Defamation suit accuses right-wing podcaster of linking ex-Kirk guard to killing

Brian Harpole, Charlie Kirk’s former security chief, sued Candace Owens on Thursday, accusing the right-wing podcaster of falsely linking him to Kirk’s killing and pushing a conspiracy theory that moved from social media into federal court.

Harpole filed the defamation case in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, where he said Owens and her guests smeared him by alleging he helped plan the Sept. 10, 2025, shooting at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. The complaint says Harpole worked for Kirk and Turning Point USA from about 2018 through 2025 and founded Integrity Security Solutions. It alleges Owens falsely claimed he met with military intelligence officers and Erika Kirk at Fort Huachuca in Arizona on Sept. 9, 2025, to plot the murder.

The suit also names Mitchell Snow, who repeated the allegation on Owens’s show, along with Owens’s media companies. At the center of the dispute is not just the accusation itself but how it spread: Harpole says the claim was broadcast to Owens’s audience as a purported explanation for Kirk’s death, even as investigators were still working through the case.

Owens pushed back on her podcast, saying the lawsuit gives Harpole the “power of subpoena” and arguing that he did not first seek a retraction before suing. That response reflects the broader pattern around her post-shooting commentary, which has already placed her in conflict with other prominent conservative voices and deepened the factional warfare around Kirk’s death.

The case lands as the fallout from the killing continues. The FBI says a suspect is in custody and has opened a virtual family assistance center for people affected by the shooting. Utah Valley University has also formed a memorial committee and launched an independent review of campus security after the fatal attack. Together, the criminal investigation and the civil suit underscore how Kirk’s death has become more than a single crime scene; it has become a test of loyalty, credibility and influence inside a conservative media world where speculation can now trigger legal exposure.