A veteran lawman has confirmed the curious hand gestures seen in a video of Charlie Kirk’s bodyguards just before the conservative firebrand was gunned down in Utah were security signals.
Footage circulating online shows two members of Kirk’s modest detail standing behind him as he addressed a crowd of 3,000 at Utah Valley University on Wednesday.
One appeared to adjust his cap while holding a phone, while another shifted his arms and cast glances across the courtyard.
Moments later, Kirk, 31, a rising star of the conservative movement and close ally of Donald Trump , was struck in the neck by a single rifle round apparently fired from a rooftop some 200 yards away.
He slumped under the white ‘Prove Me Wrong’ tent as horrified supporters screamed and ran.
Social media sleuths have pored over the clip and spread wild conspiracies at what the signals could mean.
Now, in an exclusive interview with the Daily Mail, veteran law enforcement officer and security consultant Stan Kephart said that, in his expert view, the movements were deliberate but not unusual.
‘I can tell you from experience — those were definitely hand signals. The way they were done was not casual. It was more than one signal,’ said Kephart, a former California police chief who has advised on security for the Olympic Games and other major events.
But he cautioned against jumping to the darkest conclusions. ‘My suspicion is that he’s checking off with somebody else, perhaps a supervisor, saying everything is okay,’ he added.
Kirk is seen moments before the fatal shooting tossing out hats to the crowd who had gathered to hear him speak
‘It doesn’t arouse my suspicions. If he wasn’t okay, or if he had something to say, he would have reverted not to hand signals, but to his communication system.’
Kirk’s group, Turning Point USA, did not reply to our request for comment.
Authorities believe the assassin slipped on to the university roof shortly before Kirk’s appearance, lined up his target with a high-powered, bolt-action rifle, and fled into a nearby neighborhood within minutes of pulling the trigger.
‘This was a political assassination,’ Utah Gov. Spencer Cox declared. The FBI has since released grainy images of a black-clad ‘person of interest’ wearing sunglasses and a cap with the image of a bald eagle flying across a US flag.
Law enforcement officials searched the Utah Valley University campus for the shooter Wednesday, but he still remains at large
Agents recovered the rifle, palm prints, and footprints in a wooded area near campus. But as of Thursday evening, no suspect had been identified.
Kephart, 85, said the apparent precision of the attack meant federal investigators would be leaving no stone unturned — including scrutinizing every frame of video from before, during, and after the shot.
‘The Bureau’s investigation will be a deep dive,’ he said.
Kirk’s appearance at Utah Valley University was the first stop of his ‘American Comeback Tour,’ and his team had brought along a small private security detail.
Unlike elected officials, he was not afforded federal protection. Kephart said this left him vulnerable.
‘There were only six campus police officers on duty. They are well-trained, but that’s not enough for a 2,000-plus crowd.
‘And without federal resources like rooftop surveillance or shot-spotter technology, it’s a decided disadvantage,’ he explained.
Some attendees are asking why rooftops overlooking the courtyard were not cleared, and whether Kirk’s team was prepared for the worst.
‘In a federal operation, the site would have been sanitized days ahead,’ Kephart noted.
The FBI released an image of a person of interest on Thursday, showing a person wearing a hat, sunglasses and a long-sleeved black shirt
‘That means mapping rooftops, assigning areas of responsibility, and deploying specialized technology. Unfortunately, as a private citizen, Charlie Kirk didn’t get that.’
Kirk’s killing marks the latest grim episode in America’s escalating wave of political violence.
Recent years have seen attacks across the ideological spectrum — from the shooting of Donald Trump at a Pennsylvania rally to the firebombing of a Colorado parade and the slaying of a Minnesota state lawmaker.
Kirk, who founded Turning Point USA in 2012 at just 18, had become a fixture of the conservative movement, praised by Trump as a ‘martyr for truth and freedom.’
Within hours of the shooting, videos, photos, and eyewitness accounts began circulating on social media, with users rushing to dissect every frame for clues.
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 urged the public to rely on official updates rather than online posts.
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