Far-right commentator Candace Owens has been accused of spreading conspiracy theories about the killing of MAGA activist Charlie Kirk since his public murder on a Utah college campus in September. One journalist recently appeared to get her to admit on camera that her claims are not based in fact.
Owens has repeatedly stated on her podcast that Kirk — who founded conservative group Turning Point USA (TPUSA) — was rethinking his previous staunch support of Israel in the weeks leading up to his death. She alleged that Kirk had a dust-up with pro-Israel billionaire donor Bill Ackman at a retreat he hosted in the Hamptons over Kirk's refusal to disinvite former Fox News host Tucker Carlson to a TPUSA event, given Carlson's reputation as one of the loudest conservative critics of Israel and his friendliness toward anti-semitic voices like Nick Fuentes. (Ackman has denied any confrontation with Kirk over Israel.)
Owens also published text messages from Kirk (which were later confirmed by TPUSA spokesperson Andrew Kolvet) in which he stated that his group lost a $2 million donation due to his refusal to disinvite Carlson. Bulwark reporter Will Sommer said in October that "there's kind of this implication [from Owens] that Israel committed the assassination."
In an interview released Friday, CNN reporter Elle Reeve spoke with Owens about her claims that alleged killer Tyler Robinson didn't act alone. Owens acknowledged that while Robinson may have been "involved" in the shooting, there were "financial reports" that were going to be released in the coming weeks that would prove her claims. When Reeve pressed Owens on how she knows Robinson didn't act alone, Owens pointed to messages between Robinson and his roommate that she claimed were manufactured by the FBI "that had no time stamp and were written like they speaking in 1822."
Elle pressed Owens on whether she had definitive proof the messages were concocted by the FBI, and reminded her that such a claim could be "easily proven." When Owens insisted that there was no timestamp on the messages and that messaging platform Discord said they had no record of the exchange, Reeve reminded her that the conversation wasn't on Discord, but conducted via text message.
"I actually did not read that they were text messages," Owens conceded.
The conservative influencer maintained that federal agents typed up the messages themselves and attributed them to Robinson and his roommate. When Reeve asked her if she had FBI agents confirming that the messages were fake, Owens said, "I have leaks."
"But has anyone said to you, even off the record, like, 'yeah, we faked these,'" Reeve pressed.
"I have very strong sources everywhere, on both sides," Owens said.
"Well, I look forward to seeing evidence of that," Reeve said.
Owens then scoffed at whether "mainstream media" would broadcast evidence that the messages were leaked if they had definitive proof. Reeve gave Owens the opportunity to share any confirmation with her, saying, "That would be a hot story!"
"If the FBI, if I had a source telling me, like, if I had proof that the FBI faked those messages, that would be an enormous story," Reeve said.
"Yeah, I kind of feel like we live in a post-Epstein world, and we know how stories get shut down," Owens said.
Watch the exchange below:
