Candace Owens
Candace Owens addressed the attendees at the 2023 Young Women’s Leadership Summit, organized by Turning Point USA at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center in Grapevine, Texas. Wikimedia Commons

Conservative commentator Candace Owens has publicly identified a former Turning Point USA (TPUSA) fundraising executive as the person she says filmed Erika Kirk standing at her husband Charlie Kirk's casket, intensifying an already fraught dispute inside the influential US conservative organisation.

The renewed row centres on a short video clip of Erika at the open casket of TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk, who was killed on 10 September 2025 during an appearance at Utah Valley University. The footage, recorded at a subsequent memorial service, resurfaced this week when influencer Zach Costello reposted it on social media, prompting Owens to question both how it was taken and why it was circulated.

Erika Kirk Casket Video at Centre of TPUSA Row

In comments made after Costello's repost on 12 September, Owens claimed the Erika Kirk casket video had originally been filmed by Stacy Sheridan, whom she described as a senior fundraising figure at TPUSA at the time of the service. Sheridan previously held the title of senior advancement director and is no longer listed on TPUSA's website.

Owens has been a prominent ally of TPUSA in the past but has increasingly used her platform to challenge aspects of the organisation's internal culture and its handling of Kirk's death. Her latest remarks fold the casket clip into wider questions she has been raising about the circumstances surrounding the 30-year-old activist's killing and the conduct of those around his widow.

The disputed video appears to show Erika Kirk at or near Charlie Kirk's casket during funeral proceedings. Owens has suggested that filming a private moment at such a time was inappropriate, although Erika has not publicly commented on that characterisation. There is no indication the recording was made without permission, and no allegation of illegality has been made.

TPUSA has not issued a statement in response to Owens' claims about Sheridan or to the renewed circulation of the clip. Sheridan has not addressed the allegation on her public channels, and her current role outside TPUSA remains unclear.

Questions Over Handling of Erika Kirk Casket Video

Owens' criticism comes against the backdrop of an ongoing criminal investigation into Charlie Kirk's death in Utah and unresolved tensions over how allies and colleagues have responded. Local authorities have previously confirmed that Kirk died on 10 September during an appearance at Utah Valley University, but full investigative findings have not yet been made public.

Owens has said she continues to harbour doubts about the events surrounding the killing and about decisions taken in the days that followed. In the latest exchange, she linked the Erika Kirk casket video to what she portrays as a pattern of poor judgement by some within TPUSA's orbit, though she has not produced further evidence beyond her account of who filmed the clip.

The resurfacing of the footage by Costello on 12 September brought renewed scrutiny to Erika Kirk, who has largely avoided extended public comment since her husband's death. Costello, an online commentator with a conservative audience, framed the clip as part of an ongoing discussion about the late TPUSA founder's legacy. He has not been accused of wrongdoing in reposting material already in circulation.

In her comments, Owens also claimed that US Vice President JD Vance had offered her assistance in relation to questions she is pursuing about Kirk's death. She did not specify what form that assistance might take or whether any direct action had followed. Vance has not publicly confirmed or elaborated on any such offer.

The state of relations between Owens and TPUSA's current leadership remains uncertain. While she rose to prominence in part through TPUSA events and media partnerships, her recent interventions have highlighted apparent fractures within the American conservative movement over strategy, personalities and internal accountability.

For now, the dispute over the Erika Kirk casket video sits alongside broader unanswered questions – from the details of the Utah investigation to the future of TPUSA without its founder – with key figures either declining to comment or addressing the issues only through fragmented social media statements.