The Tennessee Star’s lead reporter, Tom Pappert, outlined the central allegations in a newly filed defamation lawsuit against podcaster Candace Owens, highlighting claims that she amplified unverified accusations tied to the assassination of Turning Point USA Founder Charlie Kirk despite having information that may have contradicted them.
During an appearance Tuesday on The Michael Patrick Leahy Show, Pappert walked through the central arguments of the case filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee by security firm owner Brian Harpole.
“This is the lawsuit alleging that Candace Owens, along with a former guest on her podcast, a guy by the name of Mitch Snow, are together orchestrating a false narrative, a conspiracy, that claims that, among many other people, Brian Harpole, the former head of Charlie Kirk’s security, was involved in a plot to assassinate him,” he said.
Pappert explained that the lawsuit centers on a December 2025 podcast episode in which Owens interviewed Snow, who claimed to have witnessed a meeting at Fort Huachuca, Arizona, one day before the assassination of Kirk.
“Snow… made a series of claims about what he says he witnessed… where he claims he saw… Erika Kirk, Brian Harpole… a U.S. congressman… and more than a dozen top brass… all meet for the apparent purpose of planning to assassinate [Kirk]”, Pappert said.
A key point in Pappert’s reporting is the lawsuit’s claim that Owens had access to evidence undermining those allegations before the interview aired.
“Harpole says that not only did Candace Owens have evidence that this was not true, she ignored it,” Pappert stated. “She had in her possession… flight records showing that Harpole could not have been in Fort Huachuca.”
Pappert added that Owens had met with Erika Kirk before the interview and had received travel information regarding Harpole.
“If Brian Harpole’s claims are accurate, [this] should have told Candace Owens that he was not, in fact, in, anywhere near Fort Huachuca on September 8 or 9 because, in fact, his flight records, according to the lawsuit, indicate that he was in Dallas, Texas during that timeframe,” he said.
Pappert highlighted Owens’ own remarks during the podcast, where she acknowledged she could not confirm Snow’s claims.
“Candace Owens said, ‘I can’t confirm it. I can confirm where you were. I can do all of that, but I can’t confirm what you think you saw,’” Pappert noted.
Despite that admission, the interview was broadcast and included allegations involving multiple individuals, including U.S. Rep. Mark Amodei (R-NV-02), who later indicated he was in Washington, D.C. at the time.
Pappert suggested that verifying key aspects of Snow’s story would not have been difficult prior to publication.
“It would’ve been easy,” he said, referring to confirming the whereabouts of those named in the claims.
In closing, Pappert offered his interpretation of Owens’ broader motive behind the Kirk controversy, saying, “[T]he only thing that makes sense to me is that Candace Owens thinks that it’s… her divine right or duty to peel off parts of the MAGA coalition… to make it her own personal army, and turn it into her really profit machine.”
“The evidence, in my opinion, is overwhelming, beyond all reasonable doubt, that the person who killed Charlie Kirk is sitting in jail right now. His name is Tyler Robinson. It has nothing to do with a congressman from Nevada, Erika Kirk, or any of the other people that have been brought into this by a podcaster,” he added.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X.
Photo “Candace Owens” by Gage Skidmore. CC BY-SA 2.0.
