Charlie Kirk’s former head of security has finally spoken out to stamp out wild conspiracy theories suggesting he played a role in the conservative firebrand’s shocking assassination.
Brian Harpole, who led Kirk’s security detail on the night the Turning Point USA founder was fatally shot during a campus event in Utah, is now pushing back hard against internet sleuths who claim his “hand movements” moments before the shooting looked like secret signals.
Appearing on The Shawn Ryan Show, Harpole said the speculation is both “insulting” and “completely off-base.”
“If we needed to relay a message, we’d say it on comms,” Harpole explained. “If we notice something, we’re not gonna use a hand signal. That’s not how we operate.”
The retired Marine and private security consultant added that his team uses internal radio systems — not subtle gestures — to coordinate.
“Look, if we were using any kind of code, it wouldn’t be something that looks like a guy scratching his ass,” he said bluntly. “People online are analyzing normal movements frame by frame and turning them into conspiracies.”
Harpole also clarified that if one of his guards had truly been signaling, “you’d see every head on the team snap toward me waiting for the next command — and that never happened.”
Charlie Kirk, 31, was gunned down on September 10 during a Q&A session at Utah Valley University, just minutes after walking onstage to address thousands of students and Turning Point USA supporters.
The gunman, identified as 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, was arrested later that night and charged with first-degree murder. Investigators have yet to release a clear motive.
The assassination rocked conservative circles nationwide and sent waves of grief through Kirk’s massive following. Former President Donald Trump called Kirk “a patriot, a fighter, and a voice for millions,” later awarding Kirk’s widow, Erika, the Medal of Freedom at a private White House ceremony in October.
Harpole said he first laughed off the online theories — until he saw people accusing Kirk’s widow, Erika, of being involved.
“She’s a victim,” Harpole said quietly. “That’s her husband. To watch strangers online say she was somehow behind it — with no proof at all — that’s what makes me lose faith in people.”
Harpole also defended another security guard, Frank Turek, who became the target of viral claims after simply adjusting his baseball cap.
“Okay, so he touched his hat,” Harpole said. “There were a hundred people in front doing all kinds of things — that’s not evidence. That’s people looking for a ghost in the video.”
Despite dismissing the most extreme theories, Harpole admitted that parts of that night still don’t sit right with him.
“I didn’t trust my own eyes, ears, what I was reading, what I was watching,” he confessed. “A lot of people have sensationalized this, and that makes it harder to find the truth. But I still believe something bigger might be going on behind the scenes.”
He paused before adding, “People deserve answers — but chasing shadows isn’t the way to get them.”
The Utah Attorney General’s Office has not confirmed whether Robinson acted alone, and prosecutors have requested additional forensic testing on communications devices seized from the suspect’s home.
Meanwhile, conservative leaders and Turning Point members have demanded tighter security at political events.
“This was an attack on free speech and on the conservative movement itself,” one Turning Point organizer told The Hill last week. “Charlie’s death has left a hole that no one can fill.”
As for Harpole, he says he’ll continue cooperating with investigators — but refuses to entertain the idea that he or his team were part of the plot.
“I was there to protect Charlie,” he said. “And I’ll live with the fact that I couldn’t stop it for the rest of my life.”
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