MOSCOW, June 2. /TASS/. American journalist Candace Owens told TASS that she had faced verbal attacks and accusations of involvement in a "Russian conspiracy" because of her trip to Russia.
"I didn't have any pressure from the [US President Donald] Trump administration. But, you know, they have all these satellite people around who just lie. I mean, they're just lie like saying that I wasn't going with my family, that there was some secret plot, some secret funding, you know, the crazy stuff that's been going on forever about Russian collusion," she said when asked whether she has ever received threats in connection to her trip to Russia.
"The idea is to make people fearful to travel because they want to criminalize people going to see Russia," she stated. "And so I didn't care because I just stand strong against that stuff. It doesn't matter to me because there's no truth in it."
"You see it online, on X, that they just start lying about you and saying that you're going to do the work, you're working with these people, you're being funded by these people or you're violating laws. They try to make you think that there's going to be a legal consequence for you simply going to see Russia. So you deal with that. But there's no truth in it, so I don't care," she added.
Owens arrived in Russia several days ago and plans to take part in the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, including as a guest at the forum’s plenary session.
Owens is a prominent figure in conservative circles in the United States and the host of a popular podcast. Her YouTube channel has over six million subscribers. Since March 2024, she has repeatedly claimed that Brigitte Macron was actually born a man. The French president and his wife planned to present evidence in court to refute Owens’ claims.