A Decorated Security Professional Speaks Out
Brian Harpole is not just another security contractor. He's a highly decorated law enforcement veteran who served as a police officer in Texas for 14 years. In 2008, he transitioned to the private security world as operations manager for an elite Texas-based security firm, specializing in executive and personal protection. He now runs his own company, Integrity Security Solutions, operating across five continents. A graduate of Columbia College, Harpole earned a master peace officer license from the state of Texas, graduated from the International Law Enforcement School of Police Supervision, and completed Southern Methodist University's Cape Intelligence Program. Most importantly, he was on stage with Charlie Kirk on September 10th as the head of his contracted security detail when Kirk was assassinated.
Two months after the tragedy, Harpole sat down for an emotional interview to address the countless conspiracy theories and provide answers to questions that have haunted Kirk's supporters. His credentials speak for themselves—you don't run an executive protection company across multiple continents without knowing exactly what you're doing.
The Moments After the Shot
Harpole was positioned about 10 meters to Kirk's right, watching a large crowd coming up staircases, when he heard the gunfire. "I heard the bullet slap," Harpole recalls. "You hear two sounds actually. You hear the actual shot and then you hear the bullet hit him in the neck like you hear it." In his mind, this was a live fire event—not a single-shot assassination. "There's fire there. There's more to come, right?"
Dan, the security team member standing directly next to Charlie, grabbed him as Harpole turned and saw Kirk going to the ground. "I jump down on top of Charlie to cover him because where we're at, it's concealment at best. It's a table with cloth on it, so it's not hard cover." Other team members began piling in, creating a human shield, but it was still just concealment, not cover.
"I initially dove down on top of him and just was on him almost face to face. And then when I was doing that, I went down, I could see the wound. So I immediately shoved my hand into the wound to stop the bleeding. Just trying to find the pressure." The blood was still coming out as Harpole pressed into the wound. "It squirted through my fingers and I could taste it on my lips and so I was like man this is a bad wound."
Five Seconds to Save a Life
Harpole was on Kirk within five seconds and had his hands in the wound immediately. He carries medical supplies on his person at all times for exactly this reason. "I remember pulling back away and thinking, 'Damn, this is bad.' Like it's coming out." Though he doesn't remember saying it, team members and video footage confirm he said "prep the car," and two security members immediately took off to get the vehicle ready—doors open, ready for evacuation.
"It's a carotid artery. You can't put a tourniquet on it obviously. And then in my head I'm like you know pack pressure pray man the these what you can do for that wound." Harpole told his team they needed to exfil—they were all out in the open trying to give wound care and needed to get off the X. From the moment the shot happened to the time they picked Kirk up and moved him to the vehicle was 15 to 16 seconds. "That's fast to get an initial assessment, plug a hole, pick them up, move them."
The Emotional Toll on Those Who Were There
During the interview, Harpole's voice breaks as he recalls what he saw. "When I jumped down on him, he had doll's eyes and so I was like, man, these are wounds incompatible with life." The interviewer asks if he needs a break. Two months after Kirk's death, Harpole still struggles to discuss what happened without becoming emotional.
"I've done a lot of death notifications where I had to tell kids that their parents were dead or their parents that their kids were dead. And I know what pain looks and sounds like. I wake up screaming sometimes, thinking a kid's face." When Erika Kirk walked into that hospital room and saw her husband, the words that came out of her mouth and how they came out revealed genuine devastation. "You don't want to hear that. She's a victim. That's her husband."
The Autopsy Reveals Critical Details
One of the biggest conspiracy theories involves the lack of an exit wound and claims that a .306 rifle shot should have blown Kirk's head off. Harpole addresses this directly: "The doctor told us came out there and told us and then they also told chief of staff. The bullet came in and hit the vertebrae and it so it came in and then tore up everything in the wound cavity. Hit the vertebrae, crushed it, shattered it, turned, crushed the second one, turned, kept going down all the way. I think they said C6."
The bullet entered Kirk's neck on the left side, hit the vertebrae, fragmented, and traveled down his spine to C6. There was no exit wound because the bullet fragmented after hitting bone. As one participant in the interview notes, "If the bullet hit any bone at all, there is no bullet. It's just fragmentation."
This type of wound is not unprecedented. Martin Luther King Jr. was shot with a .306 rifle from approximately 200 yards away. The shot entered his chin or jaw area, traveled erratically, went into his neck, and there was no exit wound. The James Earl Ray case involved a Remington Peters soft point metal jacketed bullet fired from a high velocity .306 rifle—remarkably similar circumstances to Kirk's assassination.
Addressing the Crime Scene Controversy
One persistent conspiracy theory involves Utah Valley University tearing up and paving over the crime scene shortly after the shooting. Harpole expresses frustration that his security team has been blamed for this decision. "I don't understand the exigency of why they did that. And here's my question to that. March your ass up to the school. Have you marched your ass up to the school? Or will you march your ass up to that school tomorrow and file a FOIA and say, 'Hey, you're a public institution. I want the request and the plans that were made to tear that up.'"
Harpole points out that such a decision would have required budget approval and planning—there should be a timeline and paperwork available through public records requests. "Make them tell us why that they tore that up before it was even cold. I want to know because it came back on us that we had some trap door and they're covering up the trap door and we had a guy hiding in there."
When asked directly if there was a trap door or tunnel system, Harpole responds with a firm "No, there was not." He challenges those spreading conspiracy theories to do the investigative work themselves—file FOIA requests with the university and get the actual documentation rather than blaming the security team.
Debunking Foreign Intelligence Claims
Another conspiracy theory circulating online claims that Kirk's security team had ties to foreign intelligence agencies, specifically Mossad. The interviewer asks Harpole directly: "Do any of your guys have any ties to any foreign intelligence agencies, more specifically Mossad?"
"No," Harpole states clearly. "I've been in 39 countries in this world and I've never been to Israel. I'm a firm Christian. I ask our guys, are you believers? We have no ties to Israel or Mossad or any other one. We're Americans, period. We believe in what we're afforded to do here. We believe in our system. And to say that we're Mossad or attached to any type of foreign entity, it's crap when it's best day."
When asked if anyone on his team could be tied to an extreme political party planning assassinations, Harpole responds: "No. One, we're in each other's business. Where they have the time for it, I wouldn't know. Some of these guys are on the road 250 days a year with Charlie, just working." The team takes an annual trip together to an undisclosed location. "We know what each other does. We know their kids' names and spouses. If they're doing it and they're not, they wouldn't have time for us not to notice."
"You took an oath. I've taken an oath. Most of my guys have taken an oath and it's different in the security industry. You're not taking an oath for your client, but you are taking an oath to each other. They wouldn't do that to the client, but they really wouldn't do it to me or to their coworker." Harpole states with absolute certainty: "To my death. I say this with 100% certainty to my death."
Erika Kirk Was Not Involved
Perhaps the most painful conspiracy theory for Harpole to address involves claims that Erika Kirk was somehow involved in her husband's assassination. "I've done a lot of death notifications where I had to tell kids that their parents were dead or their parents that their kids were dead. And I know what pain looks and sounds like. I wake up screaming sometimes, thinking a kid's face."
"The words that came out of her mouth and how they came out when she walked in that room and saw him. You don't want to hear that. She's a victim. That's her husband. And now people without any proof are saying that she was a part of killing him. Come on, man. And then not having anything to substantiate it with. That's what makes me lose faith in people and that we allow it and that platforms allow it."
Harpole can only imagine the pain Erika is feeling having to hear people say she was part of her husband's murder. "Those are lies."
The Camera Operator Who Took a Selfie Video
Another conspiracy theory involves a man who appeared to be on the security team who ran toward the vehicles after the shooting and took what appeared to be a TikTok selfie video saying "They just shot Charlie." Harpole clarifies: "He's with the audio visual team. Yeah, it's a company that they contract to shoot the footage. He's the guy that's running the cameras."
The man in question works for a company called BI and is part of the contracted audio-visual team, not the security team. "I don't understand and it's not for me to try to understand that part like the getting on the phone or that. I don't understand that. And you see that a lot nowadays. Tragic things happen, shootouts and people pull their phones out instead of running. And so I don't understand that. That's for him to explain, not me. I know he doesn't work for us."
This same person was seen on camera pulling down one of the cameras behind Charlie and appearing to remove the SD card. Conspiracy theorists claimed he was hiding or destroying footage. However, all footage was turned over to the FBI. The audio-visual team member was removing SD cards to secure them and prevent theft, which would have been catastrophic if someone had stolen 4K footage of Kirk's assassination to share online rather than preserve for law enforcement.
Why Information Hasn't Been Released
Harpole expresses frustration that official autopsy details haven't been released to counter conspiracy theories. "The doctor told us came out there and told us and then they also told chief of staff. It's like, why not put that info out? Why not put it out? If it do me a favor. Don't make me do it. It's not my job. Explanation 101. What are you hiding? It's like I'm sitting back here when people are saying we bombed him or there's wound. I'm like, hey, somebody from an official capacity would just release that and I don't see how that could jeopardize a fair trial for a guy."
However, there are legitimate investigative reasons for not releasing autopsy details prematurely. Releasing information about bullet trajectory, fragmentation patterns, and wound characteristics before confirming ballistic matches could compromise the investigation. If investigators are still determining whether the bullet came from the suspected weapon, whether there were additional shooters, or other critical details, releasing autopsy information could tip off suspects or contaminate the jury pool.
Standard investigative protocol typically keeps autopsy results confidential until trial. While this creates frustration and allows conspiracy theories to flourish, it protects the integrity of the investigation and ensures the defendant receives a fair trial with an uncontaminated jury pool.
The People Who Spread Lies Don't Feel What We Felt
Throughout the interview, the contrast is stark between Harpole's emotional testimony and the detached conspiracy theorists online who have never met Kirk, never provided security for him, and weren't present at his assassination. Harpole still struggles to speak about what happened without breaking down. He wakes up screaming. He can still taste Kirk's blood on his lips from trying to save his life.
The people spreading conspiracy theories don't have that visceral connection. They weren't there. They didn't see the wound. They didn't put their hands inside Kirk's neck trying to stop arterial bleeding. They didn't hear Erika Kirk's screams when she saw her husband. They didn't spend years traveling 250 days annually protecting Kirk and getting to know his family.
These security professionals—with millions of dollars in annual contracts dependent on Kirk's safety—had every incentive to keep him alive. They responded within five seconds, applied emergency medical intervention, and evacuated him in under 16 seconds. They did everything right, and Kirk still died from his wounds.
The conspiracy theories aren't just false—they're deeply hurtful to the people who tried to save Kirk's life and who continue to mourn his loss months later.
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