(LifeSiteNews) — Two individuals close to Charlie Kirk have rejected speculation that he was threatened by the Israel lobby.
Andrew Kolvet, executive producer of The Charlie Kirk Show and spokesman for Turning Point USA (TPUSA), as well as Rob McCoy, Kirk’s former pastor, have strongly denied Candace Owens’ recent charges that Kirk felt pressured by billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman and Babylon Bee CEO Seth Dillon over his changing stance on Israel during an August meeting in the Hamptons.
Within hours of Owens’ allegations airing on her September 15 podcast, Kolvet denied the allegations on X, noting that Turning Point staff at the meeting had confirmed to him that it was cordial and Kirk never felt threatened.
Owens, a close friend of Kirk, said he was having a change of heart from his pro-Israel stance toward the end of his life and planned to invite Tucker Carlson, a notable critic of Israel, to speak at this year’s AmericaFest event.
She alleged that Ackman, Dillon, and others had threatened Kirk during an intervention at an influencer retreat in the Hamptons last month, and that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had even offered him money and an invitation to visit Israel, both of which Kirk allegedly refused.
“Here’s what (his team) told me: Bill never yelled at Charlie, never pressed him on Bibi, never gave him a list of Charlie’s offenses against Israel,” Kolvet wrote.
“There was concern raised about having Tucker at SAS (we don’t believe this came from Bill), and Charlie’s reply was: ‘Honestly, people telling me not to have Tucker makes me want to have Tucker, and I am going to lock him in for AmericaFest too,’” he added. “Charlie personally told me he had a very cordial relationship with Bill, and the event was productive. Those are the facts.”
I have been asked about the Bill Ackman event more than a few times now so I asked our staff who were traveling with Charlie to find out what’s true and what’s not. His team was with him “100% of the time when he wasn’t in his hotel room.”
Here’s what they told me:
“Bill never…
— Andrew Kolvet (@AndrewKsway) September 16, 2025
READ: Candace Owens pays tribute to longtime ‘friend’ and ‘visionary’ Charlie Kirk
A September 12 article in The Grayzone detailed similar allegations that Kirk was blackmailed by the Israel lobby just weeks before his assassination. LifeSiteNews was unable to corroborate any of these allegations.
Rob McCoy, Kirk’s pastor and TPUSA faith co-chair, wrote a message Tuesday that appeared to deny the allegations. He suggested Owens shouldn’t be “entertaining gossip” about her friend’s death during this period of mourning.
“I only wish at this tragic time of mourning that she would be the friend to Charlie that he was to her,” McCoy wrote. “He would never have treated Candace or her family in such a way had God forbid this tragedy been hers.”
🚨From Charlie Kirk’s Pastor Rob McCoy to me just now for Candace Owens: pic.twitter.com/QbEtiljFcm
— Sean Feucht (@seanfeucht) September 16, 2025
Both men accused of threatening Kirk also denied the allegations.
Ackman acknowledged attending the August retreat but denied Owens’ accusations that he had threatened or blackmailed Kirk at any point. He also stressed that all discussions during the event were cordial, and many issues not related to Israel were also discussed.
READ: Charlie Kirk’s assassination is an attack on all of us who defend life and family
“For the record, at no time have I ever threatened Charlie Kirk, Turning Point, or anyone associated with him,” he wrote. “I have never blackmailed anyone, let alone Charlie Kirk. I have never offered Charlie or Turning Point any money in an attempt to influence Charlie’s opinion on anything.”
“In fact, my interactions with Charlie Kirk have been extremely cordial, albeit limited, regretfully so, as I was very impressed by him and his work, and I will sadly never see him again,” he added.
This afternoon @RealCandaceO slandered me by accusing me of ‘staging an intervention’ with Charlie Kirk in which ‘threats were made’ with respect to his supposed ‘evolving stance’ on Israel at an event I hosted in the Hamptons. Candace also intimated that I ‘blackmail[ed]’… https://t.co/mL6pajoX76
— Bill Ackman (@BillAckman) September 16, 2025
Dillon also adamantly denied that any kind of “intervention” took place at the event.
“If there were private meetings that took place, I wasn’t in them. If there were angry confrontations, threats, or coercion, I didn’t witness or hear about any of it,” he said. “Should evidence of such things come to light, it will be news to me.”
“One concern Charlie raised, which I believe he also raised publicly, was about free speech. He felt that criticism of Israel was so discouraged, so penalized, that we aren’t really free to voice it. Some in the room agreed with him,” he added.
On July 8th, I got a text from Charlie Kirk inviting me to an “influencer retreat.” The theme was, “Save the West.” I told him I was available and would see him there. Very little information was provided. But it was a Turning Point event spearheaded by Charlie, so I assumed… pic.twitter.com/1KdUzQKTo3
— Seth Dillon (@SethDillon) September 16, 2025
Kirk, 31, was fatally shot in the neck while speaking at Utah Valley University’s campus as part of Turning Point USA’s “American Comeback Tour” on September 10. He left behind a wife and two young children.
Kirk was extraordinarily influential both politically and culturally. He has been credited with helping Donald Trump secure a second term as president, and he is also known for respectfully engaging students on campuses across the country about a wide variety of issues, including abortion, Christianity, and the Constitution.
An evangelical Christian, Kirk deeply impacted many people across the globe and has inspired a significant number to go to church and explore or embrace Christianity. He was reportedly attending Catholic Mass and praying the Rosary.
His alleged assassin, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, has been in a relationship with his male roommate who identifies as a “transgender woman.” Several media outlets reported, based on a leaked memo, that the ammunition the killer left behind was inscribed with messages relating to “transgender and anti-fascist ideology.”
READ: Charlie Kirk assassin suspect’s alleged male ‘partner’ identifies as ‘transgender’
Turning Point USA did not respond to LifeSite’s multiple requests for comment by publication time.
