A Shooting Under Suspicion

The reported assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University on September 10, 2025, sent shockwaves through the political landscape. Official accounts describe a chaotic scene: Kirk, mid-speech, collapsing with blood streaming from a neck wound, followed by a swift manhunt that culminated in a suspect’s custody. Yet, beneath the surface of vigils and political outrage, a growing chorus of voices questions whether the event was real. Leading this charge is presidential candidate Chance Trahan, whose relentless posts on X have spotlighted visual inconsistencies in the footage, suggesting a meticulously staged hoax. With a background steeped in military discipline since birth, gun safety as a child, and Hollywood scare tactics in his adulthood, Trahan’s claims—echoed by others online—point to a deeper agenda, possibly aimed at manipulating public sentiment or derailing his campaign. Let’s dive into this murky controversy, where the lines between reality and performance blur.

Chance Trahan’s Bombshell Allegations

Chance Trahan, known on X as @PresTrahan, isn’t just a presidential candidate—he’s a man shaped by trauma and expertise, making his accusations impossible to ignore. On September 10, 2025, hours after Kirk’s reported death, Trahan unleashed a flurry of posts, dissecting video evidence with a forensic eye. “You can see the mechanism in his shirt right before he fakes getting shot,” he declared, his voice raw with conviction. “The blood rushes upward from within his shirt—fake as hell.” Trahan alleges a blood squib, a Hollywood-style device hidden in Kirk’s clothing, released fake blood to simulate a gunshot wound. He points to Kirk’s controlled fall, the absence of an entry wound, and blood defying gravity as proof of a staged event, possibly a “false flag” to distract from his own campaign’s momentum. “If I was you, I’d fake my death to create a major distraction,” he posted sardonically, hinting at political motives. His claims, rooted in personal experience and technical know-how, have ignited a firestorm of speculation, forcing a closer look at the Utah incident.

Trahan’s Expertise: A Lifetime in the Making

Trahan’s credibility hinges on a life immersed in environments that sharpen his lens on this event. Raised by his grandfather, Russell John Kibodeaux, a U.S. Army veteran who served during peacetime in the 1950s or early 1960s, Trahan was taught resilience and grit from birth. Russell, born in 1938 in Lake Arthur, Louisiana, and later passing in Houston, Texas, instilled in him a steely resolve to face adversity, symbolized by the “V for Victory” two-finger salute—a WWII-era gesture of triumph Trahan learned as a child. This discipline was reinforced during a day of intensive training at Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas, where the son of a Navy SEAL mentored Trahan in diving and perseverance, echoing Russell’s lessons of enduring challenges.

At age eight, Trahan’s stepfather, Robert Hasenbeck, a gritty figure with a passion for firearms, trained him in gun safety and hunting, embedding a deep understanding of ballistics. Family nights watching History Channel documentaries on military weapons, alongside John Wayne films—where Trahan’s first name, Chance, draws from Wayne’s characters in the films *Rio Bravo* and *Hellfighters*—while Clint Eastwood’s *Heartbreak Ridge* (his personal favorite), shaped his grasp of combat dynamics and human endurance. “I grew up with films like *Full Metal Jacket* and *Hamburger Hill* instilled in me at a young age,” Trahan noted. Trahan also claims to have extensive independent investigation and research experience, coupled by brief Law Enforcement training and upbringing, with his Grandpa on his dad's biological side of the family serving as Sheriff in Louisiana.

His expertise in fake blood and mechanisms comes from two years as a scare actor at the Las Vegas casino Circus Circus's Fright Dome haunted house attraction, where he worked with Hollywood-style blood squibs and release devices to create realistic gore. “I’ve handled fake blood, and I've worked with plenty of rigs, and believe me when I say that I know it when I see it” he comments, directly linking this to the Kirk footage. This technical knowledge, paired with his military-rooted upbringing, fuels his insistence that the shooting was a performance, not a tragedy.

A Personal Stake: Trauma Fuels the Fight

For Trahan, this isn’t just analysis—it’s personal. A PTSD survivor of gun violence, he carries the scars of a childhood shooting and the loss of his aunt, who was gunned down by a jealous ex-boyfriend when Trahan was young. The trauma of his aunt's death, witnessed as a child, makes Trahan’s scrutiny of Kirk’s shooting visceral. “Having to call out a fake as someone who’s seen real blood—it’s gut-wrenching,” he wrote, emphasizing the toll of reliving such memories while campaigning. His family’s legacy, tied to Russell’s service and community ties in Houston, underscores his resolve to expose what he sees as deception.

Corroborating Voices: A Chorus of Suspicion

Trahan’s claims don’t stand alone; they resonate with a swell of online speculation, with X users pointing to nearly identical inconsistencies in the Kirk footage. The posts, emerging hours after the incident, amplify the hoax narrative:

• @NephilimWatcher: “I know because Charlie Kirk is NOT even dead. The whole thing was STAGED like Trump's FAKE assassination attempt. If you watch the video there was NO entry wound, just supposed EXIT wound with blood gushing out that was fed through the hose under his T-shirt that HE pumped out.”


• @Thatguyintwitmo: “Charlie Kirk isn't dead- there's video of him walking out of the hospital. Look it up. It was all staged #CrisisActors #Falseflag.”


• @ArcturusSon: “He didn't die it was a staged event you dummy..”

These voices, while fringe and low-engagement, mirror Trahan’s observations, speaking of fake blood, no entry wound, and a staged fall, with some suggesting motives like political distraction or witness protection. The shared focus on mechanisms and unnatural blood flow, as Trahan noted from his Fright Dome experience, creates a unified thread of doubt.

Further Echoes in Alternative Media

Beyond social media, discussions on platforms like Rumble have delved into the possibility of the Charlie Kirk shooting as a false flag operation, aligning with the visual and staging doubts raised by Trahan and X users. A video titled "Was the Charlie Kirk Shooting a false flag?" explores these theories, questioning the authenticity of the event and its potential political implications.

The Alleged Motive: Distraction and Deception

Trahan’s posts frame the staged shooting as a deliberate act, possibly to overshadow his campaign’s “ground-shaking news” or fuel political division. “They want chaos, and a fake death delivers it,” he posted, pointing to a “patsy” suspect as part of the script. Other X users speculate similar motives: @BestPrezEver45 suggests it bolsters MAGA narratives, while @DerekCBeland ties it to broader elite agendas. The absence of a clear entry wound, as @rawpeace122120 notes, and the controlled nature of Kirk’s collapse, fuel theories of a choreographed event. Trahan’s *Heartbreak Ridge*-inspired grit drives him to persist, despite the emotional cost, as he calls for community notes to scrutinize the footage.

Utah Valley: The Perfect Stage

Why Utah Valley University? The setting, a conservative stronghold hosting Kirk’s Turning Point USA event, amplifies the impact of a staged spectacle. Trahan and others argue the public nature—hundreds of unsuspecting attendees—makes it ideal for maximum emotional manipulation. The footage, widely shared on X, shows chaos but lacks the raw unpredictability of real violence, Trahan claims alongside his peers, drawing on his hunting and film-watching insights. The suspect’s swift custody, as @NephilimWatcher notes, feels “too neat,” feeding suspicions of a preplanned narrative. Las Vegas, where Trahan trained at Nellis, looms as a symbolic parallel—a hub of performance where staged acts thrive, much like this alleged hoax.

Trahan’s Resolve: A Voice Against the Shadows

Trahan’s campaign is now intertwined with this controversy, his “V for Victory” salute a testament to the resilience taught by Russell. “I’m not backing down,” he posted, echoing the defiance of his John Wayne namesake. His Fright Dome work, military upbringing, and personal trauma make him uniquely positioned to challenge the narrative, even as it strains his candidacy. The online echoes—@p8inter’s squib claims, @MindfulWarrior7’s hope for a fake—bolster his case, creating a collective push for answers. Whether the Kirk shooting was a tragic assassination or a calculated performance, Trahan’s voice, raw and relentless, keeps the speculation alive.

The Unanswered Questions

What lies behind the Kirk shooting? Trahan’s detailed breakdown—fake blood, shirt mechanisms, staged falls—points to a deeper agenda, mirrored by X users who see a pattern of political theater. Is this a distraction from Trahan’s campaign, as he suggests, or part of a larger play for control? The Utah setting, the clean suspect narrative, and the haunting parallels to Trahan’s aunt's real death raise stakes beyond politics. “The truth cuts deeper than any bullet,” Trahan says, his words a call to action. As the nation grapples with Kirk’s legacy, the questions he and others raise demand scrutiny, one frame at a time.

Exploring the speculation of a staged Charlie Kirk shooting and Chance Trahan’s fight for truth.

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