Erika Kirk has passionately condemned the “evil” conspiracy theorists who have been spreading vicious rumors linking Turning Point USA staff to the assassination of her husband, Charlie Kirk. The CEO of TPUSA declared that she won’t stand by as her colleagues and her late husband’s friends are maligned by these unfounded accusations. Provocative figures, such as Candace Owens, have fueled threats against TPUSA staff by insinuating that Charlie Kirk’s coworkers were complicit in his death, though Owens has conspicuously avoided mentioning Erika by name.

During an interview with Fox News on Wednesday, Erika did not mention Owens directly but made her stance clear, saying, “Come after me, call me names, I don’t care. But when you target the people I love and profit from it by spreading these baseless claims, I won’t stand idle.” Fox host Harris Faulkner noted Erika’s intense demeanor, to which Erika responded, “This is righteous anger because this behavior is unacceptable and destructive. It’s a mind virus.”

Erika emphasized her commitment to defending her husband’s legacy, stating, “This is my duty to my husband, and it’s an honor I won’t shy away from. My message to those spreading these lies is simple: stop.” Charlie Kirk was tragically killed at Utah Valley University on September 10, and Tyler Robinson, aged 22, has been charged with his murder. Despite this, Erika and Turning Point USA have been the targets of malicious online claims suggesting their involvement in the crime.

Owens is spearheading some of the most viral and harmful content being pushed about Kirk’s death, including that somehow the Egyptian and French governments are involved. She is raking in up to 9 million views on episodes which air about Kirk’s assassination every day. Her massive listener base allows her podcast to charge premium advertising rates, generating up to $10 million in annual revenue according to Fortune magazine. Despite this, only one advertiser has pulled out in the past year, with nearly 60 sponsors now on board per Bloomberg.

The controversy has escalated in recent days, with the Trump administration intervening to clear TPUSA of financial misconduct allegations. It came after Owens told her audience: ‘I am making a personal plea to every well-meaning person who donated to this Godforsaken organization to request a refund.’ In another video, she claimed that TPUSA missed tax filing deadlines and alleges that $8.5 million in company funds were improperly used. The Treasury Department sent a private letter to Erika Kirk reassuring the CEO that Turning Point is not being probed, confirming that all four tax-exempt organizations under the TPUSA umbrella submitted their required 990 forms to the IRS this year ‘on time,’ according to CBS News.

‘The IRS is able to provide this type of information upon request by the taxpayer,’ a senior Treasury official told the outlet. ‘And in this case, it’s hideous that malicious lies and smears obligated her to make the request,’ the official added. The situation has also drawn in right-wing podcaster Tim Pool, who raged at Owens in a foul-mouthed rant over her conspiracy theories.

Pool, 39, claimed Owens and her supporters are destroying Turning Point USA with ‘lies’ regarding Kirk’s death, calling her ‘a degenerate [expletive]’ who is ‘burning everything down.’ Pool, who recently reported that shots were fired at his home in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, has been increasingly vocal in criticizing Owens.

‘The organization that helped get Donald Trump elected … is being gutted by [expletive] psychopaths telling people to pull their donations,’ Pool said during a late-night livestream. Owens responded by claiming Pool ‘is genuinely not well right now’ and encouraged her followers to offer him prayers, writing on X: ‘There is just so clearly something personal going on in his life … Pray he comes through it.’