A conservative student from the University of Utah claims he faced a life-threatening encounter when a far-left agitator allegedly threatened to shoot him in the neck during a campus event. The student, Riley Beesley, has voiced his concerns about college campuses becoming hotbeds for radicalism and expressed relief over the arrest of the alleged offender.
Beesley recounted the incident to Fox News Digital, describing the events of January 12. On that day, he and others were participating in a tabling event, engaging in debates similar to those organized by groups like Turning Point USA. The event was organized by Reawaken USA, a conservative group that encourages open dialogue among students on college campuses.
As Beesley, who serves as the vice chairman of the Utah Federation of College Republicans, explained, the incident unfolded when a liberal student began to heckle him and his fellow College Republicans. The student reportedly hurled insults, labeling them as “Nazis,” “fascists,” and “pigs.”
Beesley further alleged that Dean Stewart, a 21-year-old who was involved in the commotion, escalated the situation by threatening violence. Stewart reportedly invoked the name of Charlie Kirk, a well-known conservative figure, in a menacing manner, suggesting a violent act towards Beesley and his peers.
“He soon declared, ‘you should die,’ followed by, ‘I am going to Kirk you,'” Beesley recounted, interpreting this as a threat of shooting or killing. This alarming incident was captured on camera, adding to the gravity of the situation.
“And soon after [he] declared to us, ‘you should die,’ followed by, ‘I am going to Kirk you,’ which you could only think that means I’m either using your imagination going to shoot you or kill you,” said Beesley.
“As he walked off, he positioned himself directly in front of several campus police officers where he gestured with his arms in a manner mimicking aiming a rifle at us, thrusting them enthusiastically, as I’d say, while shouting, ‘you should die’ and calling us ‘Nazi pigs,’” he continued, adding that the police watched the incident unfold.
Another student who was present for the tabling event previously told Fox News Digital that Stewart said he hoped the students got “Kirked.”
Stewart was arrested just moments after making the shooting gestures. Both jail records and the University of Utah confirmed his arrest. He was charged with disorderly conduct, making threats and disobeying a lawful order.
Dean Stewart was arrested by University of Utah police on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (Riley Beesley )
“On Monday, January 12, Dean Stewart, 21, disrupted an event and yelled at a member of Reawaken USA as he was debating in front of Marriott Library. Stewart said that he should be shot in the neck and repeatedly made hand gestures of shooting him with a rifle,” the school said.
“So the police witnessed this in real-time, to which immediately they moved in to apprehend the individual, they detained him,” Beesley recalled.
Beesley, who was at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10 when suspect Tyler Robinson allegedly shot and killed conservative titan Kirk, said that Stewart’s actions flagrantly crossed the line.
“You’re aiming a gun at somebody and acting as if you’re motioning to shoot them. It’s profoundly awful,” he said.
“Having been present at Utah Valley University on September 10th, 2025, and standing with Charlie Kirk mere moments before his assassination, it’s unsurprising that someone could be so consumed by hatred that their immediate reaction upon seeing conservatives on a college campus is to brand them ‘Nazis,’ make them feel unwelcome through threats, as we witnessed in the situation, and as this individual did, remind us of what the left is capable of, just as Tyler Robinson demonstrated to the entire world, only a short distance away from where we were now,” he continued.
The University of Utah campus seen from the top of the stadium prior to a game between the Utah Utes and TCU Horned Frogs at Rice Eccles Stadium on Oct. 19, 2024, in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Aaron M. Sprecher/Getty Images)
Part of the debate at the Jan. 12 event regarded what Beesley says is a rising threat of political violence from the left.
Some of that blame should be placed at the feet of institutions of higher education, he said.
“The college universities are radicalizing young people in profoundly destructive ways,” he said. “This is really a genuine destructive harbor of hatred that resides within these individuals — that it’s almost — it’s tough to see, in cases like this a desire to really have a conversation after this.”
“I know it’s exactly what we need to be out there doing, but anytime that we go out there on our campus in Utah, is there gonna be a threat that someone is going to shoot us? Because this is exactly what we’ve seen the last two times I’ve been out there trying to debate. One, I saw Charlie Kirk murdered, and two, now I’m having somebody say that they’re gonna ‘Kirk’ me.”
A spokesperson for the University of Utah directed Fox News Digital to a page on the school’s website that explains its anti-bias policy.
Charlie Kirk speaks at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10, 2025 in Orem, Utah, prior to his assassination. (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune/Getty Images)
“We work collaboratively to care for one another and create an inclusive community where all feel a sense of safety, belonging and purpose,” the page says.
“As a place of learning, teaching and research, where intellectual curiosity and the exploration of the full spectrum of human thought and thought traditions, are fostered, we welcome all viewpoints. We encourage robust discussion, disagreement and debate.”
Stewart could not be reached for comment.
