Has any of the turning point USA speakers been accused of sexual abuse
Executive summary
Turning Point USA (TPUSA) has had at least one high-profile speaker accused and charged with sexual offenses—comedian and podcaster Russell Brand, who appeared on TPUSA stages, has faced multiple rape and sexual-assault charges in the U.K. and new charges were filed after his 2025 appearance at AmericaFest [1] [2] [3]. Beyond Brand, reporting links other figures associated with TPUSA events—speakers, sponsors, and staffers—to allegations or legal actions involving sexual misconduct, though the nature and status of those allegations vary and, in some cases, involve denials or civil suits rather than criminal convictions [4] [5] [6] [7].
1. Russell Brand: a featured TPUSA speaker now facing criminal charges
Russell Brand, who spoke at TPUSA’s AmericaFest in Phoenix, was the subject of renewed criminal allegations: U.K. authorities added rape and sexual-assault charges in December 2025 after previous investigations and civil reporting surfaced multiple women’s accounts, and news outlets reported those new charges following his TPUSA appearance [1] [2] [3]. Brand has pleaded not guilty to earlier counts and has denied the new allegations; his cases were being processed in U.K. courts with trials scheduled in 2026, and reporting notes that the Metropolitan Police’s investigation remained open [2] [3].
2. Allegations linked to TPUSA-affiliated speakers and faith-tour participants
TPUSA Faith’s Make Heaven Crowded tour featured Pastor Greg Laurie, a prominent evangelical speaker whose inclusion drew scrutiny because federal lawsuits in U.S. courts allege child abuse and trafficking by a different former Harvest pastor who worked with Romanian children’s homes—lawsuits that the church and Laurie deny or have not been shown to implicate Laurie personally in criminal wrongdoing, but which nevertheless cast a legal shadow over the event’s roster [4]. Reporting here highlights legal filings connected to former Harvest personnel and notes denials from Laurie and the church rather than criminal convictions directly naming Laurie [4].
3. Sponsors and staff tied to sexual-offense records or civil complaints
TPUSA’s events have at times involved organizations and staff with troubling backgrounds: one report identified a corporate sponsor for a TPUSA pastors’ summit led by Shawn Bergstrand, a registered sex offender convicted in federal court for attempted “coercion and enticement” related to a minor, raising questions about vetting and message coherence at TPUSA events [5]. Separately, an Arizona-based civil lawsuit alleges that a TPUSA staffer and local councilwoman, Jeannette Garcia, sexually harassed a male employee and then allegedly removed his teenage daughter under disputed circumstances; that matter has been presented as a civil complaint involving claims such as sexual harassment and false imprisonment rather than a criminal conviction as of reporting [6] [7].
4. Campus confrontations and member conduct vs. speaking-role accusations
Some of the most widely reported incidents involving TPUSA figures concern activists and affiliates rather than marquee speakers: two TPUSA-affiliated members were reported to have accosted and were charged in the harassment and assault of an Arizona State University professor, an episode that resulted in criminal charges and guilty pleas in the public record [8] [9]. Such episodes illustrate a broader pattern of troubling conduct linked to individuals associated with the organization, but they are distinct from allegations against headline speakers and must be separated in any assessment [8] [9].
Conclusion: what reporting actually shows and where gaps remain
Contemporary reporting establishes that a prominent TPUSA speaker, Russell Brand, has been criminally charged in the U.K. with rape and sexual assault after appearing at TPUSA events [1] [2] [3], and that TPUSA-associated events and personnel have been connected to other sexual-misconduct allegations or legal claims—ranging from a sponsor with a prior conviction to civil suits against staffers and criminal charges involving affiliates [5] [6] [7] [8]. Some named figures (e.g., Greg Laurie) face scrutiny tied to lawsuits involving other church personnel, with denials and no public criminal convictions reported against them in the sources provided [4]. Reporting limitations include incomplete legal outcomes in several matters and the distinction between criminal charges, civil complaints, past convictions unrelated to TPUSA appearances, and unproven allegations; the sources above do not resolve those distinctions in every instance [5] [4] [6] [7].