When Charlie Kirk was assassinated last September, I saw the horrifying video. Millions of others did, too. It was pretty obvious from the earliest moments that some deranged ghoul had shot Kirk to silence him. It wasn’t long before we learned who that villain was: Tyler Robinson.

For some folks, however, the real story couldn’t possibly be that straightforward. Simple stories don’t get clicks or generate revenue, so the conspiracy theorists kicked into high gear, churning their cockamamie ideas for profit. They were always “just asking questions,” ostensibly to help Charlie and unearth the truth.

Arguably, the worst offender has been podcaster Candace Owens, even after personally meeting with Erika Kirk, who asked her to stop the vile nonsense. (Tucker Carlson gets a nod as runner-up in this disgraceful contest.) Exploding microphones, maroon-colored shirts, an inside job involving Turning Point USA staff and even Erika, Egyptian airplanes, the Israelis — it was all so absurd and yet so destructive to Charlie Kirk’s legacy and to the conservative movement as a whole, not to mention any potential jury pool.

But hey, Owens wanted attention.

It got attention, alright. “Kirk’s former security chief has sued Owens for defamation,” notes Douglas Murray, “citing examples from her podcast and social media posts.”

Meanwhile, last week, prosecutors in the case presented their evidence to Judge Tony Graf, who will determine if there is probable cause for a murder trial against Robinson. Let’s just say they have more than enough to prove he’s guilty and that Owens is a dishonest nutcake.

First of all, Robinson has confessed multiple times. He told his furry “genderfluid” boyfriend and roommate, Lance Twiggs, that he did it. In a letter left at their home, Robinson wrote, “I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk, and I took it.”

In a text exchange, Twiggs asked, “You weren’t the one who did it, right?”

Robinson replied, “I am, I’m sorry,” adding, “I had enough of his hatred. Some hate can’t be negotiated out.”

Twiggs, whom Owens dismisses as a federal asset, testified in court that the two spoke of it the day after the killing: “I just asked him in person if what he said the night before was true, and he said it was.”

He also told interviewers in April that Robinson later wished “he hadn’t done it.”

Robinson’s own parents worked with a family friend to convince him to turn himself in.

Contrary to Owens’s claims that Robinson was never even at Utah Valley University on the day of Kirk’s murder, prosecutors provided video evidence of him on campus, multiple times and in different clothing. That includes video showing him walking with a limp, likely because he concealed his grandfather’s rifle in his pants, and video of him approaching and leaving the position of the sniper’s nest before and after the shooting. An investigator said he was carrying “some kind of an object in his hand” when he jumped from the roof of the Lohse Building, where the sniper’s nest was found.

The Mauser Model 98 bolt-action rifle in .30-06 Springfield caliber found nearby has Robinson’s DNA on it, as does the screwdriver used to assemble it and the towel used to conceal it. (Both the screwdriver and towel also contain Twiggs’s DNA.) The gun matches the bullet used to shoot Kirk in the throat. Various shell cases contained vile messages like, “hey fascist! CATCH!” Ballistics proves that the bullet was designed not to leave an exit wound.

Police initially detained a man for carrying a handgun in the university crowd that day, but they quickly realized he was the wrong man. Officer Chris Bagley testified that they knew the shot was from a rifle, not a pistol.

When Robinson attempted to recover his rifle in the middle of the night, a police car stationed at the university entrance deterred him. As he drove away, the officer took down a partial plate number due to suspicious behavior.

In short, the evidence seems abundantly clear that Tyler Robinson murdered Charlie Kirk, and the trial shouldn’t take long. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. What will take much longer, unfortunately, is for Candace Owens to shut her yap and stop spreading heinous lies. Conspiracy theorists don’t concede the evidence; they move the goalposts.

My prayers are for Erika Kirk and their children, Charlie’s parents, and all who loved him at TPUSA. Justice may be served, but he can never be replaced.