Charlie Kirk’s pastor spoke out against podcaster Candace Owens for peddling conspiracy theories about the conservative activist’s death last week.
Rob McCoy, who ran the faith division of Kirk’s Turning Point USA, wrote in a statement Tuesday that Kirk “was a friend to Candace and never publicly spoke poorly of her though he disagreed with her.”
“He never operated nor entertained gossip or innuendo concerning Candace,” McCoy wrote before contrasting that description with Owen’s behavior after Kirk’s death.
“I only wish at this tragic time of mourning she would be the friend to Charlie that he was to her. He would never have treated Candace or her family in such a way had God forbid this tragedy been hers,” he wrote.
McCoy described himself as a friend and pastor of Kirk, often appearing alongside the firebrand at Turning Point events.
In the immediate aftermath of Kirk’s death, which prosecutors in Utah say was a politically motivated attack committed by 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, conspiracy theories about Israel’s supposed role in the killing abounded.
Owens, who was Turning Point’s communications director from 2017 to 2019, amplified rumors that Kirk may have been targeted for violence due to his views on Israel.
“Be very wary and suspicious of the people who are already telling us to stop asking questions about the Charlie Kirk assassination,” Owens posted on X shortly after authorities named Robinson as the shooter suspected of killing Kirk, 31.
On Monday, Owens claimed on her podcast that Bill Ackman, a hedge fund manager and prominent Israel supporter, had threatened Kirk during an “intervention” that Ackman had staged in the Hamptons.
In a bizarre video, Owens also claimed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had contacted Kirk and invited him to Israel, apparently to reverse Kirk’s ostensibly declining support for Israel.
“Charlie’s thoughts, Charlie’s rational thoughts about Israel were a no-no,” Owens said.
Both Ackman and Andrew Kolvet, the executive producer of The Charlie Kirk Show, denied Owens’ claims in statements on Tuesday.
Ackman took to X to provide a lengthy description of the Hamptons meeting Owens referenced, writing that “at no time have I ever threatened Charlie Kirk, Turning Point or anyone associated with him.”
Kolvet, meanwhile, wrote on X that he had talked to the Turning Point staff members who traveled with Kirk to Bridgehampton to meet with Ackman last month.
“Bill never yelled at Charlie, never pressed him on Bibi, never gave him a list of Charlie’s offenses against Israel,” Kolvert wrote.
“Charlie personally told me he had a very cordial relationship with Bill and the event was productive.”
Owens, who has a history of antisemitic commentary, also targeted former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, right-wing agitator Laura Loomer, and the CEO of the conservative satire site The Babylon Bee, Seth Dillon, over social media on Tuesday.
The Anti-Defamation League recorded over 10,000 posts on X that included the phrase, “Israel killed Charlie Kirk” in just the first two days after his death.
Unsubstantiated claims that Kirk worried about Israel retaliating against him if he were to criticize the country also spread widely, even as Netanyahu publicly mourned Kirk and called him “a lion-hearted friend of Israel.”
Kirk was an evangelical Christian and a vocal supporter of Israel who told Megyn Kelly last month that he was “learning biblical Hebrew and writing a book on the Shabbat.”
In May, Kirk debated a student who was critical of Israel at the Cambridge Union, defending the Israeli war effort and saying that “the only operation and entity to blame is the leadership of Hamas, not the Israeli government for fighting this defensive war.”
“The lack of moral clarity on this topic is chilling,” Kirk posted after the event.
Owens is actively being sued for defamation by the French first lady, Brigitte Macron, for spreading baseless rumors that she was born a man.
Ackman wrote on Tuesday that Owens “slandered” him with her statement, but has not announced any legal action against her.
