• Owens released new allegations Jan. 29 accusing Charlie Kirk’s widow of personally directing PR campaigns against her
• Former TPUSA communications director claims fired employees provided evidence of Erika Kirk’s involvement in smear efforts
• The accusations shatter a December truce between the conservative figures and reopen rifts over Charlie Kirk’s death investigation

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TDR) — Candace Owens escalated her offensive against Turning Point USA chief executive Erika Kirk on Jan. 29, publicly accusing Charlie Kirk‘s widow of lying to her face and masterminding public relations campaigns designed to discredit the conservative commentator. The allegations, delivered on Owens’ podcast, shattered a December truce between the former colleagues and implicated the young conservative organization’s leadership in what Owens described as systematic suppression of information.

What Did Owens Claim About the Smear Campaign?

Owens stated she now possesses definitive evidence that Kirk personally orchestrated PR efforts against her, contradicting previous denials.

“I can say with full confidence after combining what we have learned throughout this investigation to be a fact. And after now speaking with employees who were let go in this recent string of aggressive firings, employees that did nothing or were told weren’t told that they did anything.” —Candace Owens, Host, Candace Podcast, Jan. 27, 2026 (reported Jan. 29)

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The commentator specified that her investigation had uncovered multiple waves of coordinated messaging targeting her reputation at various intervals, suggesting a sustained rather than reactive effort.

“They certainly were not the people that were leaking to me. that I do believe firmly from the beginning that Erika was intimately involved in the PR messaging and the PR campaign at different times against me, sometimes against the entire world, but against me in particular.” —Candace Owens via AOL News, Jan. 29, 2026

How Did the Truce Collapse?

The accusations represent a dramatic reversal from mid-December, when Owens and Kirk held a four-and-a-half-hour private meeting in Nashville that both initially described as productive. That summit had paused public hostilities that began after Owens started questioning the official narrative surrounding Charlie Kirk’s assassination on Sept. 10, 2025, at Utah Valley University.

Owens now asserts the rapprochement was subverted by deception from Kirk herself.

“Just to recap why this is now suddenly important, no one’s picking on her. Uh we have confirmed for a fact that she lied.” —Candace Owens, Candace Podcast, Jan. 27, 2026

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A spokesman for Owens told the Daily Mail that Erika violated the truce when she and TPUSA executive producer Andrew Kolvet were caught orchestrating PR attacks against Owens, prompting the renewed offensive.

What Role Did Fired Employees Play?

Central to Owens’ claims is testimony from former employees terminated in what she characterizes as retaliatory dismissals following Charlie Kirk’s death. According to Owens’ account, these individuals provided first-hand documentation of internal communications contradicting Kirk’s public statements.

Reuters previously reported that Owens had been releasing leaked audio recordings of TPUSA staff meetings, including a Sept. 16 call in which Kirk described her late husband’s memorial as the event of the century while noting merchandise sales of $200,000. Owens characterized the tone as inappropriately upbeat five days after the assassination.

The fired employees, Owens suggested, possessed evidence regarding Kirk‘s final communications that supported Owens’ theory that he anticipated his own death, a claim initially disputed by TPUSA leadership.

“Erika violated the truce when she and Andrew Kolvet got caught, red-handed, orchestrating PR attacks against me recently. That’s how we arrived at this moment.” —Owens spokesman via Daily Mail, Jan. 29, 2026

Why Are the Allegations Significant Now?

The renewed conflict threatens to destabilize Turning Point USA during a critical juncture as the organization attempts to transition leadership following its founder’s violent death. CBS News reported in December that Kirk had publicly requested Owens cease spreading conspiracy theories, telling interviewer Bari Weiss her one-word message to the podcaster was “Stop.”

Vanity Fair observed that Owens’ reach among the conservative base forces mainstream figures to confront her allegations regardless of their outlandishness, including suggestions that foreign governments orchestrated the assassination. The magazine noted Owens’ propensity for framing criticism as persecution, complicating efforts to dismiss her claims without validating her narrative of institutional conspiracy.

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