OREM, Utah — A Utah man has sued political commentator and podcaster Candace Owens for allegedly falsely linking him to the shooting death of Charlie Kirk.
In the lawsuit filed Monday, Robert Hild, Jr. said he is a "private citizen who was in the process of building a happy and productive life far from the public spotlight" until Owens allegedly began targeting him as being involved in the fatal 2025 shooting on the campus of Utah Valley University.
Hild was at the Kirk rally on Sept. 10, 2026, when Kirk was shot, and said he "experienced the trauma of watching a horrific murder up close."
The lawsuit claims that following the shooting, Owens told her audience during multiple podcast episodes that Hild was connected to the crime, and that he "had ties to malicious foreign actors, and was connected to a 'gothic' and 'communist' 'underground,' which she associated with the murder.
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Hild claims Owens refused his requests to retract her statements, and that her false claims have "upended his life, irreparably damaged his reputation, and made him a target for verbal attack and physical threats."
According to the lawsuit, Owens has contacted other Utah residents to obtain information about Hild, who attended BYU, to use on her podcast.
Details in the lawsuit include Hild's whereabouts on the day of the shooting, which he attended with a friend and his friend's sister, and parked in front of the home of their grandmother's home.
After the shooting, the group retreated to the grandmother's home.
The following day, TMZ published photos of the alleged shooter, now identified as Tyler Robinson, walking in front of the grandmother's house where the group had taken shelter. The FBI also released a photo of the suspect in a stairwell on the UVU campus.
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In the days after the shooting, Hild, his friend, and one of his roommates walked the trail that the suspect traveled on Sept. 10 and took selfies that Hild's friend later posted on social media. The lawsuit accuses Owens of using the photos from social media on her podcast, claiming the group, including Hild, was linked to the suspect.
Owens allegedly went on to say Hild was involved even after many people reached out to show that he was at the rally with a group. She also accused Hild of using an alias, according to the lawsuit, and said he could be associated with a Ukrainian military group with ties to neo-Nazis.
Hild claims Owens' followers posted his personal information online, including the names and home addresses of family members. He also alleges that his home and vehicle were vandalized, and that law enforcement recommended that he and his roommates not stay in their home.