Tyler Robinson, a 22-year-old student at Dixie Technical College in St. George, Utah, was arrested on September 12 for allegedly assassinating right-wing activist Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University on September 10. Since then, partisans on both sides of the political aisle have sought to assign Robinson to the other ideological camp.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, a Republican, attributed Robinson’s alleged shooting of Kirk to “leftist ideology,” Attorney General Pam Bondi blamed the shooting on “left-wing radicals,” and President Donald Trump himself said in his Oval Office address after Kirk’s death that “radical left political violence has hurt too many innocent people and taken too many lives.”
Meanwhile, several media personalities and commentators on the left have claimed that Robinson was aligned with the “far right.” “It seems increasingly likely that he was a far-right supporter of the white nationalist Nick Fuentes,” the Occupy Democrats’ X account posted to its 707,000 followers on September 12. “We cannot allow Republicans to slink away without taking responsibility for their lies. Yesterday, they were promising now civil war. Now that it appears the shooter was one of their own, they want to move on.”
In the September 13 edition of her Letters from an American newsletter, Boston College history professor Heather Cox Richardson—the most popular individual author on Substack—claimed that “in fact, the alleged shooter was not someone on the left.” Tyler Robinson, she wrote to her more than 2.6 million readers, “is a young white man from a Republican, gun enthusiast family, who appears to have embraced the far right, disliking Kirk for being insufficiently radical.” (In a subsequent edition of her newsletter, Richardson wrote that “the motive of the alleged shooter, Tyler Robinson, remains unclear.”)
Although authorities have not outlined a specific motive for Robinson’s alleged actions, the indictment released on September 16 notes that investigators believe Robinson targeted Kirk due to his “belief or perception regarding Charlie Kirk’s political expression,” and ultimately, Kirk’s views on transgender issues.
Multiple outlets have reported that Robinson’s parents are both registered Republicans, and Debbie Robinson, Tyler’s grandmother, says the family is generally supportive of Trump. Robinson’s mother, however, told authorities that “Robinson and his father … have very different political views.” The indictment states: “Robinson’s mother explained that over the last year or so, Robinson had started to lean more to the left – becoming more pro-gay and trans-rights oriented. She stated that Robinson began to date his roommate, a biological male who was transitioning genders.”
The indictment also included excerpts of a text conversation between Robinson and the aforementioned roommate.
Roommate: Why?
Robinson: Why did I do it?
Roommate: Yeah
Robinson: I had enough of his hatred. Some hate can’t be negotiated out.
Gov. Cox confirmed that Robinson had a romantic partner who has been undergoing gender-transition treatments. The partner in question has reportedly been “extremely cooperative” with authorities.
While little is known about Robinson’s broader political views—he is not registered with any political party and state records describe him as an “inactive voter”—available evidence suggests that he shifted his political views leftward, specifically on transgenderism. Kirk had made disparaging comments about gay and transgender rights over the years, once calling transgenderism a “throbbing middle finger to God. He also once called for “a Nuremberg-style trial for every gender-affirming clinic doctor.” He was answering a question about transgender mass shooters when he was shot.
There are indeed members of the far right, known as “groypers,” who have accused Kirk of being too moderate in his views. Followers of white nationalist podcaster Nick Fuentes, they were known to troll Kirk’s speaking engagements and other events put on by Kirk’s organization, Turning Point USA. However, there is no evidence that Robinson was a groyper or otherwise held far-right political views.
If you have a claim you would like to see us fact check, please send us an email at factcheck@thedispatch.com. If you would like to suggest a correction to this piece or any other Dispatch article, please email corrections@thedispatch.com.
