What exactly did Ben Shapiro say at AmericaFest about Candace Owens and conspiracy theories?
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Executive summary
Ben Shapiro used his Thursday AmericaFest speech to directly name and rebuke Candace Owens for promoting what he characterized as baseless conspiracy theories about the September assassination of Charlie Kirk, and to criticize other conservative figures for failing to condemn her, a speech published under the headline “Only Cowards Tolerate Conspiracy Theorists” [1]. He accused Owens of spreading “absolutely baseless trash” implicating multiple actors in Kirk’s death, labeled those who tolerate such conspiracism “cowards,” and framed it as a moral obligation for platform-holders to call out grifters and conspiracists [2] [3] [4].
1. What Shapiro said onstage — the core lines and targets
From the AmericaFest stage Shapiro singled out Candace Owens by name for repeatedly raising theories that range from a TPUSA cover-up to foreign involvement in Charlie Kirk’s murder, saying such claims were “vicious,” “absolutely baseless,” and that people who refuse to condemn them are “guilty of cowardice,” while also accusing Carlson, Megyn Kelly, Steve Bannon and others of being “frauds and grifters” who traffic in conspiracism and dishonesty [5] [6] [2].
2. How he framed the argument — moral obligation and evidentiary standards
Shapiro repeatedly framed his attack as a principle-driven duty: those with microphones have a “moral obligation” to call out conspiracism and to demand evidence for serious accusations, arguing the conservative movement is endangered by charlatans who spread bile and despair rather than arguments grounded in evidence [4] [7] [3].
3. Publication and wording — the speech’s wider life and phrasing
The full speech was published on Bari Weiss’s the Free Press under the banner “Only Cowards Tolerate Conspiracy Theorists,” and media outlets quoted Shapiro’s lines that those who don’t condemn Owens’ attacks are “cowards,” and that “we also have a duty to provide you with evidence of the claims that we make,” language that fueled immediate backlash from Owens and allies [1] [8] [3].
4. Immediate responses and counterclaims from Owens and allies
Candace Owens responded angrily, playing a clip of Shapiro’s remarks on her show and attacking him as beholden to pro‑Israel views, tweeting that Shapiro’s interventions only made her more certain Israel was involved in Kirk’s killing and accusing him of prioritizing Israel’s interests — a counter-accusation repeatedly reported in coverage of the feud [9] [4] [5].
5. Wider context and competing narratives at AmericaFest
Shapiro’s intervention crystallized a broader rift at Turning Point’s AmericaFest between figures who want to push back against conspiracy-driven figures and those who, like Tucker Carlson and Megyn Kelly in varying tones, either downplayed the need to publicly denounce Owens or criticized Weiss and Shapiro’s approach, turning the conference into an open dispute over Israel, conspiracism, and the future tone of the right [10] [1] [6].
6. What reporting shows — what is clearly established and what remains out of scope
Across the outlets, reporting consistently establishes Shapiro’s central claims — that he named Owens, called her theories baseless, demanded evidence, and accused bystanders of cowardice — and documents Owens’ forceful rebuttal accusing him of a pro‑Israel bias; reporting does not resolve the truth of Owens’ allegations about Kirk’s death (and these pieces do not provide independent evidence supporting those theories), so assertions about culpability beyond what each speaker said are beyond the cited coverage [2] [9] [1].