Charlie Kirk’s head of security explains alleged hand signals his team made moments before shooting

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE: Slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk's head of security has pushed back against conspiracy theories suggesting that his team used suspicious hand signals just before Kirk was shot dead.

Brian Harpole, who was leading Kirk's security at the time of the incident, made these revelations in a podcast, condemning the conspiracy theories as shameful.

Charlie Kirk's security chief debunks conspiracy theories

Footage of the shooting circulating on social media showed two members of Kirk's security team making odd signals seconds before he was shot. 

While some online claimed the security guards lifting their shirt sleeves or moving their hats was evidence of foreknowledge of the shooting, Harpole said his team didn't use hand signals at all. 

“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 explained that if his team did use such techniques, they would never rely on 'normal' gestures that could be mistaken for everyday movements.  

He noted that if anyone on his team was making a signal to other guards, they would instantly look to Harpole for instruction on what to do next, which he says never occurred before the shooting. 

“It's not good communication,” he continued. 

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,” he said. “There were a line of people in the front and other people that did all kinda things, everybody's subject to that.”

Brian Horpole rejects claims targeting Erika Kirk

“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, addressing the claim that Kirk's wife Erika was responsible. 

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

Online rumors after Charlie Kirk's shooting

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

Some of the more extreme posts have pushed theories ranging from suspicious private jets to supposed hand signals. One even claimed that the gunshot was actually an explosion. 

Conspiracy theorists have taken short clips and images related to the shooting and turned them into elaborate stories, even as investigators stress that there is no verified evidence behind these claims.

Authorities have also reminded the public to trust official updates rather than relying on online speculation.