Right to arms: Frenzied conservatives invest millions in panic rooms, bulletproof cars and robot guards triggered by Charlie Kirk’s assassination

Spooked conservatives are investing in drones, gun-toting robots, and armor-plated bedroom suites in a frenzied scramble for safety in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, Daily Mail can exclusively reveal.

Kirk’s September 10 killing on a Utah college campus sent shockwaves through the Right and prompted many of the nation’s most outspoken public figures to pour millions into fortress-like security measures.

Influencers, TV pundits, and podcasters are canceling events while they consult with former Secret Service agents and counterterrorism experts to protect themselves from any violent left-wing fanatics.

And VIP security firms tell Daily Mail they’ve been inundated with calls demanding everything from armored cars to the latest drones and robots that neutralize threats with shotgun shells or pepper spray.

‘It’s not paranoia – the threat is real,’ warned one expert.

‘There’s the Charlie Kirk shooting, the attack on the Mormons, the church shooting in Minneapolis. People are losing their minds.’

Scurrying into pokey panic rooms is a thing of the past, however.

Well-heeled media personalities are instead transforming lavish bedroom suites and home offices into impregnable palaces shielded by ballistic plates, doors and windows.

They can hide in the lap of luxury – with supplies of food, medicines, even oxygen tanks – while they dial 911 or alert private security guards to eliminate threats.

‘You don’t want to get up and hide in some obscure spot filled with old luggage or used for storage – you want to hide where you already are,’ explains David Vranicar, boss of Fortified and Ballistic Security.

‘That’s why people are calling up asking us to fortify a wing, a whole floor, even an entire house. You can live in these places until it’s safe to come out.’

Vranicar says his recent clients include a high-net conservative every bit as prominent as slain Turning Point founder Kirk, 31.

The price tag is $20,000 to $40,000 for a single room and as much as $2million to lock down an entire mansion.

‘The money is irrelevant to these guys,’ Vranicar adds. ‘The number one question we are getting is: How quickly can it be done?’

Another security guru, Bill Rigdon, caters to A-list celebs, sports stars and even Royal family members willing to spend upwards of a million dollars on personal security.

This week he was securing the home of a Fox News personality whose identity – like all his VIP clients – must remain confidential.

Bill’s firm Panic Room Builders will reinforce your walls with Grade 8 military-standard steel plating – strong enough to stop machine gun rounds.

Home offices are transformed into Faraday cages capable of blocking electromagnetic pulses and deterring hackers.

Trip wires and infra-red sensors will unleash mechanized defenders to swarm intruders with drones or robots armed with pepper spray, dye, or shotgun blasts.

‘You can use buckshot – it’s not going to kill anybody but they won’t be coming back in a hurry,’ said Rigdon.

‘You can blind them with light and noise. You can also talk to them and take their picture. You want to know who these people are so you can get a restraining order against them.’

Rigdon’s firm will run background checks on neighbors.

They also specialize in bulletproofing vehicles and equipping them with protective gadgets straight out of a James Bond movie that will zap pursuers or shred their tires.

‘We have smoke screens. We have these spiked strips that spew out to blow through tires so nobody is going to be following you,’ he explains.

‘When you come and grab the door handle you’re going to be hit with 110 (volts). In extreme conditions we have gun ports.’

Protecting speakers on packed university campuses or similar public arenas is an altogether tougher challenge, according to experts.

Even with the Secret Service at his disposal then-Presidential candidate Donald Trump cheated death when a bullet fired by 20-year-old Thomas Crooks grazed his ear at a July 2024 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Kirk, a father-of-two, influential Trump ally and leading Christian commentator, wasn’t so fortunate.

He was fatally shot in the neck allegedly by sniper Tyler Robinson, 22, last month at a student debate at Utah Valley University, plunging the conservative movement into fear and uncertainty.

Daily Wire mogul Ben Shapiro announced days later that he was no longer prepared to speak at outdoor events, telling the Free Press: ‘It’s not possible because there are too many vantage points, there are too many overlooks.’

Right wing influencer Laura Loomer told Daily Mail she cancelled multiple speaking engagements at the last minute.

‘It’s freaked out a lot of people out for sure. I’m not really going out in public by myself anymore,’ Loomer said.

‘I definitely have received a lot of phone calls from people who have told me that they think I should increase security.

‘But your average person who is involved in conservative activism doesn’t have the money to pay for a security team like Charlie Kirk.

‘And even with a security team Charlie Kirk got assassinated.’

A number of leading conservatives have reached out to Tim Miller, a former United States Marine Corps officer and Secret Service agent, for advice.

Miller says effective protection requires screening for bombs and weapons, counter-snipers perched on rooftops, as well as drones and canines to sweep for threats.

But the cost – $150,000 to $200,00 for a typical outdoor event – is becoming unsustainable.

Daily Mail has learned that in one instance a large fundraiser had to be scrapped recently because the security cost – an estimated $600,000 – would eclipse the donations they hoped to raise.

Relying on local police agencies isn’t an option because they often lack the required funding and resources, says Miller, founder of VIP security firm, LionHeart International Services Group.

‘Major law enforcement or agencies like the Secret Service can ramp up security. But for smaller organizations, it’s an impossible financial burden,’ he told Daily Mail.

‘That’s why we’re seeing people like Ben Shapiro avoid outdoor events altogether. The cost is just too high.’

Miller warns with grim candor that the danger will only get worse.

If a warped gamer wielding an antique rifle can plunge American politics into fear and paralysis, just imagine what an organized terror outfit could do.

‘We have to consider the fact that the US is not just facing threats from lone gunmen or madmen with rifles, but from organized groups and terrorist cells,’ Miller says.

‘There is a serious danger that these events could be targeted by coordinated attacks. 

‘The fearful thing for me is that Americans are slowly losing their ability to congregate in an outdoor event safely.’