Conservative activist group Turning Point USA has fired several employees in recent weeks over questions about founder Charlie Kirk’s September assassination.
TPUSA is afraid conspiracy theories that Kirk’s murder was an inside job has taken hold within the conservative organization itself.
Aubrey Laitsch, a communications staffer who worked for TPUSA for four years, posted a video last week claiming she was terminated in January after executives confronted her about a conversation with an Uber driver. But Laitsch said she believes the real reason was different.
“I just have a gut feeling that I was terminated from Turning Point because I am questioning the narrative of what happened to my role model and CEO, Charlie Kirk, on the day of his assassination,” Laitsch said in the video.
This is not an easy video to post.
I was let go from Turning Point USA, and while I’m grateful for the opportunities I had, I can’t ignore what I witnessed. Especially how employees are treated and the direction the organization is moving in.
I’m not here to be bitter. I’m here… pic.twitter.com/rEzr3IPlDk
— Aubrey Laitsch (@AubreyLaitsch) February 5, 2026
The conspiracy theory that Kirk’s death was an inside job has been heavily promoted by far-Right activist Candace Owens, a former TPUSA employee. Owens has used her podcast and social media platforms to question if Turning Point USA’s leadership were involved in Kirk’s killing. She has also accused Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, who now leads the organization as CEO, of suspicious behavior following her husband’s death.
“Erika Kirk should be dragged into a police precinct for questioning,” Owens said on her show recently.
Kirk, 31, was shot and killed on September 10, 2025, while speaking at an outdoor event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. Tyler Robinson, a 22-year-old from Washington, Utah, surrendered to authorities the following day and has been charged with aggravated murder. Prosecutors say they are seeking the death penalty.
Laitsch is not the only TPUSA staffer who has been fired in recent weeks.
Owens claims to have audio recordings of another employee who was allegedly fired without explanation. She also claimed a TPUSA executive showed up at a third staffer’s home to fire her and demand immediate return of company devices. A GoFundMe campaign for employees affected by what supporters call the “TPUSA Purge” has raised more than $71,000.
Sources reportedly told the Daily Mail that leadership believes the organization has been infiltrated by individuals trying to fuel conspiracy theories.
“It absolutely seems to me that Candace Owens has numerous close sources inside TPUSA,” the source told the Daily Mail. “This is hardly surprising, as Groyper [far-Right] ideology has unfortunately seeped in and influenced much of TPUSA in recent years.”
“Bottom line: TPUSA is in real trouble following Charlie’s assassination. They need to figure out and clarify who exactly they now are and what exactly they now stand for,” they said.
TPUSA sent Owens a cease-and-desist order in January demanding she stop spreading conspiracy theories about Kirk’s death. The order also cited a legal agreement Owens signed when she previously worked for the organization. Owens has ignored the legal threat and continued making accusations against TPUSA leadership.
Owens has pushed various conspiracy theories about Kirk’s death, including claims of involvement by Israeli, French, and Egyptian authorities. She has said she believes Robinson did not act alone and has shared private text messages between herself and Kirk to support her claims. In those messages, Kirk expressed frustration with Jewish donors who he said tried to “bully” him by withholding funding over his associations with Owens and Tucker Carlson.
Erika Kirk strongly condemned the conspiracy theories in December. In an interview with CBS, she called them a “mind virus” and said conspiracy theorists have sent death threats to her and TPUSA staff members.
“But here’s my breaking point on that. 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,” Kirk said, and then addressed Owens directly. “Stop. That’s it. That’s all I have to say. Stop.”