After two months of maintaining a stoic silence, the conservative youth organisation Turning Point USA has finally responded to a barrage of serious allegations made by right-wing commentator Candace Owens. Owens had publicly suggested that the assassination of the group's founder, Charlie Kirk, was an "inside job" orchestrated with the knowledge of members within his own organisation.
From Silence to Confrontation: The Livestream Challenge
In a decisive move on Wednesday, Turning Point USA announced it would no longer stay quiet. The group issued a direct invitation to Candace Owens for a public livestream event in Phoenix. The stated purpose is to systematically debunk what they call her "false claims" and "innuendoes" thrown with "zero regard to the facts." The organisation emphasised that their prolonged silence was not born out of complacency but was a deliberate choice, now being reversed.
Blake Neff, a representative for Turning Point USA, explained the reasons for their initial quiet stance. "For a long time, our approach was to say nothing," Neff stated. He cited three primary reasons: first, they believed Owens's claims were too absurd to be credible; second, they were adhering to Charlie Kirk's personal philosophy of not "feeding the troll" and staying mission-focused; and lastly, because Kirk himself had always viewed Owens as a friend, and they hoped she would honour that friendship.
A Flood of Allegations: Inside Job, Betrayal, and International Plots
The allegations from Candace Owens, a former prominent voice in conservative media, were extensive and damaging. She did not limit her accusations to vague suspicions. Owens specifically pointed to Charlie Kirk's final public event at Utah Valley University, calling the circumstances "unusual." She alleged an intentional delay in providing Kirk with first aid after the attack.
More explosively, Owens claimed that many individuals within Turning Point USA knew Kirk would be murdered and that he was "betrayed" by everyone around him. Her conspiracy theories expanded beyond the organisation's walls, alleging financial irregularities within Turning Point USA and even suggesting roles for Israeli and French entities in the assassination plot. For the grieving members of Kirk's team, these claims transformed their period of mourning into one of harassment and distress.
Honouring Charlie's Legacy: "He Was Not a Coward"
The turning point for Turning Point USA came from a desire to honour the character of their late founder. The organisation stated clearly that their decision to break their silence has nothing to do with any obligation towards Candace Owens. Instead, it is driven by the memory of Charlie Kirk.
"Charlie was not a coward and he would not have allowed such slander," the group's message asserted. They expressed that continuing to remain silent would be a disservice to Kirk's confrontational and principled style. The proposed livestream in Phoenix is framed as the platform where they will finally present their facts against what they label as Owens's lies, provided she accepts the invitation and is available to attend.
This public challenge marks a significant escalation in a feud that has simmered within right-wing circles since the tragic assassination. It sets the stage for a potential high-profile confrontation aimed at settling the record, according to Turning Point USA, once and for all.
