
- No public record shows any of it tested for explosives.
Interesting In Other Areas
- Cause of death turns on evidence that ground would have held.
Other Pages In This Section
Landscaping Crew Replaced Dirt With Cement / Pavers
Soil was hauled out of the tent courtyard and pavers went down over the exact spot where Charlie Kirk fell. If that ground would have shown residue, it is gone.
Read this
Stew Peters — AES and the Exploding-Mic Claim
Stew Peters states that he was the one who tied the exploding-mic theory to the AES defense order, two weeks before the plant blew up. The page records his claim and asks readers to help check the dates.
Read this
The Exploding Pendant — Shaped-Charge Crucifix Theory
A former Marine breacher argues the charge sat in the crucifix pendant rather than the microphone — same effects, different object. Presented as that author's analysis and set against the mic version.
Read this
Microphone — The Exploding Mic Theory
Citizen investigators have concluded the lavalier clipped to his shirt concealed a small explosive — the leading conclusion of the investigation, and the thread that runs through video, audio, procurement, and post-event debris.
Read thisElsewhere In The Investigation

One page stating what most independent investigators had concluded by July 2026 about what killed Charlie Kirk and what did not. The official account is a single .30-06 round; this is where the reasons for rejecting it are gathered.
Read thisThis website's author is @HolonCitizen on X and YouTube/@HolonCitizen. Follow me there.
Interesting
- Rob O'Neill said on NEWSMAX they paved it over a couple days later.
- The media investigation index names the gag orders and unreleased FBI 302s outright.
- Reporting on claims he was breaking with pro-Israel donors was quarantined as conspiracy.
Related Areas
- Tent Section
- After — Site Changes
- Cover-Up Evidence
- UVU Campus
- FBI Section
- Charlie Kirk Investigation Laws