As the case against Charlie Kirk’s alleged assassin goes public next week in an evidentiary trial in Utah, the cottage industry of conspiracy theories about Kirk’s death has accelerated.
The official story — not yet adjudicated in court — is that 22-year-old Tyler James Robinson was the lone assassin and fired a single bullet from a rifle that traveled 142 yards and pierced Kirk in the neck, causing him to bleed out.
The Sept. 10, 2025, incident at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, has generated all manner of alternative narratives — from both the left and the right — with former Turning Point USA employee Candace Owens being the most vocal in insisting Kirk was not assassinated by Robinson.
Less than a month after doctors Donald Trump suffered damage to his ear in an assassination attempt, Trump points to his ear during a press conference at Mar-a-Lago on August 8, 2024. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Kirk’s very public death happened just 10 months after then-presidential candidate Donald Trump appeared to have been shot in the ear by a sniper in Butler, Pa. Mainly due to lack of visible physical damage to Trump’s ear or face, his political opponents and others suggested the shooting was staged to advance Trump’s campaign. Doubts about Trump’s attempted assassination have been more widespread and more persistent than doubts about Kirk’s death — mainly because Kirk was killed and Trump was not.
Despite facing intense criticism from Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk, Candace Owens continues to advance her alternative views of what happened in Orem that fall day. Owens is a far-right political commentator with millions of followers on multiple social media platforms. She is a former communications director for TPUSA, which Kirk founded.
Owens also has been publicly critical of Erika Kirk and created a video series about her called Bride of Charlie.
Last week, Owens went public with six photos showing the inside of an SUV in which Kirk allegedly was whisked away to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Owens said she held back these images to give others — mainly Kirk’s family and TPUSA employees — time to indict themselves with false narratives.
These photographs purportedly show the inside of the SUV shortly after it was used to transport Kirk. Owens points out several things, including shattered tempered glass across the center of the cabin and a blood-stained bag resting on the rear seat. She questions why Kirk’s blood-splattered sport coat from the vehicle was returned to his wife and not retained as evidence.
She specifically singles out stories told by Brian Harpole and Frank Turek. Harpole was head of Kirk’s security for the American Comeback Tour on Utah Valley University campus. Turek is a Christian author and apologist who was close to Kirk. Both were in the vehicle with Kirk on the way to the hospital.
One of Owens’ theories is that Kirk’s RODE microphone shattered inside the SUV. The implication is that the professional body mic was rigged as an explosive.
Owens has been labeled a fringe conspiracy theorist by a wide range of observers, but she has not backed down for nine months.
More official evidence will come to light starting July 6 when Robison faces a weeklong evidentiary hearing in Provo. That hearing already has been marred by another controversy created when a prosecutor said publicly that ballistics tests of materials found at the scene cannot conclusively be matched to Robinson.
Erika Kirk and Charlie Kirk’s parents are expected to attend the hearing next week.
A preliminary hearing is not a trial, and the burden of proof is lower. The presiding judge only needs find there is “probable cause” Robinson likely committed a crime in order to advance the case to a full trial.
Related:
See all of BNG’s extensive coverage of Charlie Kirk’s death here.