Charlie Kirk’s Head of Security Speaks Out

Charlie Kirk's head of security has debunked a conspiracy theory that his team and others in the crowd were making hand signals in the moments before the Turning Point USA founder was shot dead in an assassination that shocked America.

In an interview on the Shawn Ryan Show, Brian Harpole, who was leading Kirk's security detail that day, spoke for the first time about the shooting, addressing conspiracy theories and revealing his concerns about security leading up to the event.

The fatal shooting of the conservative activist at UVU on September 10, set off a storm of wild speculation and unsubstantiated claims, spread by social media users analyzing footage and images and making bogus suggestions about what happened.

One of those was the baseless claim that a man stood near to Kirk in a white baseball cap made a hand signal toward the shooter. Another suggested two people were making signals while standing "perfectly to the side" of the bullet track.

Kirk's friend Frank Turek, who was reported to be the person wearing the baseball cap, took to X days after the shooting to declare the accusations as "categorically false" and warned such claims dishonored Kirk's memory. Harpole's comments mark the first time someone on the security detail has addressed the claims.

Harpole, whose firm Integrity Security Solutions was contracted with Turning Point USA, told Ryan his team did not use hand signals. Addressing the conspiracy theories, he said: "If we needed to relay a message, then we'd *click* 'Hey, I hear on' comms…If I needed to get somebody's attention on the team, I'm not going to sit there and use a hand signal if he's in my line of sight."

He added: "If I looked up and did a hand signal and did that or that (makes hand signals), he's going to look at me like, 'So, what do you want me to do then?'…That's not good communication.

"It has to be definitive, it has to be necessary.

"We'd never use hand signals other than the general ones (makes motions for *cover me* ,*come here**two people*)."

Regarding the claims about Turek, he said: "It's like, OK, substantiate. So, he touched his hat.

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

Harpole also debunked other baseless conspiracy theories including about an exploding microphone and that there was no autopsy performed.

In the aftermath of Kirk's shooting, it emerged a shot had been fired from the roof of the Losee Center on campus.

He said he was concerned the event was being held in an open outdoor space, but was told it needed to be held in that location. UVU spokesperson Ellen Treanor previously told The Salt Lake Tribune that Kirk's team "put the request in for that specific area. They really wanted it in the open courtyard."

Watch the full interview: