A former senior communications staffer at Turning Point USA (TPUSA) has gone public with allegations of internal disorder, ideological intolerance, and unjust termination in the wake of the assassination of the organization’s founder, Charlie Kirk.
Aubrey Laitsch, who served as TPUSA’s public relations manager beginning in 2021, released a 12-minute video detailing what she described as a sudden and confusing firing amid mass layoffs within the organization. According to Laitsch, the termination followed what she characterized as poor leadership decisions, mishandled grief after Kirk’s death, and a sharp cultural shift inside an organization long associated with free speech advocacy.
Charlie Kirk was assassinated on September 10, 2025, in what corporate media outlets described as a politically motivated shooting at an event in Utah. In her video, Laitsch said the aftermath of the killing left many staff members emotionally shaken, with little support or clarity from leadership. She alleged that grief was treated as an inconvenience rather than a reality, even as sweeping personnel changes were being implemented.
Laitsch rejected the official reason given for her firing, which she said was based on hearsay from an Uber driver who allegedly reported her for comments made during a ride. She described the accusation as flimsy and unsubstantiated, suggesting it was used as a convenient justification rather than a legitimate cause.
More significantly, Laitsch raised concerns that her skepticism toward the officially promoted narrative surrounding Kirk’s assassination may have contributed to her dismissal. While stopping short of making definitive claims, she said questioning the story as it was presented internally appeared to place her on the wrong side of the organization’s new power structure.
The irony, she noted, is that TPUSA has long branded itself as a champion of open debate and free expression, particularly against censorship by left-wing institutions. Her experience, she argued, revealed a different standard applied behind closed doors.
Laitsch also pointed to what she described as chronic instability within TPUSA, claiming that employee turnover typically averages just 18 to 24 months. She criticized what she portrayed as abrupt firings without clear cause and a lack of professionalism from top executives during the organization’s recent restructuring.
In particular, she named Erika Kirk and Erika Frantzve as figures associated with sudden dismissals and what she described as unqualified leadership changes following Charlie Kirk’s death. Similar criticisms have circulated in recent discussions on X, where former staffers and observers have questioned the direction of the organization and the treatment of its employees.
While TPUSA has not publicly responded to Laitsch’s claims, her video has amplified growing concerns among grassroots conservatives about institutional accountability on the right. For an organization built on opposing ideological conformity and defending conscience, the allegations raise uncomfortable questions about whether those principles are being upheld internally.
Whether TPUSA addresses these concerns transparently remains to be seen. But Laitsch’s testimony has added to a growing chorus calling for accountability, consistency, and a renewed commitment to the values the organization claims to represent.
