The lawsuit focuses on remarks made by Ms. Owens, a right-wing podcaster, about Mr. Kirk’s killing, highlighting a growing tension among factions of the American right.
The former head of security for Charlie Kirk sued the podcaster Candace Owens on Thursday for defamation, claiming that she falsely implicated him in a conspiracy to assassinate Mr. Kirk.
The former security chief, Brian Harpole, alleged that Ms. Owens, a right-wing firebrand, inaccurately accused him of meeting with Mr. Kirk’s wife, Erika, at a military base a day before Mr. Kirk was shot at Utah Valley University in September. He is also suing Mitch Snow, a retired Army sergeant who stated on Ms. Owens’s podcast that he was an eyewitness to what he described as the secret encounter.
In the 69-page lawsuit, Mr. Harpole, who owns a private security firm and worked for Mr. Kirk for several years, accused Ms. Owens of “engaging in a coordinated and deliberate campaign designed to defame” him.
He denied any involvement in any plot to assassinate Mr. Kirk and called Ms. Owens a “conspiracy theorist” who displayed a “pattern of seeking public attention and media exposure.”
Ms. Owens responded to the lawsuit on her daily podcast on Thursday evening, calling it “insane,” challenging Mr. Harpole’s allegations and denying any wrongdoing. “I’ve only ever been interested in getting to the truth of what happened to Charlie Kirk,” she said.
A spokesman for Ms. Owens said she had no comment beyond what she said on her podcast. Mr. Snow did not immediately respond to a request for comment.