Charlie Kirk - Reactions
US politicians and conservative figures paid tribute to slain activist and podcaster Charlie Kirk at a memorial service in Glendale, Arizona on Sunday 21 Septembe 2025. The speakers praised Kirk’s Christian convictions and his ability to connect with young people. Kirk’s memorial drew upwards of 100,000 to Glendale, Arizona, and included nearly the entire upper echelon of the executive branch of the US federal government, along with numerous legislators and right-wing luminaries. Even Elon Musk made an appearance. Kirk, who co-founded conservative action group Turning Point USA at just 18 years old, was killed by a sniper on September 10 as he was speaking to students at a college in Utah.
Charlie Kirk and Turning Point USA had been tied to major conspiracy-style claims and misleading narratives, incuding 2020 election fraud / stolen-election narratives; COVID-19 and vaccine misinformation; Inflated / fabricated statistics and misleading tweets (e.g., viral human-trafficking or law-enforcement figures) that fact-checkers flagged; Blaming “Antifa” / leftist actors for political violence or other attacks without evidence; and Broad “globalist / deep state” framing and demonizing donors/NGOs.
In the early aftermath of the shooting, facts were incomplete and evolving. That gap allowed speculation to take root. Because Kirk was a prominent political figure, many observers (on all sides) see the event through ideological lenses and are eager to assign blame. Framing the death as a “deep state hit” or martyrdom can mobilize audiences and solidify narratives, regardless of factual grounding. This claim is often seen in contexts of political assassinations and was amplified by high-profile commentators. Roger Stone and others claimed Kirk was assassinated by state actors (CIA, Mossad, “deep state”) rather than a lone radical.
Foreign state media (Russia, Iran, China) pushed disinformation narratives about involvement by Israel, Ukraine, or manipulated shooter identities. Russia and other foreign adversaries pounced on the assassination of Charlie Kirk as an opportunity to spread propaganda aimed at aggravating U.S. political divisions and painting America as an unstable country on the decline, according to researchers. Soon after the news broke about Kirk’s murder, Russian state media and pro-Kremlin voices on social media suggested that the United States was poised for a possible civil war and that dark conspiracies — possibly involving elements of a “deep state” — had played a role in the murder.
Some online users claim that the shooting could not have come from Robinson alone — pointing to supposed discrepancies in angles, sound of shots, or timing. These mirror classic “second gunman” conspiracies seen after JFK’s assassination. Viral claims about multiple shooters based on video/audio glitches have been examined and found to be either compression artifacts or misinterpretations.
In JFK lore, the “magic bullet” theory suggests a single bullet caused wounds in ways critics said were implausible. In the Kirk case, conspiracy accounts online have begun borrowing that framing: arguing that one rifle and one shooter couldn’t account for the number, angles, or effects of the shots. Law enforcement has stated all wound paths are consistent with a single elevated sniper’s nest at the university venue. No official reports suggest odd ricochets or “impossible” angles. Ballistic consistency: Unlike JFK’s case, there’s no public forensic anomaly (e.g., a single bullet causing multiple wounds in different people).
Tyler Robinson is shown in a stairwell, on the roof, jumping off the roof, and walking into the woods? Where is the gun? Did he have time to disassemble it and put it in his backpack? The picture of him walking up the stairs shows no indication of him housing a 4' long rifle, even if it was broken down. Some observers couldn't make any sense of how he jumped off the roof, ran right past several vehicles, while apparently not carrying a gun, but the gun is found in the woods. Investigators said surveillance footage showed Robinson walking with a peculiar gait they believe indicates Robinson had a rifle hidden in his pants. Some commentators have argued that if Robinson were trying to hide the weapon he would have broken it down. Investigators found the WWI-era Mauser bolt-action rifle wrapped in a towel in bushes about 500 ft from the scene. There’s no public evidence that Tyler Robinson tried and failed to break down the rifle — and the publicly reported facts actually undercut that line of argument.
FBI Director Kash Patel tweeted 21 September 2025 "We are meticulously investigating theories and questions, including the location from where the shot was taken, the possibility of accomplices, the text message confession and related conversations, Discord chats, the angle of the shot and bullet impact, how the weapon was transported, hand gestures observed as potential “signals” near Charlie at the time of his assassination, and visitors to the alleged shooter’s residence in the hours and days leading up to September 10, 2025.
"Some details are known today, while others are still being pursued to ensure every possibility is considered. Our primary focus is to complete this investigation and deliver justice. To protect the integrity of the investigation and subsequent prosecution, we cannot release every piece of information we have to the public right now. We will ensure every question is addressed at the appropriate moment.
"Regarding specific details, such as questions about the plane that allegedly turned off its transponder after departing from an airport near the assassination site, we can share updates when answers are confirmed. After interviews with the pilot and consultation with the FAA, we determined the transponder was not turned off. Incomplete flight data in rural areas caused the apparent gap."
Charlie Kirk wrote 30 April 2024 "For the past 10 years its been "cool" to hate white people, simply for who they are. In the past six months, it's become obvious that Jews are considered "white" as well - and many Jews have become shocked at all the hatred towards them. If you put up group hatred in one way, it will grow into a monster that cannot be controlled. Right now, there is a war on the West and on civilization. The activist left hates Jews, white people, Christians, anyone who thinks the West is best, and any institution or historical figure that proves the West is best. You are seeing leftists for who they truly are."
Dan Bongino, conservative political commentator, radio host, and former law enforcement officer [and later by 2025 Deputy Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation] told FOX News host Sean Hannity on 13 June 2020: "This is a warning for everyone out there in the viewing audience. This fight is coming to your door. I don't mean a physical fight, I don't necessarily mean someone's going to knock on your door and try to hurt you. But this fight right now, it's coming to your door. You're going to have to pick a side. I regret to tell you that. There is a right and wrong to this argument. There's no question, and the right side of the side of the good police officers and law and order." (6/12/2020)
Robert Sterling noted 13 September 2025 "Tens of millions of Americans started the week seeing a 23-year-old blonde woman—a young woman in whom virtually every parent watching pictured their own daughter—stabbed in the neck by a career criminal. These people then found out the murderer had been released from jail 14 times over.... When they see footage of Decarlos Brown stabbing a Ukrainian refugee to death, they don’t see just one demon-possessed man. They picture every university administrator, HR bureaucrat, and DEI apparatchik that ever lectured them about systemic racism, the “carceral state,” or the need to release violent crime suspects without bail in the name of social justice. ... their friend at the local YMCA who vents about having to release career criminals because Soros-funded prosecutors aren’t willing to file charges—and they realize everything the left has told them over the last five years has been utter bullshit....
"In response to Iryna Zarutska bleeding out on the floor of a train, you post bullshit statistics about reductions in reported crime, when everyone who’s ever been to a major urban center in the last decade knows that actual crime has skyrocketed, only for victims not to waste their time reporting it to cops that don’t have the manpower to respond and prosecutors that seek to downgrade as many felonies as possible to misdemeanor citations."
Robinson had a romantic relationship with his transgender roommate, who was transitioning from male to female. LGBTQ advocacy group Project Rainbow Utah said in a statement that there had been dangerous speculation about the shooter’s motives and urged “people to step back from assumptions and narratives that endanger and other an already marginalized population.... Unfortunately, many bad-faith actors are intent on demonizing the transgender community to make them scapegoats,” the statement noted.
FBI Director Kash Patel verified 15 September 2025 that DNA extracted from the towel encasing the weapon used in the Charlie Kirk assassination attempt, along with samples from a screwdriver, match those of Tyler Robinson. Patel said the suspect wrote that he had the "opportunity to take out" Kirk and added, "I’m going to take it." Speaking to Fox News, Patel explained that the message was composed before the shooting. According to Patel, Robinson’s family told investigators that he had "subscribed to left-wing ideology."
Reaction - MAGA
The Two Minutes Hate was a daily ritual in George Orwell's dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. This event involves citizens of the superstate Oceania publicly and loudly expressing hatred for the Party's designated enemies, such as Emmanuel Goldstein and other nations, to vent their emotions and redirect anger away from the Party itself. Two Minutes Hate allowed citizens to channel their pent-up anguish and personal hatreds towards politically expedient enemies, preventing them from directing these feelings toward the Party.
By directing emotions toward external enemies, the Party suppresses thoughtcrime and promotes loyalty to the government. The ritual fosters a sense of mob mentality, making it difficult for individuals to avoid joining in the collective expression of rage, as described by Winston Smith in the novel. It served as a powerful tool of propaganda and mass hypnosis, allowing the state to manipulate the populace by shifting their focus and controlling their emotional responses.
"The Five" co-host Jesse Watters reacted to the assassination of Charlie Kirk. "This is a man who touched an entire generation of Americans and electrified them and made them patriots. And this is not a controversial person. This is not a polarizing guy, a divisive person, a firebrand that he's being described as in the media. Let's put America first because that's all he was about, putting America first. And as Greg said, this hits differently because Charlie was one of us. And Trump gets hit in the ear. Charlie gets shot dead. They came after Kavanaugh with a rifle to his neighborhood. They went after Musk's cars. They just shot two Jews outside the embassy. Think about it. Scalise got shot, barely survived.
"It's happening. We got trans shooters. We got riots in L.A. They are at war with us. Whether we want to accept it or not, they are at war with us. What are we going to do about it? How much political violence are we going to tolerate? ... And everybody's accountable. And we're watching what they're saying on television. And who's saying what? The politicians, the media, and all these rats out there. This can never happen again. It ends now. Greg's right again. This is a turning point. And we know which direction we're going."
Right-wing radio host Dana Loesch put it on Watters’ prime-time show, that “it's not the right killing the left, it's the left killing the right.” “THIS IS WAR,” posted Libs of TikTok. “Civil war,” was Andrew Tate’s take. “This is war,” commented Ian Miles Cheong. “This is a war, this is a war, this is a war,” Alex Jones said on his livestream. According to Steve Bannon, “We are at war in this country.” “We’re not supposed to say this,” posted Shaun Maguire. “But the truth is we’re at War.”
Watters stated 16 September 2025: "These people are incapable of turning the temperature down. So it's our responsibility to do it for them for the safety of the country and for their own safety. Their heinous movement should be politically destroyed, systematically dismantled. Their financial backing should be bankrupted, their media sponsors defeated in the marketplace, their candidates beaten at the ballot box. And their acolytes in academia, behind the pulpit, in city councils and corporate America will be spotlighted and given one chance to confess and apologize. If they don't, thrown out of polite society. We cannot live with people and work with people like this. They can't teach our children, they can't be trusted with power and positions of authority.”
MAGA influencer Mike Cernovich demanded “congressional hearings now”, which he said should include “every billionaire funding far left wing extremism,” naming George Soros, Bill Gates, and Reid Hoffman. He also called for “massive RICO investigations now” to scrutinize “every dollar” and tagged Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel. “I’m choosing my words mindfully, don’t twist them. This is a prediction, not a preference. If Congressional GOP and Trump don’t act swiftly and ferociously, there will be retaliatory actions due to lawful means not being used. This is always what happens. RICO these fucks now!”
FOX News Channel's Greg Gutfeld reacted to the assassination of Charlie Kirk: " if they can do this, they are capable of anything. I think that was the message. I believe that was the message. It's really hard to radicalize Republicans. You know, it's like we're not the radical type, but if you thought that you were going to shut a movement down, you're going to get a rude awakening. You woke us the f*ck up."
Mollie Hemingway with FBN's Stuart Varney, comments on the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk: "We’ve seen a lot of weakness and impotence on the right, so Republican leaders need to not just stand up there and say, “Oh, we must condemn—both sides do these things.” They need to actually take the threat from left-wing activists very seriously. They need to investigate how they’re funded—Antifa, other terrorist groups. They’re going to war against ICE. You know, they tried to kill Donald Trump. They’ve successfully killed Charlie Kirk. This is a serious group that needs to be taken seriously, and people are looking to Republican leaders to do what needs to be done to make the country safe for free speech and the values we hold dear."
Clay Travis, "Outkick" founder and co-host of "The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show," reacted to President Obama's statement on the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. "I am tired of hearing people say, like Barack Obama did, like Hillary Clinton did, oh we condemn this violence. Guess what? You can't call the President of the United States for 10 years Adolf Hitler, and you can't say that he's a fascist dictator, and you can't say that anyone who voted for Trump or advocated for him like you, me, Riley, and Charlie Kirk are Nazis, and then when someone tries to kill us, you can't suddenly say, oh we condemn this violence. You caused it. Look at me right now. You caused this.
"When you tell people that someone is Hitler, you are telling crazy people, go kill them. And I am sick of pretending that that is anything other than what they're doing. That guy in West Palm Beach, what did he say? He was killing Trump because he believed Trump was Hitler. This is what they do, all right? This left-wing violence, it's out of control, and Charlie Kirk bore the brunt of that left-wing violence, and guess what? But for the twist of his head at the last minute, Donald Trump's head would have been blown off on live television, and that is intentional. They are lighting fires and then claiming, oh what do you know? There's a fire there."
Sean Davis, co-founder of The Federalist, posted 10 September 2025 that “the Democrat party is a domestic terrorist organization” and “terrorist Democrats will not stop. … And until they are stopped—until every single nutjob inciting this madness and cheering it on is held accountable and removed from civil society—it will not stop.”
John Daniel Davidson, a senior editor at The Federalist, wrote "The Trump administration should dismantle the entire ecosystem of left-wing political activism in America. Antifa and BLM groups need to have their assets seized and donor lists scrutinized. The left-wing billionaires who fund these organizations need to be criminally investigated and charged if possible. Groups tied to transgenderism, Palestine/Hamas, socialism and other radical leftist causes should be targeted using every tool available to the Justice Department and federal law enforcement agencies. The law should be applied maximally to these groups and the individuals who lead them and fund them. If the Democratic Party and Democrat leaders are implicated, so be it. It might be that the DNC and the Democratic Party itself need to be destroyed, root and branch.....
" ... the ordinary rules of partisan politics no longer apply. It’s not necessary for the president or Republican leaders to issue statements about “turning down the temperature” or “coming together in this difficult time,” as Democrat Minority Leader Chuck Schumer did this week.... You cannot “turn down the temperature” with such people, still less make common cause with them. Their cause is revolutionary and inherently violent, and if we don’t stamp it out completely it will consume and eventually destroy this country.
Utah Governor Spencer Cox called the Internet a “cancer”; he added that “cancer probably isn’t a strong enough word,” likening social media to the equivalent of “fentanyl” in destroying young minds and taking lives: "We have seen an escalation in violence that has been happening across the country. … I don't think a governor, I don't think a president, and I don't think anyone can change the trajectory of this. It truly is about every single one of us. And I can't emphasize enough the damage that social media and the Internet is doing to all of us. Those dopamine hits. These companies, trillion dollar market caps and the most powerful companies in the history of the world have figured out how to hack our brains, get us addicted to the outrage which is the same type of dopamine, the same chemical that you get from taking fentanyl and get us addicted to outrage and getting us to hate each other."
[William M. Arkin noted "Discord is an extremely popular American chat app with over 200 million users. Far from the niche cesspool of radicalism it’s been portrayed as, the app is basically just WhatsApp for gamers — a group that may once have been a subculture but is completely mainstream today."" ]
Senator Ted Cruz called out Stephen King over the author’s social media post following Charlie Kirk’s assassination. The best-selling author reshared Watters’ post, adding, “He advocated stoning gays to death. Just sayin’.” That set many people on social media off, including Cruz, who called King “a horrible, evil, twisted liar.” The Texas senator went on to state that Kirk “did not” advocating the stoning of homosexuals and asked, “Why are you so dishonest and filled with hate?”
Senator Eric Schmitt decried what he called the “George Soros empire”, referencing the billionaire who was regularly featured in right-wing conspiracy theories both in the US and globally. He said Soros has sought to unleash a “tidal wave of violent anarchists on our streets and to prop it up and an army of researchers and experts and journalists and propagandists who downplay the political violence”. Schmitt said. “It is the offspring of a dark and clandestine system funded in part with our own tax dollars. Working with a large network of foundations, NGOs, activist organisations and front groups, this system lurks behind every radical leftist movement in our nation today.”
“We can honor him [Kirk] and honor his memory and make it a living thing that we use this to take down the apparatus that's well-funded that is at the core of this anti-Americanism,” Steve Bannon said on his streaming show. “It has to be a all-of-government approach. ... Let's go kick down some doors and perp walk some folks today.”
Laura Loomer, the conspiracy theorist and streamer who had Trump’s ear and regularly got federal officials fired for insufficient demonstrated fealty to the president, declared 10 September: “It’s time for the Trump administration to shut down, defund, & prosecute every single Leftist organization.” She later added: “All of the Leftist groups that pay for these radical protests need to be prosecuted. … More people will be murdered if the Left isn’t crushed with the power of the state.”
Loomer wrote 13 September 2026 "It’s time to designate the transgender movement as a terrorist movement. Trans people are a threat to society. We can’t allow them to continue killing people. They need to be socially ostracized and the President should make medical transitioning ILLEGAL in our country."
Laura Loomer wrote 14 September 2026 "You cannot be kind to your enemy. I just hope people come to realize this soon. You have to be vicious. There’s nothing wrong with being vicious for the sake of saving our country."
Laura Loomer, also on 13 September, wrote "How much do you want to bet we are going to find out there is a Trans terror cell that groomed Tyler Robinson and possibly even provided him with the gun to kill Charlie? It seems like this was very pre-meditated. There are literally shooting clubs now where Trannies meet up to learn how to shoot rifles and they wear shirts that say “Kill fascists” and “the 2nd Amendment is for shooting cops”. They are training for war. It’s very dangerous. Who provided him with the rifle he used to kill Charlie Kirk?"
Loomer on 15 September 2026 wrote "The Democrats have moved on from cancel culture to assassination culture. And not a single lawmaker has moved to make ANTIFA a terrorist org this week. We really do live in a country of a bunch of do nothing people. Don’t we? It really hits you hard when you think about it."
Stephen Miller, Donald Trump’s deputy chief of staff for policy, who alternately has been called the administration’s “attack dog” and “the president’s id,” has a well-known penchant for breathless, overheated language.
"There is an ideology that has steadily been growing in this country which hates everything that is good, righteous and beautiful and celebrates everything that is warped, twisted and depraved. It is an ideology at war with family and nature. It is envious, malicious, and soulless. It is an ideology that looks upon the perfect family with bitter rage while embracing the serial criminal with tender warmth. Its adherents organize constantly to tear down and destroy every mark of grace and beauty while lifting up everything monstrous and foul. It is an ideology that leads, always, inevitably and willfully, to violence — violence against those uphold order, who uphold faith, who uphold family, who uphold all that is noble and virtuous in this world. It is an ideology whose one unifying thread is the insatiable thirst for destruction.
"We see the workings of this ideology in every posting online cheering the evil assassination that cruelly robbed this nation of one of its greatest men. Postings from those in positions of institutional authority — educators, healthcare workers, therapists, government employees — reveling in the vile and the sinister with the most chilling glee. The fate of millions depends upon the defeat of this wicked ideology. The fate of our children, our society, our civilization hinges on it. Now we devote ourselves, with love and unyielding determination, to finishing the indispensable work to which Charlie bravely devoted his life and gave his last measure of devotion."
Stephen Miller: "The last message that Charlie Kirk gave to me before he joined his creator in heaven was he said that we have to dismantle and take on the radical left organizations in this country that are fomenting violence. That was the last message that he sent me ... we are gonna do that." Miller also wrote: "In recent days we have learned just how many Americans in positions of authority—child services, law clerks, hospital nurses, teachers, gov’t workers, even DOD employees—have been deeply and violently radicalized. The consequence of a vast, organized ecosystem of indoctrination."
Stephen Miller wrote 14 September 2025 "So when you vote to elect any Democrat you are putting to work an entire governing system: “criminal justice” advocates who will work relentlessly to keep monsters out of prison, officials charged with publicly safety who will instead zealously dismantle it, immigrant lawyers and activists who will work tirelessly to deluge your city with migrants and “refugees”, educators who will indoctrinate your children to hate themselves and their heritage, bureaucrats who are true-believing marxist radicals running the machinery of government, DEI zealots to enforce their agenda at every agency and every business they can extort, regulators to extract the last drop of productivity out of the economy to enrich leftist NGOs, leftist lawyers and leftist community organizers, and a government staffed at every level by those who lack the skill or vision to build anything but relish the opportunity to unravel everything that makes society beautiful, sacred and whole."
Elon Musk proclaimed September 10, 2025: "If they won’t leave us in peace, then our choice is fight or die" – This was a reply in a discussion about non-violent resolutions failing, implying a binary choice in the face of aggression. September 11, 2025: "If killers are not arrested, they will kill" – A stark warning about consequences of inaction against violent actors, posted amid news of crimes or threats. September 13, 2025: "Peace is not possible with people who revel in murder." – In response to a conversation about ongoing conflicts, underscoring that de-escalation isn't viable with certain groups. September 13, 2025: "Either we fight back or they will kill us" – Posted in a thread about escalating tensions, likely referring to political or ideological adversaries.
Musk called out "how much violence there is on the left, with our friend Charlie Kirk getting murdered in cold blood this week and people on the left celebrating it openly, the left is the party of murder and celebrating murder.... They are the ones poisoning the minds of our children."
"I am now 100% confident that Charlie’s assassination was carried out by a radical left wing transgender terror cell" Aesthetica wrote. To which Elon Musk replied "Seems likely". "Anyone who’s been in the trenches fighting these trans militants knows that they are inherently violent. On a level far beyond any other political or ideological faction. Deranged, deeply hateful, angry at themselves and the world. Suicidal. The threat they pose is very serious" Matt Walsh wrote. To which Elon Musk responded "This is a massive problem".
On September 15, 2025, Vice President JD Vance guest-hosted a special episode of The Charlie Kirk Show from the White House, honoring the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated the previous week at Utah Valley University. During the 2.5-hour broadcast, Vance invited administration officials like Stephen Miller to discuss Kirk's legacy and broader political plans, including crackdowns on "leftist nongovernmental organizations." Kirk had a history of controversial statements, including a 2023 clip where he claimed "Black women do not have the brain processing power to be taken seriously".
He argued that Kirk was highlighting how DEI initiatives "steal spots from qualified whites and Asians" in elite universities, framing it as reverse discrimination rather than overt racism. Vance echoed this by accusing American universities of "racially discriminating against whites and Asians" through affirmative action, calling for the elimination of DEI policies to restore "fairness." He claimed, "It's not racist if we believe it based on facts—look at the stats on admissions and outcomes."
While guest-hosting Kirk’s podcast, Vice President JD Vance claimed that “left-wing extremism” is “part of the reason” Kirk was killed. He went on to say: “While our side of the aisle certainly has its crazies, it is a statistical fact that most of the lunatics in American politics today are proud members of the far-left." Supporters praised Vance for "calling it like it is" on crime and merit, with one: "JD just dropped the hammer—no fake unity with psychopaths." Outlets like The New York Times described it as Vance laying out plans to "crack down on liberal groups." Vance argued that the assassination was fueled by "left-wing extremism" and that media outlets and certain funders were creating an environment that justifies or celebrates such acts. “This is not a both sides problem. If both sides have a problem, one side has a much bigger and malignant problem, and that is the truth we must be told.”
He elaborated by citing unspecified "data" claiming that "people on the left are much likelier to defend and celebrate political violence," pointing to examples like a The Nation article that allegedly misrepresented Kirk's views on affirmative action and Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. Vance also referenced the July 2024 assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump as evidence of the "terrible consequences" of this rhetoric. He called for honesty about those "celebrating" Kirk's death and the "financing" behind such narratives, implicitly targeting figures like George Soros.
Donald Trump Jr. talked with Sean Hannity. "His threat wasn't that he was a threat or malicious, or anything it was that he was very effective, and they had to make sure that that didn't continue. They tried doing the same thing with my father.... the violence only goes one way. It only goes one way. We have seen that now, whether it's the assassination attempts on my father's life, whether it's Charlie Kirk, whether it's the threatening of a Supreme Court justice or doxing ICE agents, that goes one way. It is entirely owned by the left. So when I watch the radical left television right now, well, it's really the fault of both sides. No, it's not. It is not the fault of both sides....
"I can't, frankly, name a mass shooting in the last year or two in America that wasn't committed by a transgender lunatic that has been pumped up on probably hormones since they were three years olds because they want to normalize that, and if you say something about it is verboten because we are supposed to trust the science even if it's not science and even if everyone understands it.... They have shown that if we try to be nice and placate them -- we actually have to stand up for ourselves. If we don't, they are more than happy to take us out."
President Trump told "FOX & Friends" on 12 September 2025 that he wants the DOJ to look at making a RICO case and George Soros and "professional agitators" on the left: "You know they have professional agitators. They are professional. I had one the other night. I went into a restaurant and this woman stood up. I looked at her—she had money. They get paid for it. They're professionals from Soros and other people. We’re going to look into Soros. I think it is a RICO case against him and other people. This is more than like protesters. This is agitation and riots on the street....
"The radicals on the left are the problem. They are vicious and horrible—and politically savvy. Although they want men in women’s sports. They want transgender for everyone. They want open borders. The worst thing that happened to this country—I already solved inflation. You could have $2 gasoline pretty soon, I've solved everything. The worst thing is when we let 25 million people in, many of which, and I say 80%, should not be in our country. They empty their prisons into our country. They are emptying mental institutions and insane asylums. That is a mental institution on steroids. They emptied out insane asylums, crazy people, into our country by the millions. It is the hardest thing."
"We’ve seen a lot of weakness and impotence on the right, so Republican leaders need to not just stand up there and say, “Oh, we must condemn—both sides do these things.” They need to actually take the threat from left-wing activists very seriously. They need to investigate how they’re funded—Antifa, other terrorist groups. They’re going to war against ICE. You know, they tried to kill Donald Trump. They’ve successfully killed Charlie Kirk. This is a serious group that needs to be taken seriously, and people are looking to Republican leaders to do what needs to be done to make the country safe for free speech and the values we hold dear."
Trump said on Saturday that he hopes the US will heal following the assassination of Kirk. "I'd like to see it heal," Trump said in a telephone interview with NBC News. "But we're dealing with a radical left group of lunatics, and they don't play fair, and they never did". He continued "We'll see what happens. They (the left) don't like what's been happening. We've been winning very big". President Trump responded 15 September 2025 to people who say “BOTH SIDES” are the problem. "The problem is on the left. It's NOT on the right! When you look at the agitators —the scum that speaks so badly of our country, the American flag burnings all over the place — that's the LEFT, NOT the right."
The society in the United States is now extremely polarized, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, commenting on the assassination of US conservative activist Charlie Kirk. "It is up to American law enforcement to figure out whether these are some isolated incidents or some kind of a trend, which is much worse. But the fact that society is extremely polarized now is true," Peskov told Russian journalist Pavel Zarubin.
America was founded on violence and war, from the Revolutionary war, and even from the time of the Pilgrims. Recreation has come to be violent sports and hobbies, whether it be pro-football, pro-hockey, or violent video games. On July 27, 1967, the black activist H. Rap Brown, Director of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), proclaimed “I say violence is necessary. Violence is a part of America’s culture. It is as American as cherry pie. Americans taught the black people to be violent. We will use that violence to rid ourselves of oppression if necessary. We will be free, by any means necessary.” In his controversial 1969 autobiography Die Nigger Die!, Brown wrote "This country was born on violence. Violence is as american as cherry pie. Black people have always been violent, but our violence has always been directed toward each other. If nonviolence is to be practiced, then it should be practiced in our community and end there. Violence is a necessary part of revolutionary struggle."
The Purge
The New York Times reported 26 September 2025 "More than 145 people in a wide range of occupations have been fired or disciplined after they made statements about the assassination of Charlie Kirk.... Those who have faced discipline are professors and health care workers, lawyers and journalists, restaurant workers and airline employees."
The term "purge" is more generally used to describe resorting to legal and extralegal means intended to punish and ostracize traitors. Released in June 2013, the movie The Purge is premised on a 12-hour period in which any and all crime is legal. The result is a venting of frustration and anger, a purging of demons, as well as the eradication of the poor and those unable to defend themselves. The end result of this annual purge is extremely low unemployment and crime, and a fantastic economy; "a nation reborn", where the weak are prey and the strong survive. The Hollywood Reporter's Neil Young noed "What should be a clammy exercise in claustrophobic, queasy tension becomes, in the hands of writer/director James DeMonaco, an underpowered compendium of over-familiar scare tactics and sledgehammer-subtle social satire."
The word "purge" originally comes from Latin "purgare," meaning "to make pure". The first documented political use of the term "purge" was in England's Pride's Purge (1648), a military action where the New Model Army excluded members of the Long Parliament who supported the King. The word's political sense, meaning the removal of undesirable members from a body, was cemented by this event, though the word itself existed in other senses much earlier.
The French Revolution, and more specifically, its Jacobin phase, introduced the principle of a “permanent purging” of supposed enemies within. In the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin, the Great Purge of the 1930s involved the widespread arrest, execution, and imprisonment of Communist Party officials, military leaders, and others seen as enemies of the state. In Nazi Germany the "Night of the Long Knives" in 1934 saw Adolf Hitler and the SS eliminate the leadership of the rival SA paramilitary organization. in Modern Turkey, following a failed coup attempt in 2016, the government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan conducted a purge of thousands of civil servants, judges, and military officers.
In George Orwell's dystopian novel 1984, published in 1949, the authoritarian regime of Oceania (led by the Party and Big Brother) systematically indoctrinates children to spy on their parents and report any signs of disloyalty or "thoughtcrime." This is part of the Party's broader strategy to erode family bonds and extend its surveillance into the home, turning the family unit into an arm of the Thought Police. Children are enrolled in youth organizations like the Junior Spies, which train them from a young age to monitor adults, including their own families, for any anti-Party behavior.
In Orwell's 1984, informants are crucial tools of the Thought Police to monitor and suppress dissent, with key examples including the Junior Spies, who report on their own parents; Mr. Charrington, the shopkeeper who betrays Winston and Julia; and the general populace, encouraged to report any suspicious behavior or thoughts. The novel portrays a society where surveillance is pervasive, and citizens are conditioned to betray one another, highlighting the state's total control over its citizens.
The "Junior Spies" were an organization of brainwashed children who spied on and reported their parents for thoughtcrime to the Party, destroying family bonds and sowing fear through forced loyalty to the government. Inspired by groups like Nazi Germany's Hitler Youth, they exemplified the Party's total control, enabling surveillance and indoctrination even within private homes and demonstrating the devastating impact of the totalitarian state on personal relationships and family life.
"Nearly all children nowadays were horrible. What was worst of all was that by means of such organizations as the Spies they were systematically turned into ungovernable little savages, and yet this produced in them no tendency whatever to rebel against the discipline of the Party. On the contrary, they adored the Party and everything connected with it…. All their ferocity was turned outwards, against the enemies of the State, against foreigners, traitors, saboteurs, thought-criminals. It was almost normal for people over thirty to be frightened of their own children."
In Part 2, Chapter 3, during a conversation between protagonists Winston Smith and Julia about the Party's control over instincts and society, Orwell describes this mechanism explicitly: "The family could not actually be abolished, and, indeed, people were encouraged to be fond of their children, in almost the old-fashioned way. The children, on the other hand, were systematically turned against their parents and taught to spy on them and report their deviations. The family had become in effect an extension of the Thought Police. It was a device by means of which everyone could be surrounded night and day by informers who knew him intimately."
This theme underscores Orwell's warning about totalitarianism's erosion of privacy and human relationships, drawing from real-world inspirations like the Hitler Youth or Soviet Pioneer movements, where children were encouraged to inform on family members.
In Ray Bradbury's dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451, published in 1953, denunciation is a key mechanism of societal control in a world where books are outlawed and burned to suppress ideas that could provoke thought, unhappiness, or dissent. Citizens are conditioned to report (or "denounce") anyone suspected of possessing books or engaging in intellectual activities, turning neighbors, friends, and even family members into informants for the firemen—the enforcers of censorship. This system reflects the novel's themes of conformity, anti-intellectualism, and self-imposed censorship, where the government doesn't need to mandate reporting—society polices itself through fear and ignorance.
The regime enforces book burning not through top-down decrees alone but via "minority pressure" and mass conformity, as explained by fire captain Beatty: "There was no dictum, no declaration, no censorship, to start with, no! Technology, mass exploitation, and minority pressure carried the trick, thank God." Books are seen as sources of unhappiness because they present conflicting ideas: "If you don't want a man unhappy politically, don't give him two sides to a question to worry him; give him one. Better yet, give him none."
US Vice President J.D. Vance called on the public to report individuals who praise or joke about the killing to their employers. A growing number of individuals faced professional consequences, from being fired or placed on administrative leave, for public comments they made in the wake of the assassination of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk. Supporters of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, who was shot dead on Wednesday, have launched online campaigns calling for anyone believed to be celebrating Kirk's death on social media to lose their jobs. Teachers, airline employees and military personnel have all been targeted for public comments they made after the shooting. These efforts have targeted teachers, firefighters and even military personnel, some of whom have lost their jobs.
Several historically Black colleges and universities in the US were closed after receiving potential threats, with the FBI confirming it is investigating "hoax threat calls" to multiple institutions, ABC News reported. Alabama State University, Virginia State University, Hampton University in Virginia, Southern University in Louisiana, and Clark Atlanta University in Georgia all announced closures as a precaution.
“Most people think they have a right to free speech … but that doesn’t necessarily apply in the workplace,” said Vanessa Matsis-McCready, associate general counsel and vice president of HR Services for Engage PEO. “Most employees in the private sector do not have any protections for that type of speech at work.” She said that employers were increasingly worried about the impact that their workers' public comments could have on a company's brand.
At least 15 people had been fired or suspended from their jobs after discussing the killing online, according to a Reuters news agency tally based on interviews, public statements and local press reports. The total includes journalists, academic workers and teachers. On 12 September 2025, a junior Nasdaq employee was fired over her posts related to Kirk.
Republicans' anger at those disrespecting Kirk's legacy contrasts with the mockery some of the same figures – including Kirk – directed at past victims of political violence. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband, Paul, was clubbed over the head by a hammer-wielding conspiracy theorist during a break-in at their San Francisco home shortly before the 2022 midterm elections. Loomer falsely suggested that Paul Pelosi and his assailant were lovers, calling the brutal assault on the octogenarian a "booty call gone wrong." Speaking to a television audience a few days after the attack, a grinning Kirk called for the intruder to be sprung from jail. "If some amazing patriot out there in San Francisco or the Bay Area wants to really be a midterm hero, someone should go and bail this guy out," he said.
Calls to run people out of jobs have flooded across X. A newly registered site, "Expose Charlie's Murderers," has 41 names of people it alleges were "supporting political violence online" and claims to be working on a backlog of more than 20,000 submissions.
US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau warned that Washington may take action against foreigners "praising, rationalising, or making light" of the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, adding he had directed consular officials to take appropriate action. "In light of yesterday’s horrific assassination of a leading political figure, I want to underscore that foreigners who glorify violence and hatred are not welcome visitors to our country," Landau said on 11 September 2025 in a post on social media platform X. "I have been disgusted to see some on social media praising, rationalising, or making light of the event, and have directed our consular officials to undertake appropriate action." A State Department spokesperson, asked about Landau's post, said: "This Administration does not believe that the United States should grant visas to persons whose presence in our country does not align with US national security interests."
MSNBC political analyst Matthew Dowd was seen as the first of many figures to face consequences for his comments, but the list quickly grew. Dowd said: "He’s [Kirk] been one of the most divisive, especially divisive younger figures in this, who is constantly sort of pushing this sort of hate speech or sort of aimed at certain groups. And I always go back to, hateful thoughts lead to hateful words, which then lead to hateful actions. And I think that is the environment we are in. You can’t stop with these sort of awful thoughts you have and then saying these awful words and not expect awful actions to take place. And that’s the unfortunate environment we are in."
MSNBC president Rebecca Kutler: “During our breaking news coverage of the shooting of Charlie Kirk, Matthew Dowd made comments that were inappropriate, insensitive and unacceptable." Comcast CEO Brian Roberts, President Mike Cavanagh and prospective Versant CEO Mark Lazarus wrote "The tragic loss of Charlie Kirk, a 31-year-old father, husband, and advocate for open debate, whose faith was important to him, reminds us of the fragility of life and the urgent need for unity in our nation. Our hearts are heavy, as his passing leaves a grieving family and a country grappling with division. There is no place for violence or hate in our society".
The Carolina Panthers fired an employee, Charlie Rock, who made social media posts following the assassination of Kirk. Social media posts linked to Rock appeared to show him questioning why people were sad that Kirk had been shot and killed. "The views expressed by our employees are their own and do not represent those of the Carolina Panthers," the team said in a statement posted to social media. "We do not condone violence of any kind. We are taking this matter very seriously and have accordingly addressed it with the individual."
Anthony Pough, an employee of the Secret Service protective agency, was put on leave after he posted on Facebook, according to several outlets, that condemned those mourning Kirk, saying the conservative commentator "spewed hate and racism on his show." "Especially when we should be mourning the innocent children killed in Colorado," he added.
Laura Loomer, the far-right conspiracy theorist who has Trump's ear, has been one of the most high-profile attackers of Kirk's critics. She denounced an employee of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), who had expressed disgust on Instagram that flags would be lowered for "the literal racist homophobe misogynist". Loomer shared the staffer's LinkedIn profile and said: "These people hate us. They don't belong near the levers of our National Power." Following Loomer's post, FEMA said the employee was placed on leave for making "revolting and unconscionable" comments.
An official with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), was caught on hidden camera laughing about the murder of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, calling him “a lunatic” who “kind of deserves it,” and saying agency staff were “laughing” at the news and showed “not a ton of empathy.” The official admitted to sharing memes about the attack.
The leftist who celebrated Charlie Kirk’s death outside a Washington DC vigil was identified as District of Columbia Department of Transportation employee David Bukowski. Online trackers targeted an Oklahoma teacher, who posted on social media: "Charlie Kirk died the same way he lived: bringing out the worst in people." That teacher was investigated by the state's Department of Education, which described his comments as "abhorrent".
Office Depot said that it fired a worker at a Michigan store who was seen on video refusing to print flyers for a Kirk vigil and calling them “propaganda”. Several Delta Air Lines employees were also suspended after social media posts that “went well beyond healthy, respectful debate”, CEO Ed Bastian said in a message to the company.
Laura Sosh-Lightsy, assistant dean of students at a university in the southern state of Tennessee, found herself in hot water after posting on social media about Kirk's death. "Hate begets hate. ZERO sympathy," she said on Facebook. Middle Tennessee State University's president announced that same night an employee's firing for a "callous" comment about Kirk.
Pete Buttigieg said 14 September 2025 : “Yes, we have to reject those who commit political violence. Yes, we have to reject those who celebrate or promote political violence. But also, in order to deprive political violence of its power, we have to reject anyone who would try to exploit political violence. …An overwhelming majority of Americans left, right, and center believe that the government should not be cracking down on its political opponents because they are political opponents. Not in the United States of America. Not ever.”
"Washington DC went from a hellhole to a safe place. We are going to do that in Chicago... Portland is burning to the ground. It's insurrectionists all over the place. So, we will take a look at the order," said US President Donald Trump, while announcing his plans to deploy federal troops to Portland & Chicago to address the alleged rise in violence
Media Supression
Efforts to suppress or undermine the media have been a documented aspect of Donald Trump's political career, particularly during his time in office. Actions have included verbal attacks, restricted press access, threats of legal action, and attempts to influence media companies and funding. Trump began his first term by labeling the press an "enemy of the American people," a phrase historically used by totalitarian leaders. Throughout his presidency and campaigns, he consistently referred to negative coverage as "fake news" and used a variety of insults against outlets and journalists. This rhetoric contributed to a significant decline in public trust in the media, especially among Republicans.
The FCC, under a Trump-appointed head, launched investigations into media companies. Needing the FCC’s permission for a merger, Paramount — the corporate parent of CBS — settled a $16 million lawsuit with Trump, and announced they would pull back on various diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Weeks later, the FCC approved the merger which, among other concessions, included hiring a bias monitor at CBS.
Trump and his administration repeatedly revoked the press credentials of reporters whose coverage they deemed critical or unfair. His administration changed the makeup of the White House and Pentagon press pools, replacing legacy media outlets with those considered more favorable. In one instance, the Associated Press was banned from press events for refusing to use Trump's preferred term, "Gulf of America," instead of "Gulf of Mexico". A federal court later ordered the AP's access to be restored.
Tump filed numerous defamation lawsuits against news organizations, including The New York Times, CBS, ABC, and The Wall Street Journal. While many of these suits were considered legally weak, some media companies have settled with him to avoid costly litigation. Trump filed a $10 billion defamation lawsuit after The Wall Street Journal published a story on a 2003 letter sent from Trump to Jeffery Epstein. He settled for $16 million in a lawsuit against Paramount and CBS News for the “60 Minutes” coverage of former Vice President Kamala Harris during the 2024 presidential race. In December 2024, he reached a $15 million settlement with ABC News over a misquotation by host George Stephanopoulos. He sued the Des Moines Register and Iowa pollster Ann Selzer in December 2024 over a poll that predicted former Vice President Kamala Harris would win.
His administration initiated actions aimed at public broadcasters like NPR and PBS, including a $1.1 billion cut in funding and shutting down US Agency for Global Media entities like Voice of America and Radio Free Asia. In early 2025, following his inauguration for a second term, President Donald Trump initiated efforts to defund several public broadcasters, citing concerns over ideological bias, waste, and cost-cutting. in May 2025 Trump signed an executive order directing cuts to federal funding for NPR and PBS, instructing agencies like the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to cease support. In June 2025 plans advanced to cut nearly all VOA staff under adviser Kari Lake's oversight,
The Pentagon removed longstanding offices for legacy media outlets such as The New York Times, NPR, and Politico for new media outlets, the majority of which lean conservative in their coverage. In September 2025, the Pentagon announced new rules requiring journalists to sign pledges not to report unauthorized information, a policy critics argue severely curtails press freedom. National Press Club President Mike Balsamo on 19 September 2025 today released the following statement on the Pentagon’s new pledge requirement for reporters: “The Pentagon is now demanding that journalists sign a pledge not to obtain or report any information — even if unclassified — unless it has been expressly authorized by the government. This is a direct assault on independent journalism at the very place where independent scrutiny matters most: the U.S. military."
On September 11, 2025, conservative activist and Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk was fatally shot during an event in Utah. Following the assassination, various forms of media control and self-censorship have been reported, often driven by political pressure, legal actions, and public backlash. Major outlets like CNN refrained from explicitly reporting that the assassin's ammunition bore engravings related to "transgender" and "antifascist" themes, instead describing them vaguely as "phrases related to cultural issues." Traditional news organizations, including the AP and others, avoided showing graphic images or videos of the shooting scene to maintain sensitivity, while such content spread rapidly on social media platforms.
Karen Attiah is an American writer, commentator, and former journalist known for her work on global affairs, racial justice, feminism, and international human rights. Her Ghanaian and Nigerian heritage influenced her focus on African and global issues. Attiah gained prominence as a columnist for The Washington Post, where she contributed for over a decade, but she was fired amid controversy over her social media posts following the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
On September 15, 2025, Attiah announced on Substack she was fired. Attiah condemned political violence, criticized America's "ritualized responses" to gun violence (like "thoughts and prayers"), and highlighted racial double standards in how white perpetrators are treated compared to others. She described the termination as part of a broader "purge of Black voices" from media and other institutions. As of September 15, 2025, prior to her dismissal she was the last remaining full-time Black opinion columnist at the Post. The Post reportedly deemed the posts "unacceptable," "gross misconduct," and a potential endangerment to colleagues' safety. This occurred amid broader changes at the Post, including an editorial overhaul under owner Jeff Bezos.
Attiah said her firing was “part of a broader purge of Black voices from academia, business, government, and media – a historical pattern as dangerous as it is shameful – and tragic”.
US House Speaker Mike Johnson said the firings were not the same as silencing a constitutionally protected civil liberty. “That’s not the government censoring speech, that’s personal behaviour and decorum,” Johnson said.
In September 2025, President Donald Trump reignited his long-standing feud with late-night television hosts, particularly targeting Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert, whom he has repeatedly labeled as having "no talent" amid broader attacks on media outlets.
In July 2025, CBS announced the cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, with the program scheduled to conclude its run in May 2026 at the end of the broadcast TV season. This decision marked the end of Colbert's 10-year tenure as host, which began in September 2015. CBS cited financial pressures as the primary factor, with the show reportedly losing significant money. Supporters lamented the loss of a late-night staple, while critics, including some on X, attributed it to poor performance and tied it to political controversies, such as recent media restrictions following the Charlie Kirk assassination. Some users speculated on political motivations, but official statements emphasize economics.
After pressure from the Trump administration, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) , and Republican figures, ABC suspended the late-night show Jimmy Kimmel Live!. The ACLU called this move an attempt to "silence its critics and control what the American people watch and read". The FCC invoked rules against broadcasting false information about crimes or catastrophes, leading to actions against broadcasters. For instance, Jimmy Kimmel's show faced restrictions or cancellation after he suggested the assassin was aligned with MAGA.
The company faced backlash after suspending Kimmel, with a rash of consumer cancellations and a wave of reproach from creators and Hollywood insiders over what many saw as a spineless response to government bullying. Some on the political right were also uneasy, including those who regularly count themselves as Trump allies, like conservative senator Ted Cruz, and firebrand broadcaster Tucker Carlson.
On 15 September 2025, Jimmy Kimmel spoke about the shooting in his popular late-night show, saying: "We had some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA [Make America Great Again] gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and with everything they can to score political points from it." He went on to criticize Trump's mourning of Kirk, pointing to a video of Trump's comments on the White House lawn. When Trump was asked how he was holding up, he said, “I think very good, and by the way, right there where you see all the trucks, they just started construction of the new ballroom for the White House.” When the camera cut back to Kimmel, he said, “Yes, he’s at the fourth stage of grief: construction.” “Demolition, construction. This is not how an adult grieves the murder of someone he called a friend,” Kimmel said. “This is how a four-year-old mourns a goldfish, OK?”
Kimmel told his audience “There’s something wrong with him, there really is. Who thinks like that? Why are we building a $200-million ballroom in the White House? Is it possible he’s doing it intentionally so we can be mad about that instead of the Epstein list? By the time he’s out of office, the White House will have slot machines and a water slide.”
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chair Brendan Carr called for local broadcasters to stop airing "Jimmy Kimmel Live" and suggested the commission could open an investigation. He said broadcasters could potentially be fined or lose their licenses if there was a pattern of distorted comments.
ABC network is taking "Jimmy Kimmel Live" off the air "indefinitely" in response to comments the late-night host made about the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. "Mr. Kimmel's comments about the death of Mr. Kirk are offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse, and we do not believe they reflect the spectrum of opinions, views, or values of the local communities in which we are located," said Nexstar Media Group, an owner of ABC TV affiliates.
Trump, who had sparred with Kimmel in the past, called the decision "great news for America." "Great News for America: The ratings challenged Jimmy Kimmel Show is CANCELLED," Trump wrote on his social media site, Truth Social. "Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done. Kimmel has ZERO talent, and worse ratings than even Colbert, if that's possible."
Opposition Democrats voiced outrage at what they describe as a growing attempt by the Trump administration to censor any media views it considers contrary to its point of view. The only Democratic member of the FCC, Anna Gomez, said that under free speech laws, the body, an independent agency of the US government, should not be able to dictate to broadcasters what they can air.
On September 18, 2025 in an interview on Fox News' The Sunday Briefing, Trump unleashed on Kimmel, stating, "When I look at Jimmy Kimmel, he had no talent, he had no talent," while supporting ABC's suspension of his show and hinting at further actions against networks that "hit Trump." He also referenced Colbert, calling him part of the "untalented late-night sweepstakes." On September 23, 2025: As Jimmy Kimmel Live! returned from suspension, Trump posted on Truth Social, raging at ABC and Kimmel: "Something happened between then and now because his audience is GONE, and his 'talent' was never there... A true bunch of losers!"
“Donald Trump and the Republican Party’s war on the First Amendment is blatantly inconsistent with American values. Media companies, such as the one that suspended Mr. Kimmel, have a lot to explain,” House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries wrote. “The censoring of artists and cancellation of shows is an act of cowardice. It may also be part of a corrupt pay-to-play scheme.... Brendan Carr, the so-called Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, has engaged in the corrupt abuse of power. He has disgraced the office he holds by bullying ABC, the employer of Jimmy Kimmel, and forcing the company to bend the knee to the Trump administration. FCC Chair Brendan Carr should resign immediately."
Nexstar owned 23 ABC affiliates and was pursuing a $6.2bn merger with competitor Tegna, a deal requiring FCC approval. If completed, the combined company would reach 80 percent of US households, far above the current 39 percent cap, and would require a policy change. “Nexstar’s capitulation in hopes of gaining approval for its merger with Tegna is actually Exhibit A in why it should not be allowed to merge with Tegna. Large conglomerates have enormous leverage to facilitate the Trump administration’s crackdown on free speech, both by censoring themselves and by bullying the networks,” Seth Stern, director of advocacy at the Freedom of the Press Foundation, told Al Jazeera.
Jimmy Kimmel Live! returned to the airwaves 23 September 2025. Kimmel, who frequently skewers Trump and his inner circle, raised the ire of conservatives when he said "the MAGA gang" was trying to exploit Kirk's college campus murder for their own political gain. Kimmel mocked Trump for criticising him for bad ratings. “He tried his best to cancel me and instead he forced millions of people to watch this show,” Kimmel said.after Disney lifted its indefinite suspension of the US late-night show,
The two largest affiliate owners – Sinclair Broadcasting Group and Nexstar Media Group – would not air the long-running program. Disney owns the broadcaster ABC, home of Jimmy Kimmel Live!. On Monday evening, Disney announced that the show would return following discussions with Kimmel’s team and network representatives. However, two of the major affiliate operators had not reversed course. Nexstar and Sinclair together own and operate 70 of the 250 ABC stations across the United States. Disney’s move to reinstate Kimmel comes amid widespread public pressure. Celebrities and elected officials called for boycotts of Disney-owned platforms, including Disney+, ESPN and Hulu, in the wake of his suspension.
Trump took to his Truth Social platform to insult Kimmel and accuse broadcaster ABC of "playing 99% positive Democrat GARBAGE". The 79-year-old Republican added: "I think we're going to test ABC out on this. Let's see how we do. Last time I went after them, they gave me $16 million dollars. I can't believe ABC Fake News gave Jimmy Kimmel his job back," Trump wrote Tuesday. "The White House was told by ABC that his Show was cancelled! Something happened between then and now because his audience is GONE, and his "talent" was never there. "Why would they want someone back who does so poorly, who’s not funny, and who puts the Network in jeopardy," he wrote.
Trump went on to accuse broadcaster ABC of "playing 99% positive Democrat GARBAGE," and said Kimmel was "yet another arm of the DNC," short for Democratic National Committee. "I think we're going to test ABC out on this. Let's see how we do. Last time I went after them, they gave me $16 million dollars. This one sounds even more lucrative.
The question of whether there was any humor left in Germany was a phrase used by Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels in 1939 to condemn and silence comedians he accused of making political jokes. By suggesting that Germans themselves questioned the presence of humor, he portrayed the comedians' jokes as unpatriotic and offensive to the German people.
“Propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels ended the professional careers of five ‘Aryan’ actors and cabaret announcers by expelling them from the Reich’s Chamber of Culture,” reported The New York Times on Feb. 4, 1939, “on the grounds that ‘in their public appearances they displayed a lack of any positive attitude about National Socialism.’” The five include perhaps the best known German stage comedians who survived previous Chamber of Culture purges and still dared to indulge in political witticisms. “What amused the public most,” the Times reported, and “presumably roiled the Nationalist Socialist authorities most — although Dr. Goebbels does not mention it — is that they deftly, but unmistakably, caricatured some gestures, poses, and physical characteristics of National Socialist leaders.”
Goebbels also publishes a long article in the Voelkischer Beobachter in which he denounces them as “brazen, impertinent, arrogant and tactless" and generally imitators and successors to Jews. Simultaneously he denounces the "society rabble that followed them with thundering applause—parasitic scum, inhabiting our luxury streets, that seems to have only the task of proving with how little brains people can get along and even acquire money and prominence."
Like Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel was not a radical. They were mainstream liberals with mass followings. Trump’s second term, however, is defined by his all-out war on any of his critics, heedless of their actual politics, not to mention of the First Amendment.
Media companies in the US faced a string of reprimands and even lawsuits from Trump over any coverage he sees as negative toward him or his actions. Disney renounced "woke" values, with the company's CEO, Bob Iger, declaring that its mandate is to "entertain" rather than to advance "any kind of agenda." In the months following Trump's reelection, major studios quietly rolled back their diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Disney rebranded its cultural initiatives, while Amazon and Paramount eliminated hiring targets and training once tied to DEI. The changes follow Trump's executive order dismantling federal DEI programs and signaling regulatory scrutiny for companies that maintain them.
Amazon paid a jaw-dropping $40 million for two documentaries by and about Melania Trump, one directed by Brett Ratner, a director/producer cancelled during the #MeToo era. The streamer is also re-running the first seven seasons of "The Apprentice," the reality-TV show starring Trump which helped make him a household name in America.
Taylor Sheridan's neo-Western "Yellowstone" and its spin-offs — soapy prime-time shows that embrace a worldview more at home in middle America than in the coastal urban centers — have become billion-dollar franchises despite being snubbed by the Emmys. Sheridan's latest, "Landman," places oil workers at the center of its narrative, with characters railing against clean energy and government bureaucracy.
There's been a rebirth of Christian-themed films and TV series as well. Angel Studios, a "faith-friendly" production company based in Utah, has become a breakout player. Its "Sound of Freedom" starring "The Passion of the Christ" actor Jim Caviezel, grossed $250 million worldwide. "The King of Kings," an animated film about the life of Jesus, brought in another $77 million.
This reorientation is not entirely about ideology. Economics play a decisive role. The movie box office is still below the level it was pre-COVID. Streaming has killed the DVD business, a big money-maker for the studios. Cord-cutting has decimated the cable TV industry. Desperate for profits, Hollywood is looking for low-cost sure bets. Faith-based and conservative-leaning films and series, often made cheaply and without A-list stars, can deliver a loyal audience and higher margins. Advertisers, too, prefer content that avoids polarizing themes.
The risk, however, is that Hollywood is trading one kind of conformity for another. This new "great unwokening," as the New Republic and others have called it, may not reflect audience demand so much as industry desperation. Just as the rise of progressive storytelling in the late 2010s coincided with streaming expansion and the search for younger subscribers, today's rightward pivot comes as studios scramble to cut costs and stabilize balance sheets.
The narrative deepened public distrust in media, with polarized juries and audiences making it harder for outlets to operate without fear of backlash.
In July, Paramount's CBS arm quietly paid Trump $16 million (€13.5 million) to settle a lawsuit over a 2024 "60 Minutes" interview with Kamala Harris. (Trump had claimed, without much evidence, that "60 Minutes" altered the interview to make Harris look better). CBS canceled Colbert's show after the host blasted the payout as a "big fat bribe." Colbert still collected an Emmy last Sunday, but he'll be off the air by May 2026.
David Ellison — son of Oracle billionaire Larry Ellison, the second-richest man in the world and a longtime Trump ally — will follow up his $8 billion takeover of Paramount with a bid for another Hollywood jewel: Warner Bros. Discovery. Such a move would unite Paramount's holdings, including CBS and the "Mission: Impossible" and "Star Trek" franchises, with Warner's stable of assets: DC Studios ("Superman," "Batman"), along with CNN and HBO. Ellison has already shown a willingness to align with Trump's agenda. He installed conservative think-tank head and Trump advisor Kenneth Weinstein as CBS News ombudsman. He held talks with Bari Weiss, founder of the "anti-woke" Free Press, about a possible role at CBS.
ABC News agreed to pay $15 million to resolve a defamation case involving Trump-critical comments made by presenter George Stephanopoulos.
The Wall Street Journal and New York Times still face similar multi-billion-dollar lawsuits from Trump.
There was also a business rationale to ABC's decision to pull Kimmel. Nexstar, which owns dozens of ABC affiliates, is currently angling for a mega-merger that would make it the biggest station owner in the US. As the pending merger still requires government approval, Nexstar pre-empted the late-night talk show on its stations. A few weeks ago, its CEO also praised the Trump administration as the company announced its upcoming $6.2 billion merger with TV rival, Tegna.
The combined effect of access restrictions, lawsuits, regulatory pressure, and funding cuts threatens the press’s role as a democratic watchdog. A weakened press reduces government accountability, risking authoritarianism. Trump’s “fake news”
The Trump administration restricted certain outlets’ access to White House events, notably barring the Associated Press from the Oval Office and Air Force One over its refusal to use Trump’s preferred term, “Gulf of America.” The White House also took control of the press pool from the White House Correspondents’ Association, raising concerns about favoring pro-Trump outlets like Newsmax and The Blaze. The White House claims its press pool changes aim to democratize access and include “new voices,” though critics see this as favoring sycophantic media.
The pattern of lawsuits, access restrictions, and FCC investigations suggests a strategy to pressure media into compliance, but it’s not “control” in the sense of state-run media. Instead, it’s a mix of intimidation, selective access, and leveraging economic realities (like corporate mergers) to influence coverage. The First Amendment limits direct government control, and some outlets have resisted, as seen in the AP’s lawsuit against the White House. However, the broader trend of media capitulation—especially by corporate-owned outlets—raises concerns about self-censorship and the erosion of independent journalism. This fits into a historical pattern where powerful figures seek to shape information flows, though Trump’s approach is notably blunt.
The Trump administration restricted journalists’ access to key government spaces, notably barring the Associated Press (AP) from White House press pool events and the Oval Office for refusing to use the term “Gulf of America” instead of “Gulf of Mexico.” This was ruled unconstitutional by a federal judge, but the administration defied the order and eliminated the wire service’s press pool spot, with plans to appeal to the Supreme Court.
Trump has pursued high-profile lawsuits against media outlets, securing settlements like $15 million from ABC News and $16 million from Paramount (CBS’s parent) over defamation claims. These are seen as “strategic lawsuits against public participation” (SLAPP), intimidating outlets into self-censorship due to financial risks, especially given polarized juries influenced by Trump’s “fake news” rhetoric.
The administration’s lawsuits, like one against CBS for a “60 Minutes” interview with Kamala Harris, are often called frivolous by legal experts, yet media companies settle to avoid costly battles or to protect business interests, such as mergers needing FCC approval.
Under Trump-appointed FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, the FCC launched investigations into outlets like CBS, ABC, and NPR, often citing “news distortion” or other editorial decisions. Critics, including FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez, argue these moves pressure media companies to align with Trump’s views, especially when they have business interests like mergers pending FCC approval.
Media consolidation, driven by economic factors and deregulation long before Trump, has already concentrated ownership in the hands of a few, making outlets vulnerable to political pressure regardless of who’s in power. The settlement of Rupert Murdoch’s family feud ensuring Fox News retained its conservative tilt was seen as aligning major networks with Trump-friendly perspectives. Owners like Jeff Bezos (Washington Post) and Patrick Soon-Shiong (Los Angeles Times) have made decisions—such as blocking endorsements of Kamala Harris or donating to Trump’s inauguration—that critics argue reflect capitulation to Trump’s influence, possibly due to their broader business interests.
The assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk on September 10, 2025, at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, unleashed an unprecedented wave of conspiracy theories across the political spectrum, with social media fragmenting American understanding of the event within hours of the shooting.1 Kirk, the thirty-one-year-old co-founder and executive director of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot in the neck while engaging with audience members during his organization's American Comeback Tour campus event, sparking immediate speculation about the shooter's identity, motives, and potential conspiracies before law enforcement had even identified a suspect.2
The conspiracy theories emerged with remarkable speed and diversity, united by their cross-ideological appeal despite originating from vastly different political perspectives. Within the first twenty-four hours after the shooting, multiple false narratives about the shooter's identity circulated widely, including misidentifications of comedian Samuel Hyde, seventy-seven-year-old Toronto resident Michael Mallinson, and various other individuals who had no connection to the crime.3 The Hyde misidentification represented a particularly troubling pattern, as the comedian's name and image had been recycled for nearly a decade by internet hoaxers to spread disinformation about mass shooting suspects in the United States and abroad.4 Even as authorities conducted their manhunt, social media users shared fabricated videos purporting to show the real shooter escaping, including footage that actually depicted a different shooting incident from July 2025 at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nevada.5
The conspiracy theories took on increasingly elaborate forms as details emerged about the suspected shooter, twenty-two-year-old Tyler Robinson, who surrendered to authorities on September 11, 2025. Prominent influencers across the political spectrum, including right-wing commentator Matt Walsh and former White House official Steve Bannon, cast doubt on the authenticity of text message conversations prosecutors alleged Robinson had exchanged with his romantic partner after the shooting.6 These skeptics claimed the language and tone of the messages did not match someone of Robinson's age and that his account of the shooting was suspiciously forthcoming and detailed, suggesting the texts had been scripted or fabricated by authorities to serve particular narratives.7 However, criminal law expert Steven B. Duke of Yale Law School offered a blunt assessment of these claims, stating there was nothing in the messages making it plausible that they were written by law enforcement and calling the conspiracy theorists crazy.8
Among the most widespread and persistent conspiracy theories were those suggesting Israeli involvement in Kirk's assassination. Over ten thousand posts on the social media platform X included the phrase "Israel killed Charlie Kirk" within twenty-four hours of the shooting, a figure that exploded to over seventy-two thousand posts by September 16, 2025.9 Far-right conspiracy theorist Stew Peters claimed it was obvious that Israel ordered the hit after Kirk started "noticing," employing antisemitic tropes about Jewish power, while anti-Zionist influencer Ian Carroll directly accused Israel of the assassination in a post that garnered over ten million views and one hundred thousand likes.10 These theories falsely claimed that Israel or Jewish organizations had colluded to have Kirk killed because he had supposedly become more critical of Israel or that they suspected he would eventually turn against them, despite Kirk having been a prominent public supporter of Israel throughout his career with only occasional criticism.11 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu forcefully rejected these accusations as insane, false, and outrageous, while entities linked to the government of Iran actively promoted the conspiracy theories as part of a broader information warfare campaign.12
Foreign adversaries seized upon the assassination as an opportunity to spread propaganda aimed at aggravating United States political divisions and portraying America as an unstable nation in decline. Russian state media and pro-Kremlin voices on social media suggested the United States was poised for possible civil war and that dark conspiracies involving elements of a deep state had played a role in Kirk's murder.13 The Russia state news agency TASS published a column by a pro-Russian former member of Ukraine's Parliament who claimed, without evidence, that Ukrainian President Zelensky's hand was both ideological and practical in the assassination attempt on Donald Trump and the murder of Charlie Kirk.14 Russian state media also promoted conspiracy theories from hard-line commentator Alexandr Dugin, who alleged without evidence that investor and philanthropist George Soros was somehow behind the murder and warned that civil war in its fullest and most horrific form would be inevitable in the United States if Trump did not pass the test of preserving law and order.15 Chinese state media portrayed the attack as yet another example of troubled American society plagued by political disorder and gun violence, while Iran's media posted baseless allegations that Israel's Mossad intelligence agency had possibly orchestrated Kirk's killing.16
Conspiracy theories also emerged around specific individuals present at the event, with social media users alleging that a man standing near Kirk in a white baseball cap was sending suspicious hand signals to the shooter. This man was actually Christian radio host and author Frank Turek, one of Kirk's friends who traveled to the hospital in the same vehicle as the mortally wounded activist, and there was no basis whatsoever for the claim.17 Right-leaning commentators raised suspicious questions about another man in the crowd supposedly seen wearing a trench coat and a black glove, but in reality this individual was wearing a conventional suit jacket, the supposed black glove was actually a prosthetic he used after an amputation, and he was a Kirk supporter who had nothing to do with the murder.18 These theories demonstrated how social media users actively sought patterns and conspiracies even in the most innocent details captured in footage of the event.
Members of the Trump administration contributed to the conspiratorial atmosphere by making statements that, while not demonstrably false, went far beyond the evidence that had been made public during the investigation. White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller declared during a podcast appearance that the Trump administration would channel all of the anger over the organized campaign that led to this assassination to uproot and dismantle these terrorist networks, though he did not explain how any particular organized campaign had supposedly led to the killing or how any terrorist network had been connected to it.19 Vice President JD Vance suggested on Fox News that the FBI during the Biden administration should have been investigating the networks that motivated, inspired, and maybe even funded Charlie Kirk's murder, though he did not specify which unspecified networks might have funded the killing or provide any evidence for these claims.20 Vance blamed an incredibly destructive movement of left-wing extremism for Kirk's assassination during an episode of Kirk's podcast that he hosted posthumously, while talk show host Jimmy Kimmel offered the contrasting view that the MAGA gang was desperately trying to characterize the killer as anything other than one of them, leading to Kimmel's indefinite suspension and raising concerns about free speech.21
Additional conspiracy theories emerged around Robinson's transgender partner, with speculation that Robinson may have been motivated to kill Kirk because of Kirk's views and rhetoric on transgender people. This theorizing was amplified by the timing of Kirk's assassination, which occurred less than one month after a transgender individual shot and killed two children and wounded twenty-one others at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis on August 27, 2025.22 Hours after the shooting, conservative media and commentators began speculating that the shooter was transgender because Kirk was in the middle of answering a question about transgender people when he was shot, a grim coincidence that fed into online conspiracies and speculation according to reporting by The New York Times.23 Jacey Thornton, an executive director of the LGBTQ advocacy group Rainbow Utah, noted that such attempts to tie the incident to the trans community were harmful to ongoing dialogue, especially on social media, representing a stretching to find connections where none existed.24
The "unseen rifle" reference in conspiracy theory discussions relates specifically to text messages prosecutors alleged Robinson sent to his partner after the shooting. In these exchanges, Robinson expressed concern about leaving the weapon behind and described his attempts to retrieve it from where he had hidden it wrapped in a towel in a wooded area near the campus.25 Robinson allegedly wrote, "If I am able to grab my rifle unseen, I will have left no evidence," and later stated, "Going to attempt to retrieve it again, hopefully they have moved on. I haven't seen anything about them finding it."26 He added that he wished he had circled back and grabbed the gun as soon as he had gotten to his car, and expressed worry when his father requested photos of the rifle because his grandfather wanted to know who had what, noting that federal agents had released a photo of the very unique rifle.27 This language about retrieving the rifle unseen became part of conspiracy theories questioning whether Robinson truly acted alone or whether the text messages were authentic, with skeptics suggesting the detailed acknowledgment of leaving evidence was suspiciously convenient for prosecutors.
The rifle itself became a focal point for both legitimate investigation and conspiracy-minded speculation. Authorities identified the weapon as a Mauser Model 98, a .30-06 caliber bolt-action rifle with a mounted scope that had belonged to Robinson's grandfather.28 The decades-old German-made rifle was originally built for military use in both World Wars and may have predated United States laws enacted in 1968 following President John F. Kennedy's assassination that required firearms to carry serial numbers or other identifying marks, making it potentially untraceable.29 The vintage weapon raised fears among some former federal agents about the potential for other would-be assassins to seek out these powerful, accurate, and hard-to-trace firearms.30 These rifles are ubiquitous and beloved by hunters and recreational shooters, meaning a person toting such a rifle in a place like Utah would not arouse any suspicion, and with a decent scope, a person with basic firearm proficiency can strike a target from one hundred fifty to two hundred yards away, roughly the distance of the shot that killed Kirk.31
Professor of political science at the University of Chicago Eric Oliver, who studies conspiracy theories, noted that Kirk's assassination was the latest event to fuel unfounded claims with cross-ideological appeal, fitting the mold of theories about the late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and the pharmaceutical industry that also cut across partisan and ideological lines.32 People were emotionally charged by the event on both the left and the right and often gravitated to stories that rationalized their fear, rage, or feelings of powerlessness, while the extraordinary circumstances of Kirk's murder and the relative lack of information about Robinson left a vacuum that was being filled by people already suspicious of anything either the government or the Trump administration did.33 Professor of political science at the University of Miami Joseph Uscinski observed that many people have a worldview in which conspiracies are going on all the time and explain social and political circumstances, noting that those people believe lots and lots of conspiracy theories and exist on both the right and left.34
The speed and algorithmic amplification of social media platforms fundamentally transformed how conspiracy theories spread in the aftermath of Kirk's assassination. Nicole Hemmer, a professor of history at Vanderbilt University, explained that while American politics has long been home to conspiracies and fracturings of understanding around events, what was new was the speed at which information was shared, the ease of access people had to it, and the algorithmic push that promoted extreme content.35 Social media disseminated the act of violence that took Charlie Kirk's life in a matter of minutes, with many students filming the event on their phones, and within the hour, videos of his death flooded the web.36 From a forensic perspective, the images built up a remarkably consistent version of a major news event just moments after it had happened, with multiple videos together with a statement from the university suggesting the sniper had lain prone on the roof of the Losee Center roughly one hundred thirty-five yards away.37 However, while these initial images drove engagement online, they provided no context as to why the shooting happened, creating fertile ground for speculation and conspiracy theories to flourish in the information vacuum.38
Utah Governor Spencer Cox warned of a tremendous amount of disinformation related to the fatal shooting, stating that adversaries wanted violence and that bots from Russia, China, and all over the world were trying to instill disinformation and encourage violence.39 The propaganda push from foreign adversaries came as the Trump administration had shut down teams across the federal government that tracked and analyzed information warfare waged by Russia and other foreign adversaries, with the State Department halting what was left of its effort and earlier closing the Global Engagement Center that had flagged foreign disinformation campaigns in the past.40 This dismantling of counter-disinformation infrastructure occurred precisely when conspiracy theories and foreign propaganda were proliferating most aggressively, creating what researchers described as an unprecedented challenge to maintaining a shared understanding of major news events in American society.
The conspiracy theories surrounding Charlie Kirk's assassination ultimately revealed a deeply fractured American public whose understanding of major events is increasingly mediated and distorted by social media algorithms, foreign interference, and pre-existing ideological commitments. The event demonstrated how quickly misinformation can spread, how difficult it becomes to establish basic factual consensus even when evidence is publicly available, and how both domestic and foreign actors exploit tragic events to advance their own narratives and sow discord. The unseen rifle reference, embedded within this broader landscape of conspiracy and speculation, encapsulates how even routine investigative details can be weaponized to support alternative narratives that cast doubt on official accounts, regardless of the actual evidence.
On September 12, Utah Governor Spencer Cox held a press conference at which he announced the capture of a suspect, Tyler Robinson, in the shooting of Charlie Kirk.
After providing a brief outline of what is believed to have transpired on the fateful day, Cox thanked all those who helped “find this person” and “bring justice.” He concluded his comments by saying that he was grateful that “we have an opportunity to bring closure to this very dark chapter in American history.”
But for many observers, Cox’s tone of finality sounded premature – remarks more appropriate for the steps outside a courthouse after a guilty verdict. After all, there was no autopsy, no bullet to match the weapon, and no publicly released footage of Robinson committing the act or even being seen with the weapon.
Internet sleuths have seized on perceived inconsistencies in the official story, while X and YouTube are rife with content questioning the narrative as it has been presented in the media. Videos analyzing various technical aspects of the shooting have routinely generated hundreds of thousands of views. Conservative commentator Candace Owens has become perhaps the most visible figure questioning the official story. Her nightly podcasts devoted to the Kirk tragedy have garnered views in the millions.
RT takes a look at five unanswered questions about the Kirk case that are generating the most buzz in social media and the blogosphere.
What do many see as odd about the claim a 30-06 Mauser was used?
Investigators found a Mauser 30-06 in a wooded area near the site of the shooting. This weapon is being presented as what was used to kill Kirk. Robinson also referred to this weapon, which supposedly belonged to his grandfather, in a series of text messages investigators claim he sent to his roommate and lover, Lance Twiggs, shortly after the shooting.
However, many commentators have pointed out that the 30-06 is a very high-powered rifle that is usually used to hunt larger game and that the nature of the wound suffered by Kirk is not consistent with the type of damage expected from such a weapon. Some gun experts have explained that a direct hit from a 30-06 would have removed a good portion of Kirk’s neck, exited his body, and left a blood spray in the tarp behind where he was sitting. Gun enthusiasts have released numerous videos showing the type of damage a direct hit by a 30-06 produces.
It has also been pointed out that no photographic evidence has been released showing Robinson in possession of the rifle, and he does not appear to have it with him when seen jumping off the roof of the university building, called the Losee Center, after supposedly shooting Kirk.
Why was there no exit wound?
Related to the skepticism about the weapon is the fact that there was seemingly no exit wound. Speculation about this apparent incongruence rose to such a pitch that Turning Point USA spokesman Andrew Kolvet felt compelled to address this claim in a post on X, claiming that he had just spoken with the surgeon who worked on Kirk in the hospital, who admitted that the bullet “absolutely should have gone through” and that he had “seen wounds from this caliber many times and they always just go through everything. This would have taken a moose or two down, an elk, etc.”
But in this case, according to the unnamed surgeon, Kirk’s body stopped the bullet, which the surgeon called “an absolute miracle.”
Many have subjected this version to ridicule, calling it implausible and an attempt to mythologize Kirk’s death. No formal autopsy has been released.
Mike from Mrgunsngear, a popular YouTube firearms channel with nearly a million subscribers, called the likelihood of the version being advanced by the FBI and TPUSA as being “1 in 1,000 if at all.” Kolvet’s explanation has also generated significant pushback on X. The vast majority of the roughly 12,000 replies to his original post question his claims.
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Why is there no footage of the shot being taken despite CCTV footage covering the whole roof?
Shortly after the shooting, the FBI released footage of the purported shooter running on the roof of the Losee Center, from which he is supposed to have fired at Kirk. Footage then shows the individual running across the roof and jumping down onto the ground on the other side of the building.
RT
The roof of the Losee Center from where Tyler Robinson is supposed to have shot Charlie Kirk. The yellow arrow indicates approximately where Robinson may have taken the shot.
However, many commentators have noted that the footage from the surveillance camera, which covers the whole roof of the building, only picks up when the individual is running. If the shooting happened on the roof and the entire roof is visible in the frame of the camera, then the authorities would be in possession of the footage that undeniably links Robinson to the crime. The question many are asking is why the footage was edited so that it starts with the suspect running rather than taking the shot or at least clutching the rifle.
RT
A freeze-frame of the FBI-released video showing the suspect running across the roof of the Losee Center. The footage picks up here with the suspect (outlined in red) moving left to right.
Many people have therefore questioned whether Robinson was indeed the shooter and whether the shot was in fact taken from the front.
Why was the crime scene not cordoned off?
Many commentators and social media users are wondering why the scene of the shooting wasn’t immediately cordoned off and the perimeter secured.
Not just was the site not cordoned off, but a man was filmed taking down the camera that had been mounted right behind Kirk, even moving the chair that Kirk had been sitting on in order to reach the camera above. He is subsequently seen placing the camera on a table, looking around furtively, and then removing the SD card.
Candace Owens later identified the man as a TPUSA employee and reached out to him. The man, who has not been identified, told Owens that he secured the footage in order to turn it over to the authorities. He refused to release it publicly, although, according to Owens, he did allow her to view it over a FaceTime call.
RT
Moments after Charlie Kirk was shot, a TPUSA employee was filmed removing a security camera mounted right behind where Kirk had been sitting. The employee stood on the chair on which Kirk had been sitting to reach the camera.
Tampering with a crime scene can be a felony in the state of Utah, but no attempt to hold the man legally accountable has been made. Meanwhile, a Fox News report from just four days after the shooting claims that the site of the tent where Kirk was shot was being rebuilt, with the grass ripped up and new pavement laid down. Many commentators have questioned why the crime scene was given a remake so quickly.
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Why has the text message exchange between Robinson and his lover raised eyebrows?
The text message exchange released by prosecutors has ignited a storm of skepticism about the authenticity of the conversation. Many commentators point out that the tone of the exchange seems unnatural and some of the vocabulary seems unlikely to be used by someone of Robinson’s generation.
Others also note that Robinson, despite boasting of having left no evidence, essentially incriminates himself on nearly every key point. No timestamps for the messages were released.
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