News · Report
Harpole v. Owens: where the lawsuit naming Mitch Snow stands in October 2026
No court has ruled on whether Mitch Snow's Fort Huachuca account is true. Every judge in the district has stepped aside, three motions to dismiss are waiting, and no outside judge has been named on the public docket.
By Americans for Transparency · Published
The short answer
The case is stalled before any ruling on the facts. Brian Harpole sued Candace Owens, her companies and Mitch Snow for defamation on April 30, 2026. On July 8, every judge in the Middle District of Tennessee recused. Three motions to dismiss are pending. No court has decided whether Snow's account of Fort Huachuca is true or false, and AFNPT found no independent confirmation of it.
- The complaint has six counts. One, for defamation, is against Snow alone. A conspiracy count names all defendants.
- Snow was served on July 20, 2026, after a U.S. Marshals attempt was returned unexecuted.
- On July 6, 2026 a magistrate judge denied Harpole's motion for an order to preserve phones and devices, saying the ordinary duty to preserve evidence already applies.
- Snow has filed three sworn declarations. He has not conceded that his identification was wrong.
- AFNPT found no statement from the Army or Fort Huachuca, and no report by a wire service or fact-check desk, on Snow's account.
What the lawsuit says
Brian Harpole, who led Charlie Kirk's security team, filed suit in federal court in Nashville on April 30, 2026. The defendants are Candace Owens, two of her companies, and Mitchell Snow. The complaint says Owens and Snow falsely placed Harpole at a meeting at Fort Huachuca, Arizona, on September 9, 2025, the day before Kirk was shot.[1][2]
The complaint has six counts: defamation, defamation regarding professional unfitness, false light, a separate defamation count against Snow, civil conspiracy to defame, and aiding and abetting defamation. It says Harpole's travel records place him in Dallas, Texas that day. Those records are not attached to the public filing AFNPT read, and no court has examined them.[1]
A complaint is one side's account. As law professor Eugene Volokh wrote the day it was filed, its contents are accusations, not court findings.[3]
What Snow has told the court
Snow represents himself. He has moved to dismiss on two grounds: that a Tennessee court has no jurisdiction over a Washington State resident, and under Tennessee's law protecting public speech. He has filed three sworn declarations in support.[2]
AFNPT's review of those declarations found that he swears he was at the base, that he received none of the fundraiser money, and that Owens contacted him first. The record supports him on the last two points. The review also found one sworn statement, about whether he had watched Owens's program, that his own recorded words contradict. All eight findings are here.[4]
The Los Angeles Magazine report on the motions noted that Snow's request to be dismissed does not rest on any finding that his claims are true. It turns on where he can be sued.[5]
What the court has decided so far
Very little, and nothing about the facts. The public docket shows these rulings:[2][6][7]
| Date | Ruling | Docket entry |
|---|---|---|
| May 20, 2026 | U.S. Marshals authorized to serve Snow after the plaintiff reported that attempts by a private process server had failed. | 14 |
| June 30, 2026 | Owens and her companies given until August 6 to respond. | 23 |
| July 6, 2026 | Harpole's motion for an order to preserve phones and devices is denied. The magistrate judge wrote that the general duty to preserve evidence already applies and the issue could be raised at the case management conference. | 26 |
| July 8, 2026 | All district and magistrate judges recuse. The Sixth Circuit is to designate a judge from outside the district. | 27 |
“As all District Judges and Magistrate Judges of the Middle District of Tennessee have recused in this matter, a District Judge from outside the District will be designated by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.”
The order gives no reason for the recusals. As of the docket's October 12, 2026 update, no order naming a new judge appears on it.[8][2]
What is pending
- Owens and her companies' partial motion to dismiss and petition under the Tennessee Public Participation Act, filed August 6, 2026.
- Snow's motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction and failure to state a claim, filed August 10, 2026. Harpole opposed it on August 24; Snow replied on August 31.
- Snow's separate motion under the Tennessee Public Participation Act, filed September 7, 2026. Harpole opposed it on September 19; Snow replied on September 28.[2]
The fundraiser
A GiveSendGo page titled "For Mitch," created by Candace Owens, showed $151,942 raised when AFNPT read it on October 13, 2026. The page says it is not accepting donations. It does not say where the money went. Snow has sworn that he received none of it, and the platform records AFNPT reviewed support that.[9][4]
What independent reporting exists
The New York Times, Newsweek and NewsNation reported the lawsuit when it was filed. The Times described Snow as a retired Army sergeant who said on Owens's podcast that he was an eyewitness, and said he did not immediately respond to a request for comment. None of the three reported independent confirmation of his account.[10][11][12]
AFNPT searched for a statement from the Army, Fort Huachuca or the Defense Department responding to the account and found none. It also found no article on Snow's account from the Associated Press, Reuters, AFP, PolitiFact, Snopes or Lead Stories as of October 13, 2026. An absence of coverage is not evidence either way.
What is not known
- Whether Snow's identification was correct. No court has considered it. Owens's own motion says the Fort Huachuca allegations will be dealt with at a later stage.
- Which judge will hear the case, and when.
- Whether any base access records, travel records or photographs will be produced. No court has ordered anyone to produce anything.[13][2]
Questions people ask
Has a court ruled that Mitch Snow's Fort Huachuca account is false?
No. As of October 13, 2026 no court has ruled on the merits of Harpole v. Owens. The motions pending are about jurisdiction and whether the complaint states a claim.
Has Mitch Snow's account been independently confirmed?
AFNPT found no independent confirmation in court filings or in news reporting. Brian Harpole disputes the account in full. Snow has not withdrawn it.
Why did all the judges recuse?
The order does not say. It states only that every district and magistrate judge in the Middle District of Tennessee has recused and that the Sixth Circuit will designate a judge from outside the district.
Did Mitch Snow receive the fundraiser money?
He has sworn that he did not, and the platform records AFNPT reviewed support him. The fundraiser page was created by Candace Owens and showed $151,942 raised on October 13, 2026.
Sources
- [1]U.S. District Court, M.D. Tenn., Complaint, Harpole v. Owens, Doc. 1, April 30, 2026. Primary record
- [2]CourtListener / RECAP, Harpole v. Owens, No. 3:26-cv-00556 (M.D. Tenn.), docket sheet, October 12, 2026. Primary record
- [3]Reason, The Volokh Conspiracy (Eugene Volokh), Candace Owens Sued for Defamation Over Claims of Conspiracy to Assassinate Charlie Kirk, April 30, 2026. News report“these are all just accusations, not court findings”
- [4]Americans for Transparency, Mitch Snow: The Sworn Record vs. the Public Record, October 7, 2026. AFNPT review
- [5]Los Angeles Magazine, Candace Owens Moves to Toss Bombshell Lawsuit Accusing Her of Linking Kirk Security Chief to Assassination Plot, September 15, 2026. News report“The court has yet to make a ruling on either of these issues.”
- [6]U.S. District Court, M.D. Tenn., Memorandum Order authorizing service by the U.S. Marshals, Doc. 14, May 20, 2026. Primary record
- [7]U.S. District Court, M.D. Tenn., Order denying motion for preservation order, Doc. 26, July 6, 2026. Primary record
- [8]U.S. District Court, M.D. Tenn., Order of Recusal, Doc. 27, July 8, 2026. Primary record
- [9]GiveSendGo, For Mitch. Primary record“This fundraiser is not accepting donations at this time.”
- [10]The New York Times, republished by The Salt Lake Tribune, Charlie Kirk's former security chief sues Candace Owens for defamation, May 1, 2026. News report“Snow did not immediately respond to a request for comment.”
- [11]Newsweek, Ex-Charlie Kirk Security Chief Sues Candace Owens, Alleging Defamation, April 30, 2026. News report
- [12]NewsNation, Charlie Kirk's security head sues Candace Owens for defamation, May 1, 2026. News report
- [13]U.S. District Court, M.D. Tenn., Owens defendants' partial motion to dismiss and TPPA petition, Doc. 31, August 6, 2026. Primary record“Plaintiff’s allegations concerning Fort Huachuca will be dealt with in a later motion for summary judgment.”