Right-wing podcaster Candace Owens has peddled a number of conspiracy theories about the 2025 assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk. Among other things, Owens, who once worked at TPUSA, has suggested that the FBI, the French Foreign Legion, the Israeli government and even Turning Point staff could be among those involved in Kirk’s death. Now her unsubstantiated claims appear to be sowing discord at TPUSA itself — and, in the process, revealing how right-wing disinformation can hurt the right just as much as any other sector of American society.
The Bulwark recently reported on how Owens appears to be getting “inside TPUSA’s head.” TPUSA has fired several employees recently, and one of them said she believes she was fired in part due to her apparent rejection of mainstream news accounts of how Kirk was killed.
In a video posted on X in February that was shared widely, former TPUSA public relations manager Aubrey Laitsch said she has “a gut feeling that I was terminated from Turning Point because I am questioning the narrative” of Kirk’s death and that “what is being told to us in the mainstream media just really doesn’t add up to me.”
We don’t know why Laitsch lost her job. But her insinuations illustrate how the right is being hobbled by its abject distrust in institutions. The very fact that Laitsch believes that considering conspiracy theories about Kirk’s death is what got her fired — and wants to share that information publicly — shows how the right is at risk of being cannibalized. This is a preview of Zeeshan Aleem’s latest column. Read the full column here. |
