Charlie Kirk’s former security chief has publicly rejected conspiracy theories suggesting that his team used “suspicious” hand signals shortly before the conservative activist’s tragic assassination. These claims emerged following the shooting of Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, in Utah on September 10.

Brian Harpole, who was in charge of Kirk’s security detail at the time, shared his insights with podcaster Shawn Ryan. Harpole emphasized that his team would never rely on ordinary gestures that could easily be misinterpreted as mundane, everyday actions.

Speculation arose after footage showed two men positioned behind Kirk. One appeared to be adjusting his hat while holding a phone, and the other was seen moving his arms and surveying the surroundings. Observant viewers quickly pointed to these movements as potentially significant.

Harpole acknowledged the public’s eagerness to uncover the truth behind Kirk’s untimely death but sought to dispel the hand signal theory. He asserted that his team avoids using gestures that resemble common actions, such as adjusting a hat, to prevent any confusion.

Instead, Harpole noted, they employ signals that are unmistakable and cannot be mixed up with routine behaviors, humorously adding that their signals wouldn’t be confused with “a man scratching his a**.”

Furthermore, he said his team at Utah Valley University was ‘not using hand signals’ at all during their work that day.  

‘If we needed to relay a message, then we’d [say it] on comms… if we notice something, we’re not gonna use a hand signal,’ he said. 

He added that if anyone on his team had made a hand signal, the entire team would simply look at Harpole wondering what they were supposed to do. 

Brian Harpole (pictured) Charlie Kirk’s head of security explained that there was nothing to theories on the internet regarding hand gestures made by his team just before the conservative activist was assassinated

Harpole – who was the lead on the fateful day in Utah when Kirk was killed by a single bullet – was asked by podcaster Shawn Ryan about the use of hand signals in the leadup to the shooting

‘It’s not good communication,’ he said. 

Harpole added that he was confused when he first saw conspiracies that focused on a member of Kirk’s security team, Frank Turek, merely ‘because he adjusted his hat.’ 

‘It’s like, okay, substantiate. So he touched his hat,’ Harpole continued. 

‘There were a line of people in the front and other people that did all kinda things, everybody’s subject to that.’ 

Harpole was bewildered by the number of conspiracies he’s seen, including an especially bizarre one that claimed Kirk’s wife Erika was responsible.  

‘I get it, I’m not a conspiracy guy but I do believe that there are things out here bigger than you and I that are in operations,’ he said. 

On theories related Erika, Harpole said: ‘She’s a victim, that’s her husband. How people without any proof are saying she’s responsible, that’s what makes me lose faith.’ 

However, Harpole said he held his own suspicions about the Kirk shooting, as he said he ‘did not trust my own eyes, ears, what I was reading, what I was watching. 

A user on X questioned two men who were allegedly ‘giving hand signals’ including one who was seen adjusting his hat. Harpole said it was merely a coincidence 

‘A lot of people have sensationalized this, and that is a real shame… it makes it impossible to find the truth,’ he added. 

The Daily Mail has reached out to Turning Point USA for comment.

The 31-year-old conservative activist and media personality was shot in the neck while speaking at an outdoor event on September 10, just after beginning a Q&A session in front of thousands of students and supporters. 

Security rushed him from the stage, and he was transported to Timpanogos Regional Hospital in Orem, where he was later pronounced dead. 

Within hours of the shooting, videos, photos, and eyewitness accounts began circulating on social media, with users rushing to dissect every frame for clues. 

Some of the most extreme posts suggest everything from suspicious private jets to hand signals and even claims that the gunshot was actually an explosion. 

Conspiracy theorists have seized on brief clips and images, spinning intricate narratives despite investigators’ warning that no verified evidence supports these claims. 

Law enforcement agencies have also urged the public to rely on official updates rather than online posts. 

Harpole was bewildered by the number of conspiracies he’s seen, including an especially bizarre one that claimed Kirk’s wife Erika was responsible

Tyler Robinson, 22, was later arrested and charged with the murder of Kirk 

However, it has not stopped a flurry of online debate, as conservatives scrambled to make sense of a shocking attack.

A post on X questioned: ‘…and why are these two guys giving hand signals immediately before the shot? Both standing perfectly to the side of the bullet track.’ 

Observers on social media have speculated that the gestures could be signals related to the shooting. 

Investigators have not confirmed any connection, and neither man has been named by authorities as having any involvement in the shooting. 

Tyler Robinson, 22, was later arrested and charged with the murder of Kirk.

The assassination of Kirk, a close ally of Donald Trump who worked to steer young voters toward conservatism, has galvanized Republicans who have vowed to carry on Kirk’s mission of moving American politics further right.

The President has declared Kirk a ‘martyr’ for freedom and threatened to crack down on what he called the ‘radical left.’

He presented Kirk’s widow, Erika, with the Medal of Freedom in honor of her late husband in October.