Candace Owens, the right-wing podcaster, has slammed her former organization Turning Point USA (TPUSA) over the Charlie Kirk statue vandalism in Phoenix. Owens posted her criticism of TPUSA on X, amid ongoing disagreements with the organization that came up in the wake of Kirk's assassination.
Charlie Kirk was fatally shot when attending an event at the Utah Valley University on September 10, 2025. A few days back marked one year of Kirk's death and the statue was reportedly vandalized days after the anniversary.
The statue was unveiled on September 10 this year, and photos shared online showed that red paint had been sprayed across parts of the installation outside the TPUSA headquarters in Arizona.
Candace Owens slams TPUSA
The reported vandalism has sparked outrage with many in the organization shifting blame to those with opposing political ideologies. However, Owens has asked questions of TPUSA itself, asking them to provide video from the time of the vandalism.
Taking to X, Owens wrote “Has Turning Point shared any video or provided any details regarding a vehicle description of who drove up to their heavily-surveilled campus and threw paint? Was it a male or a female? One person or two?”.
Further, she remarked “All I’m seeing is them promoting Turning Point Action and blaming the Left. How about just provide some more basic information regarding what was captured on your cameras so people can try to help find the perpetrator?”.
What Erika Kirk said about Charlie Kirk statue vandalism
Erika Kirk, Charlie's widow and the current CEO of TPUSA remarked “They thought a bullet would silence my husband’s voice but it only made it louder. They think spray paint can obscure his legacy, but it will only spread it further. Every attempt to tear down what Charlie built makes us root deeper and work even harder.”
She added “And if you think crossing out the name of Jesus Christ will silence Christians, history has already proved you wrong. We know what it costs to stand firm for Christ and we will stand anyway. God will not be mocked. We’ll put His name right back where it belongs, clean up the mess, restore Charlie's statue, and keep building. We will never give up and never surrender.”
TPUSA also addressed the incident on X and said “vandalism like this is not funny, it’s diabolical. The incident happened in the middle of the night because evil never sleeps. Beyond spray painting on the neck and face, they made the intentional decision to cross out the name of Jesus on a nearby sign.” They noted they are ‘reviewing the footage of the incident and are working with law enforcement to identify who did this and hold them accountable.’