Who is Jeanie Beeman? Target employee makes appearance at TPUSA's America Fest after going viral over Charlie Kirk t-shirt

Jeanie Beeman, a Target employee who was arguably harassed over a Charlie Kirk t-shirt, was invited to the America Fest. Erika Kirk and other conservative activists offered support to Beeman at the Turning Point USA event.

Jeanie Beeman works at a Target store in Chico, California. Earlier this month, she was wearing a Charlie Kirk red t-shirt, which had "Freedom" written on it, at the store. A customer named Michelea Ponce took offence to it and filmed herself questioning Beeman. She also accused her of "supporting racism".

The Target employee, however, reacted calmly, saying:

"I'm sorry, but I'm not going to stand here and argue with you."

She also wished Ponce a good day to end the argument. The video went viral on social media, with many conservatives and right-wingers supporting Beeman.

On Saturday, December 20, Jeanie Beeman appeared on AmericaFest, a Turning Point USA conference co-founded by Charlie Kirk. It is a four-day event, held at the Phoenix Convention Centre. Benny Johnson and Jack Posobiec, notably, brought Beeman out on stage to a huge applause from the audience.

Also Read: Russell Brand begins his AmFest 2025 speech with a prayer on his knees, thanking God for Erika Kirk's "example of forgiveness"

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Erika Kirk and Benny Johnson share thoughts on meeting Jeanie Beeman at America Fest 2025

JD Vance Speaks At Turning Point USA's AmericaFest Youth Conference In Phoenix (Image Source: Getty)

Charlie Kirk's widow, Erika Kirk, shared a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday of her meeting with Beeman. In the video, they were standing in what appeared to be backstage and conversed a bit before sharing a hug. Erika wrote in the post:

"Such a precious moment with sweet Jeanie Beeman at AmFest 2025. Thank you for being a part of my Charlie’s legacy. I love your courage. God bless you."

Meanwhile, conservative activist Benny Johnson also shared a post on X, praising Beeman. He shared a video of himself and Beeman going on stage at the America Fest to a huge applause and wrote in the caption:

"This is Jeanie. A week ago, Jeanie stared down a rabid leftist harassing her over her Charlie Kirk Freedom T-Shirt while working at Target. Today, she walked out to a packed house of THOUSANDS at TPUSA’s AmericaFest chanting her name. Be like Jeanie."

Johnson shared another post with a similar message and added that they need to use Beeman's example to "fight darkness with light".

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Michelea Ponce apologises for filming Jeanie Beeman at Target

The incident between Ponce and Beeman went viral on social media, as many conservatives came out in support of the Target employee. Ponce also apologised for her actions in an interview with a local station, as caught by Newsweek, saying:

“I want to take full responsibility for my actions and say clearly and sincerely that I was wrong. I behaved badly, and I regret it deeply. I want to directly apologize to Jeannie. I am truly sorry for approaching you at your workplace and putting you in an uncomfortable and unfair position. You did not deserve that, and my behavior was wrong.”

Following the incident, Cassandra MacDonald started a crowdfunding campaign on GiveSendGo for Jeanie Beeman, which has raised over $250,000. MacDonald claimed that she spoke to Beeman, who told her that she "might retire" after the incident.

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Also Read: Did Cardi B call Nicki Minaj's appearance at TPUSA’s AmFest 2025 with Erika Kirk "embarrassing"? Fan tweet goes viral

Edited by Aditya Singh