Does a video filmed at Utah Valley University in the aftermath of the shooting of Charlie Kirk show a young man cheering his death? No, that's not true: While it's not possible to say what a person in a video was thinking, the audio of the original video records that the man and several other people were chanting "USA". Additional footage from before the shooting recorded several "USA" chants that had erupted from the crowd in the minutes before the shooting happened.
The video clip without the original audio appeared in a post (archived here) published by @AlexNewsweekly on X on Sept. 10, 2025. The post was captioned:
⚠️This guy happens to know where the shooter was and is looking back cheering him on after the lifeless body of Charlie Kirk has fallen to the grown.
This is how the video clip appeared at the time of writing:
(Image source: Lead Stories screenshot of post at x.com/AlexNewsweekly/status/1965950468292764142.)
This 22-second video clip had a sad background music added in the place of the original audio. The footage appears choppy as it progresses slowly frame by frame showing the man waving his arms high.
The original video appears in a story posted on Instagram (archived here) by @beccers.g.hales. The original audio of this video is intact, and sounds of shouting and screaming can be heard from the crowd as most crouched down after the shot rang out. A few seconds in, the man with the black T-shirt rises and begins to chant "USA" while pumping his fists for emphasis. He repeats "USA" at least twelve times as he looks to the people around him as if trying to get a chant going, at least one other person joins in and chants, "USA" three times.
This is how the video appeared on Instagram at the time of writing:
(Image source: Lead Stories screenshot of post at instagram.com/stories/beccers.g.hales/3718776834445159505/.)
Over 1 hour of raw footage from the Utah Valley University event was posted on X (archived here) by @lifeisdriving on Sept. 10, 2025. The video is captioned:
Raw video file Charlie Kirk Shooting TPUSA Event UVU, Utah 9/10/2025
Full HD re-upload from my live footage covering the Charlie Kirk shooting at Utah Valley University.
The sound of the gunshot occurs at 19 minutes, 9 seconds, the camera was not filming Charlie Kirk at this moment, the video shows the crowd's reaction as they realize there was a gunshot. Although filmed from a distance and his voice is not audible above the crowd, it is possible to make out the man in the black T-shirt with the tan ball cap and his chanting gestures near the stage at 19 minutes, 28 seconds. Earlier in this video footage, at 4 minutes, 1 second and 8 minutes, 32 seconds, the crowd can be heard cheering and chanting "USA".
