Posted on 09/18/2025 4:19:39 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
A pastor and friend of the late Charlie Kirk cited a Bible verse highlighting the character traits of a true friend in response to claims peddled by Candace Owens after her friend was assassinated.
Rob McCoy, the pastor emeritus at Godspeak Calvary Chapel in Newbury Park, California, released a statement on Instagram Tuesday, describing himself as Kirk’s friend and pastor. The pastor serves as the co-chair of TPUSA Faith, which he launched alongside the Turning Point USA founder in 2021.
“Charlie Kirk was a friend to Candace and never publicly spoke poorly of her, though he disagreed with her,” McCoy stated. “He never operated nor entertained gossip or innuendo concerning Candace.”
“My only comment I offer regarding Candace is this: I only wish at this tragic time of mourning she would be the friend to Charlie that he was to her,” the pastor added. “He would never have treated Candace or her family in such a way had, God forbid, this tragedy been hers.”
“A friend loves at all times …,” he wrote, citing Proverbs 17:17, which states, “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity.”
Owens responded to the pastor on her show Wednesday, saying, "Why don't you focus on being more honest as a pastor, and giving as much information as you can possibly provide so we can continue this investigation. If you can't do this, I'm going to have to ask for your silence. Be quiet."
The 31-year-old founder of the conservative nonprofit TPUSA was fatally shot last Wednesday during a Q&A with students at Utah Valley University as part of his “The American Comeback Tour.”
Tyler Robinson, 22, was charged with Kirk’s murder, which Utah prosecutors argue was a politically motivated attack. The suspect, who was in a relationship with his trans-identifying roommate, reportedly believed Kirk was spreading “hate.”
On Monday, Owens claimed on her podcast that the investigation into Kirk’s murder had a “lot of inconsistencies and holes in it.” Throughout the episode, Owens focused on Israel, alleging that the TPUSA founder had become “concerned about Israel and their influence on American politics.”
Kirk had allegedly started to change his mind about Israel, which she implied might have played a part in his murder.
The pundit commented on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s interview with Newsmax after Kirk’s murder, where the host asked the Israeli official for his thoughts on the conspiracy theory that Israel had something to do with the activist’s assassination. Netanyahu rejected the claim, connecting it to a hatred for the Jewish people that has existed for centuries and continued on through the Holocaust.
“Ah, well, he mentioned the Holocaust. Guess we can't prod the narrative any further, guys. Holocaust. So, everybody's just stopped talking about anything,” Owens said. “I mean, hey, he's the victim. It's absurd.”
“We’re sick of this s—,” she insisted. “We really are. And there will be no narrative that I will not prod when it comes to figuring out why people are lying about the state that Charlie was in uh, when it came to the topic of Israel.”
Owens also alleged that Netanyahu called Kirk earlier this year and attempted to persuade him to visit Israel because the influencer was starting to reverse his support for the Jewish State. In response to Kirk’s supposedly evolving stance on Israel, Owens claimed that Bill Ackman, an American billionaire and hedge fund manager, staged an “intervention.”
The billionaire allegedly invited Kirk out to the Hamptons earlier this year, where Owens claimed Ackman threatened the TPUSA founder.
“This was an under duress situation, I would say, because I've been in these situations before,” the pundit declared. “When I started asking very sensible questions about Israel, as someone who had dedicated her political life to supporting Israel many times alongside Charlie Kirk, I was met with the very same pressure.”
In a Monday X post, Ackman disputed Owens’ claims about the meeting, stating that he had never threatened or blackmailed the TPUSA founder. On Tuesday, the billionaire expressed a desire to “put this whole thing to bed” by sharing private messages that he exchanged with Kirk after the meeting.
People who were friends with Kirk, including Andrew Kolvet, the executive producer of "The Charlie Kirk Show," and PragerU host Xaviaer DuRousseau, also disputed Owens’ claims about the meeting.
In an opinion piece published by Newsweek yesterday, conservative commentator Josh Hammer, another friend of Kirk’s, accused people like Owens of attempting to “rewrite” the influencer’s legacy for their own “nefarious ends.”
Hammer also stressed that Kirk was a “great friend” of the Jewish people and Israel through to the end of his life and referenced a Zoom call that he had with the TPUSA founder hours before his assassination.
During the call, Hammer said that he helped Kirk prepare for some of the anti-Israel questions that he expected to hear during his upcoming campus tour, and that Kirk was concerned about a rise in antisemitism.
Owens, who worked as a communications director at TPUSA from 2017 to 2019, has repeatedly garnered attention for her comments that many deem antisemitic. In December 2024, the watchdog group StopAntisemitism crowned the political pundit as “Antisemite of the Year,” highlighting statements that Owens has made about the Holocaust, Israel and the Jewish people.
Good for him. Candace knows what side her bread is buttered on. Unfortunately, it’s the demonic side. She doesn’t care, because she’s out for Candace on earth.
I used to have 25k followers on Twitter. Candace, when she first came on the scene, engaged me because of my ProLife comment on her page. We had a discussion going for about a week. She ultimately refused to admit Planned Parenthood started as a way to eliminate “human weeds,” a goal set by Margaret Sanger and her cohorts. I presented her with actual letters written by Sanger stating that fact. That’s when I was blocked.
I knew then, this wasn’t an authentic person. That’s when I knew she was pretending, as Eric Clapton famously put to song.
Why don’t you focus on being more honest as a pastor, and giving as much information as you can possibly provide so we can continue this investigation. If you can’t do this, I’m going to have to ask for your silence. Be quiet.”
/
I’m not the man Charlie was.
So I’m a little more coarse.
What pray tell Candice , what are you accusing this pastor of being dishonest about ,?
He must be silent while you run your big ass mouth ?
Screw you candy.
To think I used to look up to you.
But you’ve shown you’re just another poser ho.
Owens is at that age where paranoid schizophrenia appears.
I am done with her.
He’s too nice.
Candace needs to STFU. Pretty much about everything.
Wow...I used to like her. Then she got really WEIRD.
I don’t listen to anything she has to say anymore.
No schizophrenia occurs usually between 18 and 25 in males and 20 to about 38 in females. There is a rare late onset that occurs in 40s
Conspiracies are running wild all over the internet. I’ll wait until all the evidence is in before speculating.
I think Candace Owens is just trying to make money so I ignore her.
Look at how many are cloaking themselves in sparkling garments attacking her personally.
How did the FBI so suddenly become a stellar, truth-telling investigative body after assaulting MAGA supporters for years?
She is not the only ones saying what she is saying. You can add Steve Bannon, Michael Savage, Clay and Buck, etc.
It appears the accused assassin is a bottom feeding, twisted-minded creep who can be easily manipulated to do and say anything. And when exactly did he become a stellar truth-telling individual?
She is currently 36 and IMHO has been off the rails for at least a couple of years and it’s getting worse.
This isn’t paranoid schizophrenia. This is a charismatic moron who peddles these sensationalist stories because she’s too stupid and uneducated to hold an audience’s attention while discussing current events like a normal human being.
Wow...I used to like her. Then she got really WEIRD.
I don’t listen to anything she has to say anymore.
________________________________________________________
Same here. I don’t know what happened to her.
She’s obviously insane. She used to be sane and logical, but then she suddenly went off the rails.
Her theories about Israel and Netanyahu ordering an hit on Kirk because he was moving toward her insane hatred of Israel are clearly nonsense but she obviously believes they’re real.
Classic paranoid schizophrenia.
No, I don’t agree with Charlie’s pastor. I agree with Candace Owens. Max Blumenthal with Judge Napolitano went into detail about that meeting where Charlie was pressured. I believe it.
That's a strange name to include in this group:
Candace has gone off the deep end since she converted to the Church of Rome, for her husband.
Bing Search: Napolitano + Trump + Crime
And Max Blumenthal is a leftist jackass who has no credibility at all.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.