Was a Secret Service agent standing with Donald Trump after he was shot in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024, also standing close to Charlie Kirk when he was fatally shot in Orem, Utah, on September 10, 2025? No, that's not true: The male Secret Service agent holding Trump's left arm as Trump raised his right fist in the air in the seconds after a sniper's bullet grazed his ear is Sean Curran. President-elect Trump chose Curran to be director of the U.S. Secret Service in January 2025, a job he still holds. The only evidence a man wearing sunglasses standing behind Kirk was Curran is blurry image showing no facial details.
The claim appeared in a post (archived here) shared on X on September 11, 2025. The caption above the famous Butler photo and two screenshots of a video from the Kirk assassination read:
One of the guys making hand signals seconds before the shot looks awfully familiar.
This is what the post looked like at the time of writing:
(Source: screenshot of X.com by Lead Stories)
Speculation about the identity of the man, who was wearing dark sunglasses, a dark short-sleeve shirt, and jeans, became a hot topic on X when someone posted (archived here) suggested that he and another man standing near Kirk were sending mysterious hand signals in the seconds before a bullet struck Kirk. A conspiracy theory was cooking.
After seeing Trump's response and how quickly they had it prepared, I'm pretty convinced MAGA just sacrificed Charlie Kirk in an effort to save Trump from the Epstein Files and wars he can't stop.
Add in this dude giving baseball signs while standing perfectly to the side of the bullet track only further convinces me things aren't as they seem.
...and the shooter vanished? 👀
We shall see as more information comes out, but I doubt this was a liberal.
This is what the post looked like at the time of writing:
(Source: screenshot of X.com by Lead Stories)
This fact check article is not attempting to debunk the full conspiracy theory. It is aimed at dispelling the claim that the director of the U.S. Secret Service, a well-known figure, would stand next to a man he purportedly knew was being targeted by a sniper, and openly take part in the conspiracy.
This is the mystery man.
(Source: screenshot of X.com by Lead Stories)
This image offers a perspective of where the mystery man was standing, but the facial features are too blurry to confirm he is Curran.
(Source: screenshot of X.com by Lead Stories)
This is Curran next to Trump immediately after the Butler shooting.
(Source: screenshot of X.com by Lead Stories)
This is Director Curran's official photo on the U.S. Secret Service website (archive here.)
(Source: secretservice.gov)
