This was a very ugly situation for two University of Utah College Republicans that could have ended much differently, except for the intervention by Erika Kirk.

What happened here? On September 10th, as many college groups, including College Republicans, were remembering Charlie Kirk on the first anniversary of his assassination. Of course, people were being increasingly nasty and crass about Charlie’s murder, including coining a term for the day: “Kirkaversary.”

At the University of Utah, a young woman approached the College Republicans with a cake wishing them “Happy Kirkaversary.” The College Republicans vice president, Rylie Barnes, posted this picture on X of the incident. (The full picture, if clicked on, shows the cake.)

What is wrong with students in Utah?? pic.twitter.com/KBu0jTQErx

— Rylie (@Rylieparis05) September 10, 2026

The College Republicans’ chairman, Riley Beesley, replied to Barnes’ post on X, saying “Imagine your (sic) Charlie Kirk’s kid and somebody bakes you this cake. These people are sick.”

However, the internet did its thing, and the student who brought the cake was almost immediately identified as Sara Larsen, another University of Utah student. Somehow, that identification by others triggered an investigation into Barnes and Beesley for allegedly “doxxing” her.

Barnes and Riley Beesley, the chairman of the school’s College Republicans chapter, took exception to the stunt on their campus, and Barnes posted a photo of the woman holding the cake to her X account. It quickly went viral and led to an anonymous X user identifying the student as Sara Larsen.

“We got a lot of backlash from students here on campus, blaming us for doxxing, creating false allegations and lies on social media about it, and reporting to the school all these false allegations as well. So I don’t blame the school for kind of jumping the gun on it,” Barnes said.

“But I think they did jump the gun, which caused this to get so much backlash on the Republican end, just because there wasn’t much of an investigation for us. There was just, ‘we need you to come meet with us,’ and in our minds, that wasn’t okay because we didn’t do anything wrong.”

The College Democrats at the University of Utah claimed that the College Republicans were “shaming” and “harassing” the student who brought the cake, and because she apologized after the fact, this now meant that the College Republicans were “waging a campaign of hate.”

Recently, leadership in the @UofUGOP have been waging a campaign of hate against University of Utah students. CDUU condemn online harassment and call on @UUtah to do the same.

Read our full statement below: pic.twitter.com/GGZh8zZqeS

— College Democrats at the University of Utah (@uofutahdems) September 12, 2026

The loud voices complaining about the outing of Larsen’s identity propelled the university into investigating both Barnes and Beesley. However, Barnes said that Larsen consented to have her picture taken, and it also seems that Larsen was in contact with people who were agitating to get the College Republicans off campus, and Barnes and Beesley expelled. But before that meeting could happen, it was canceled.

On Tuesday, the university sent emails to Beesley and Barnes requesting closed-door meetings Wednesday morning with its Student Rights and Responsibilities office.

“We received information that, if accurate, may go against this priority and the policy on Student Rights and Responsibilities, and I would like to meet and hear your perspective,” says a copy of one of the emails, obtained by Fox News Digital. “The report is regarding an incident that happened on or about September 11, 2026 and allegedly involves you attempting to doxx another University of Utah student over a political issue.”

The email was sent by the office’s assistant director, Jose Morales Diaz.

“Doxxing” is the act of publicly revealing, usually online, the personal information of another person, typically with the intent of causing harm to that individual.

“We will talk about the information our office received, and you will have an opportunity to give your perspective of the incident if you wish. We will also talk about possible next steps, such as resolutions and educational or restorative measures if appropriate,” the email said.

The emails also prohibited the students from recording the meetings. But shortly before the meetings were scheduled to take place, the university abruptly canceled them, according to Beesley.

It seems the Tuesday meeting was canceled because the story was gaining attention online, and got the attention of Erika Kirk herself. And Erika took some action.

University of Utah will continue its review of whether College Republicans violated policies by posting a photo of student w/ "Kirkiversary" cake:

“Calls to harm someone, including electronic harassment & inappropriate sharing of information, are not protected by free speech.” https://t.co/1uRn1VBLjs

— Brigham Tomco (@BrighamTomco) September 17, 2026

And with legal counsel entering the proverbial chat, the university decided to drop the entire issue.

Thursday night, the University of Utah sent out a notice confirming that the potential disciplinary matter was closed.

“The University of Utah’s Office of the Dean of Students has dismissed an ‘accountability’ inquiry into student Rylie Barnes’ social media posts,” the message said. “After receiving clarification from Riley Beesley’s representative on Thursday, Sept. 17, the dean’s office also has dismissed an accountability inquiry into Beesley’s social media posts.”

That “representative” was Beelsey’s attorney.

The school added that neither student ever faced expulsion, and that normally they would keep disciplinary matters private, but since the students made it public, they publicly responded.

Barnes and Beesley both confirmed that they had been notified that the matter was closed, and credited their online support, specifically naming Nick Sotor and Erika Kirk, for their help.

WE TOOK DOWN THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH.

Case fully dismissed because of the outcry on X and expert legal services from @JakeLeei

Thank you, @nicksortor & @MrsErikaKirk we wouldn’t have won without you.

Students: Cherish Charlie Kirk’s legacy, do not celebrate his murder. https://t.co/BLIOXhy1bR pic.twitter.com/e9lqarlaNi

— Riley Beesley (@rileybeesley) September 17, 2026

So, what have we all learned from this convoluted saga? First of all, if you are in a public place waving a cake around celebrating a man’s murder, expect to have your picture taken. And if that picture is taken, expect that the internet will figure out who you are. Second, despite the lip service against “political violence,” it is clear that TPUSA events and College Republicans have targets on them, and somehow, it is socially acceptable for people to be complete assholes to them if Donald Trump is president. Third, Charlie Kirk was murdered while speaking on a college campus, and far too many people are fine with it, including those who vandalize his memorial. And people wonder why Erika won’t disclose his final resting place. Can you imagine what some psychos would do to his grave, if they could?

And finally, kudos to Erika Kirk for providing the legal assistance for these students. Charlie would have done that, too.

Featured image: Elephant via Pixabay, cropped and modified