Turning Point USA's annual AmericaFest highlighted a rift in the conservative movement that's emerged since the assassination of the group's co-founder, Charlie Kirk, in September. 

Over the course of the four-day conference, some of the speakers criticized one another by name. Podcaster and prominent right-wing personality Ben Shapiro called out Tucker Carlson, Steve Bannon and Megyn Kelly and accused them of being "frauds and grifters" and for entertaining far-right conspiracy theories following Kirk's killing. 

"The conservative movement is in danger from charlatans who claim to speak in the name of principle but actually traffic in conspiracism and dishonesty," Shapiro said during his remarks Thursday night. He referred to Bannon as "a PR flack for Jeffrey Epstein."

One fault line that's emerged is how to handle the rise of far-right antisemitic and white supremacist influencer Nick Fuentes after Carlson recently interviewed him on his podcast. Many conservatives were outraged at Carlson for giving Fuentes a platform, though some have defended him. 

At AmericaFest, Shapiro went after Carlson for hosting Fuentes — whom he called "a Hitler apologist, Nazi-loving, anti-American piece of refuse" — on his podcast.

Bannon, in his remarks, compared Shapiro to "a cancer" on the conservative movement. 

"Ben Shapiro is like a cancer, and that cancer spreads," Bannon said. "Mark my word, he will make a move on Turning Point, because he's always been envious of Charlie Kirk."

The event was the first of its kind since Kirk was assassinated in September while speaking at a Utah university. The noticeable rift between speakers made some of the attendees uneasy. 

Deacon Jones, a 19-year-old Turning Point USA member from Tennessee, has attended two of the conservative group's conferences in the past, and he said this weekend's AmericaFest felt noticeably different compared to previous years after Kirk's death. Jones suggested Kirk's absence seemed to make a palpable difference. 

"I I think Charlie used to be the beacon that everybody could trust; he would take everybody's ideas and kind of boil it down to something that everybody could agree with," Jones said. "I think everybody's just trying to figure out, like, 'Where do we go from here? How do we figure out who to listen to, who to trust?'"

Jones was one of the more than 25,000 people who attended the conference, which took place in Phoenix, Arizona, and included prominent conservatives such as Vice President JD Vance, House Speaker Mike Johnson, Bannon, White House border czar Tom Homan, Carlson and a surprise appearance by rapper Nicki Minaj. President Trump called in to the conference by phone.. 

Lucas Beaver, a 19-year-old Turning Point USA chapter president from North Carolina, told CBS News on Sunday that Fuentes is "trying to grab the attention" of the young conservatives. 

"He tries to manipulate things, and in some ways, trying to hide his radicalism, in some ways, so that he can gain those people's trust," he said.

Jones added that recent infighting is preventing the young conservative movement from finding common ground it needs to build on its momentum from 2024. 

"We're making major issues minor and minor issues major. We're not talking about all the things we agree on. We're talking about all the things we're disagreeing on and splitting our party," Jones said. 

Andrew Kolvet, Turning Point's spokesman and executive producer of "The Charlie Kirk Show," said no single figure can help resolve MAGA's internal conflict in the vacuum left by Kirk's death, adding that "it's going to be a team effort." But he was hopeful about the more positive direction from Vance, who addressed the conference on Sunday, its final day. 

"With JD Vance's final address, the capstone of this event. It kind of felt like, you know, Dad's home," Kolvet said. "He's telling the kids to settle down. You know, here's what we stand for, here's the Northern Star, and this is what we're chasing after." 

Vance, who received Erika Kirk's endorsement for the  2028 race, took the stage and attempted to smooth things over, telling conference-goers that the conservative movement is open to everyone as long as they "love America."

"We have far more important work to do than canceling each other," Vance said. "Charlie invited all of us here for a reason, because he believed that each of us, all of us, had something worth saying, and he trusted all of you to make your own judgment."

Nick Perisse, a 19-year-old student from Florida, said he felt "carefully enthusiastic" about the future of the young conservative movement following Vance's remarks. 

"Vice President Vance not only fulfilled all my previous expectations, he also exceeded them by delivering a uniting message that resonated very strongly with both diehard MAGA supporters and skeptics," Perisse told CBS News. "I'm hopeful for what we can and will do for our country, but we must be careful not to let these internal disagreements and divisions cause us to collapse against ourselves."

But, the tensions on display suggest the fight over the future of the conservative movement may just be getting started.