Utah Man Sues Candace Owens for Linking Him to Charlie Kirk Shooting

A Utah man who attended the event where Charlie Kirk was shot is suing podcaster Candace Owens for defamation, alleging she falsely linked him to the shooting.Ms. Owens has promoted several theories about the death of Kirk, while claiming that the individual charged with killing the conservative commentator, Tyler Robinson, is not the real shooter.On Wednesday, a Utah resident, Robert Hild Jr., filed a defamation lawsuit against the podcaster.Mr. Hild notes that he was a private citizen attending the event where Kirk was killed last year. His lawsuit says that Ms. Owens has “told her audience of millions in multiple podcast episodes” that he “contributed to Kirk’s assassination, had ties to malicious foreign actors, and was connected to a ‘gothic’ and ‘communist’ ‘underground,’ which she associated with the murder, among other abject and damaging falsehoods.”The lawsuit hinges in part on security camera footage that shows a man in a black shirt, whom law enforcement believes is Mr. Robinson, walking up a campus stairwell before shooting Kirk. Ms. Owens has called attention to Mr. Hild ‘s presence at the event and told her audience in September 2025 that she believes Mr. Hild “kind of resembles certainly more so than Tyler Robinson does, the blurred image of the individual that was coming up the stairs.”However Mr. Hild maintains that he was seen standing near the stage wearing a gray T-shirt and waiting for Kirk to speak just a minute later than the time stamp on the footage of the figure in black in the stairwell.The lawsuit also says that Ms. Owens found a picture of Mr. Hild at a “goth prom” themed Halloween party and claimed it was evidence that he was connected to a “gothic” and “communist underground.”Mr. Hild’s attorneys say that the website for the event makes no reference to communism or a “gothic underground,” and that he has “no communist or socialist sympathies whatsoever.”“Owens’ mischaracterization of the event as a ‘gothic underground’ and a ‘communist underground’ when the website plainly shows it was a themed costume and dance party demonstrates Owens’ refusal to consider readily available facts so she could sensationalize the story to increase viewership and generate profit, at Hild’s expense,” the filing says. Mr. Hild’s attorneys insist that Ms. Owens knew that their client was not the shooter, pointing to a September 16, 2026, episode of her podcast in which she referenced footage of Mr. Robinson “walking onto the UVU campus.”While Mr. Hild and his friends had asked Ms. Owens to retract her claims, the lawsuit says she doubled down and in April 2026 said that her investigation into the plaintiff had been reopened. She also claimed that Mr. Hild is related to Mr. Robinson; attorneys for the plaintiff say there is no such connection and the two have never met. Mr. Hild says that as a result of Ms. Owens’ assertion, his home has been vandalized and he has received death threats. The lawsuit seeks damages to be determined at trial and punitive damages.Ms. Owens did not respond to The New York Sun’s request for comment by the time of publication.

Utah Man Sues Candace Owens for Linking Him to Charlie Kirk Shooting

Utah Man Sues Candace Owens for Linking Him to Charlie Kirk Shooting

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