Charlie Kirk Shooting Conspiracy Theory Debunked by Marketing CEO

The CEO of a company at the center of a conspiracy theory regarding Charlie Kirk’s death has spoken out, calling the online chatter “baseless.”

Derek Maxfield, CEO of marketing company Komigo, denied that a plane that his company owns was used to help the suspect escape the Orem, Utah, area after Kirk was shot and killed at an event on the campus of Utah Valley University.

“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,” Maxfield wrote via social media on Thursday, September 11.

The theory emerged when online sleuths noticed that the plane in question took off from Provo Airport, which is a 15-minute drive from the Utah Valley campus, about an hour after the shooting. As the plane neared the Arizona border, it switched off its Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B), which allows air traffic control to track the aircraft.

Tracking information returned around 2:30 p.m. local time when the plane departed from Page, Arizona, en route back to Provo.

“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,” Maxfield explained. “N888KG pilots followed all FAA requirements and protocols, tower directions and the predetermined flight plan.”

“Any suggestion that the flights by N888KG yesterday are in any way connected to the tragic shooting of Mr. Kirk is inaccurate, false and without any credible basis of any kind,” he continued. “To our knowledge, no one associated with yesterday’s flights by N888KG has been contacted by law enforcement for any reason.”

Authorities ultimately apprehended 22-year-old Tyler Robinson in connection with the shooting. Robinson is a Utah native and resident who attended Utah State University for one semester before dropping out.

“I think, with a high degree of certainty, we have him — in custody … everyone did a great job, we worked with the local police, the governor, everybody did a great job,” President Donald Trump said in an interview on Fox News on Friday morning, where he announced an arrest had been made.

Kirk, who died at age 31, leaves behind wife Erika Kirk (née Frantzve), and two children: a daughter, Sarah Rose, 3, and a son, 15 months, whose name has not been publicly shared.