Experts condemn TPUSA for airing murder hearings on 'zombified' Charlie Kirk page

An extremism researcher is calling Turning Point USA's decision to stream its founder's murder hearings on the dead man's own social media account "psychotic."

Turning Point USA revived Charlie Kirk's X account Monday to broadcast a week-long probable cause hearing for Tyler Robinson — the man charged with Charlie Kirk's murder. The first day's post drew 2.7 million views.

Charlie Kirk, TPUSA's co-founder, was shot and killed at a Utah Valley University event in Provo, Utah, in September 2025. Robinson faces the death penalty.

"Absolutely psychotic decision from TPUSA to livestream preliminary hearings for Tyler Robinson on the zombified account of the man he's accused of killing," extremism researcher Jared Holt wrote on Bluesky.

"Why would they do this?" Holt added in a second post. "Well, my friend, may I direct you to the ticker that says there are 112.5k views on that livestream. That is the only measure of morality/success that TPUSA considers."

University of North Georgia rhetoric professor Matthew Boedy agreed, calling it the best way to "silence Candace and the conspiracies" — a reference to right-wing podcaster Candace Owens, who has spent months pushing baseless theories that TPUSA was complicit in Charlie Kirk's killing.

"Though TPUSA emphasis on 'seeking the truth' is a bit much," Boedy added. "They are being eaten by their own conspiracy skills being used against them."

Since Charlie Kirk's death, Erika Kirk — his widow and TPUSA's new CEO — has fired more than 60 staffers in what survivors called the "TPUSA Purge," according to published reports.

"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," former TPUSA communications staffer Aubrey Laitsch said publicly after her firing.

The hearing — a proceeding to determine whether prosecutors have enough evidence to take Robinson to trial — is scheduled to continue through Friday.