How Charlie Kirk died should have been quite obvious to everyone, but this is the age of the internet, so we all know that if people can make a quick buck by spinning a crazy theory, they are going to run with it.
There were clearly some idiotic theories emerging in the wake of Kirk's death, but there were also a few threads regarding potential secondary actors that FBI Director Kash Patel seems to believe may have some merit, or he at least simply wishes to put them to bed.
We are going to look at some of these “theories,” as well as how Patel plans to address them.
The idea that Kirk’s security team betrayed him was one of the worst theories that came to light, and it emerged due to some hand signals allegedly given and witnessed at the time of the shooting. Sadly, this storyline was picked up by some major publications.
During my time in the hotel business, I worked with some top-tier security teams, including Secret Service agents during a Republican National Convention, and those signals were likely nothing more than a quick check that everything was fine without having to transmit on the radio.
Security consultant Stan Kephart agreed, explaining, “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. My suspicion is that he’s checking off with somebody else, perhaps a supervisor, saying everything is okay. 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.”
My understanding is that Kirk had some former military working his security detail, but I would question whether they were properly trained or not. A very basic security protocol is to secure all elevated lines of sight to the subject. Kirk had a fairly significant contingent, so I have to question why someone was not checking elevated positions (one person should have even been positioned in an elevated perch). I believe the security was sloppy, but I can say fairly confidently that this was not an inside job.
One of the more bizarre theories that was put out in recent days concerned a mystery plane that departed a nearby airport after the shooting took place, with some suggesting that it helped the alleged assassin escape.
The CEO of Komigo, Derek Maxfield, spoke out when it was revealed the plane was registered to his company. He stated, “As often happens, unfortunately, in the wake of such terrifying and public events, a variety of baseless theories and suspicions around Mr. Kirk’s murder immediately took hold on social media, including one that has unfairly impacted our family.”
When the plane left the local airport, it only had staff aboard and was picking up seven passengers at another airport, but the conspiracy theories ran wild because the plane had allegedly turned off its transponder, which tracks the plane’s location.
Maxfield explained, “Radar services with air traffic control were terminated in mutual agreement between Denver FAA center and N888KG approximately 10 miles from landing at PGA, which is consistent with generally accepted standard practice when flying in and out of non-towered airports like PGA.”
First, Patel explained the issues surrounding the plane, stating, "We can share updates (about the plane) when answers are confirmed. After interviews with the pilot and consultation with the FAA, we determined the transponder was not turned off. Incomplete flight data in rural areas caused the apparent gap."
He added, "We are meticulously investigating theories and questions, including the location from where the shot was taken, the possibility of accomplices, the text message confession and related conversations, Discord chats, the angle of the shot and bullet impact, how the weapon was transported, hand gestures observed as potential ‘signals' near Charlie at the time of his assassination, and visitors to the alleged shooter’s residence in the hours and days leading up to September 10, 2025."
Patel concluded, "Our primary focus is to complete this investigation and deliver justice. To protect the integrity of the investigation and subsequent prosecution, we cannot release every piece of information we have to the public right now."
The situation was certainly not helped when some former FBI profilers started offering sensationalist profiling theories, claiming that the assassination was a professional job when there were clear signs that an amateur was responsible. First and foremost was the shot itself, which was likely intended as a headshot, though the shooter did not account for the wind and downward trajectory properly, resulting in the neck shot. And by the way, that is not me, but rather my contacts who worked for the FBI who actually know what they are talking about and are not making up crackpot profiles to get them clicks and likes on social media.
So, I say to Patel, by all means, pull on every thread, if not for any other reason than to put these ridiculous conspiracy theories to bed once and for all.
