Pavers — Dan Merrell's Account of the UVU Crime-Scene Pave-Over
Source
According to a video posted by @ShadowofEzra on X on May 21, 2026, contractor Dan Merrell — the operator of Hardscape Utah, the firm that installed pavers over the UVU courtyard where Charlie Kirk was shot — speaks on camera about how he came to do the job and what the on-site coordinators reportedly told him.
The post had 1,919 likes, 683 retweets, 463 bookmarks, and 93,145 views at the time of capture.
The Twitter post text
Dan Merrell describes the pave-over call he received and what the on-site coordinators reportedly told him. Source: @ShadowofEzra on X, 2026-05-21. Pinned to IPFS at CID QmRroFnN6ku7scJcNZXgTprhf8723Zic5oiBiRNogqHTRm.
The full text of the @ShadowofEzra post reads:
"Dan Merrell, the contractor hired to pave over Charlie Kirk's assassination scene, says he received 'the call' under an emergency order to cover the area immediately.
Merrell claims the Utah governor and Kash Patel's FBI wanted the crime scene paved over without delay.
'This is above our pay grade... the governor and the FBI said they want this by Monday.'"
What Merrell says on the video
The following is the verbatim transcription of Merrell's recorded statements in the embedded video (1 minute 11 seconds). All claims are Merrell's own first-person account, recounting what he reports being told by others. No court has adjudicated any of the underlying allegations, and the named officials have not been charged with any crime in connection with this work order.
"So when I got the call, I thought, 'You better fucking believe it. I'm gonna go help.' That was all it was. It's 'I'm gonna go help these guys. He's asking for help. They want to do it, right?' He framed it in the sense that, hey, we want this to be done. So that's why I showed up.
So I mean, to do pavers correctly you over-excavate, you get rid of the top, so you do 100% — you want to get a good base. And these guys had kind of — there was two guys in charge and a ragtag crew. One of the guys was in charge of a state-owned facility in American Fork, and the other guy was the maintenance groundskeeper on a facility in Provo. And these are the two guys I'm corresponding with.
The first guy — you know, the second guy that I hadn't talked to on the phone — basically said, 'Hey look, we're not talking to anybody. We're not saying anything to the media.' He says, 'This is above our pay grade. The FBI and the state — the governor and the FBI — that's what they told me. The governor and the FBI said they want this done by Monday. And we need to get it done.'"
Key reported claims
Based on Merrell's own first-person account on video, as posted by @ShadowofEzra:
- Merrell says he received a call asking for help with the courtyard pave-over and agreed to participate.
- Two men reportedly coordinated the work on the ground: one described as in charge of a state-owned facility in American Fork, the other described as the maintenance groundskeeper of a facility in Provo.
- Merrell reports that the second coordinator told him the crew was not to talk to the media.
- Merrell reports that this same coordinator told him, "This is above our pay grade," and attributed the urgency to the Utah governor's office and the FBI, with a deadline of "by Monday."
- These claims are statements by Merrell about what he was reportedly told. They have not been confirmed by the Utah Governor's office, Kash Patel's FBI, or either of the unnamed coordinators.
Why this matters
The UVU courtyard is where Charlie Kirk was shot on September 10, 2025. Four days later — on Sunday, September 14, 2025 — pavers were installed over the grassy area immediately behind the tent where Kirk was seated. Sunday installations of this kind are unusual in Utah County, where most state and university construction work runs Monday-through-Friday or Monday-through-Saturday. Merrell's recorded statement provides a first-person explanation of why the work happened so quickly and on a Sunday: he says the on-site coordinator told him the deadline came from the Utah governor's office and the FBI.
Cement and paver coverage of a violent-crime scene removes physical evidence that would otherwise have remained on the grass — including any glass or plastic fragments, blood residue, or other trace material. The on-site contractor naming the governor's office and the FBI as the source of the urgency is therefore a significant data point for any inquiry into whether the rapid pave-over was a routine maintenance project or a directed evidence-management decision.
Defamation note
This page presents Merrell's recorded first-person statements about what he was reportedly told. It does not state as fact that the Utah governor or Kash Patel's FBI ordered the pave-over. It does not state that any named individual committed a crime. All officials referenced are living persons, and the underlying allegations have not been adjudicated. Readers should weigh Merrell's account against any official response from the Utah Governor's office, the FBI, or UVU that may be released later.