Charlie Kirk assassin suspect Tyler Robinson made jokes about how conservative figures will “catch a bullet one day,” and mocked attempted Trump assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks for failing to “shoot straight.” Robinson, who once bragged about being able to hit a 400-yard shot, began openly adopting left-wing stances after getting into a relationship with his transgender roommate, whom he was seen physically coddling while the trans cried over politics, friends and former colleagues told the Washington Post.
The newspaper spoke with 21 people who knew Robinson and examined hundreds of messages the assassin suspect exchanged online, as well as in a Discord server — a group of private chatrooms — over the past five years.
Robinson’s friends and former co-workers reportedly describe him as a quiet person who mostly kept to himself and was difficult to get to know. They also noted that he initially had a “fuck both of them” attitude toward the two major U.S. political parties.
But friends say they noticed changes after Robinson began dating his transgender roommate, who, after the 2024 election, persistently complained about politics and lamented over conservative figures, “anti-trans” sentiment in Utah, and receiving funny looks from people.
On more than one occasion, friends saw Robinson physically cradling his transgender partner to comfort him while he sobbed over politics.
In one instance, the trans roommate repeatedly shouted “shut up” at a friend who had started to say something about transgender athletes as Robinson sat silently on a nearby couch, two people said.
Eventually, Robinson himself began voicing concern for transgender rights, one person who was close to him at the time told the Washington Post.
Robinson also began criticizing conservatives, accusing them of “fearmongering” over transgender issues, and complained about conservative figures in the news, including President Donald Trump, according to one person who spent a significant amount of time at his apartment.
One Discord message reportedly shows Robinson reacting to the July 13, 2024, assassination attempt against Trump by poking fun at the wannabe assassin for being unable to “shoot straight.”
Another friend told the newspaper that, when drunk, Robinson would occasionally “joke about right-wing politicians” and recalled hearing him say something like “that guy’s gonna catch a bullet one day.”
On September 10, Charlie Kirk was fatally shot at Utah Valley University while having a conversation with a student about mass shootings committed by transgender individuals.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) later revealed that bullet casings in the rifle allegedly used by Robinson were etched with a variety of messages, including one that read, “Hey fascist! Catch!”
A former co-worker — who worked with Robinson while he apprenticed for electrical contractors — told the Washington Post that Kirk’s assassin suspect once boasted to fellow electricians that he was able to hit a 400-yard shot.
After Kirk’s assassination, Utah Valley University issued a statement noting “shots were fired from a building about 200 yards” away.
Kirk was known, in part, for his online videos debating college students across the country, and was often smeared by left-wing activists as “hateful” and “anti-trans” — despite his conversations with transgender students showing otherwise.
One person who knew the suspect in high school told the Washington Post that he remembers Robinson saying he did not like “hateful people.”
After the killing, Robinson sent a message to his trans partner, writing, “I had enough of his hatred. Some hate can’t be negotiated out,” according to charging documents.
A little over an hour after Kirk was shot, Robinson appeared eager to talk to someone about the attack, and took to Discord to message a friend, writing, “you see this news?????” the Washington Post reported.
“Utah gets a national headline for the first time in a while and it’s someone sliming charlie kirk,” Robinson continued, adding, “he’s reported dead, and the footage looks BAD.”
Later that day, Robinson joined two other friends in a Discord voice chat, where he continued discussing the assassination. One person told the newspaper that Robinson was short of breath and seemed to be outside.
“He got hit pretty bad. I’m pretty sure he’s dead,” the friend recalled Robinson saying.
Robinson’s parents later saw released security camera images showing a person of interest in the shooting, and noticed the suspect resembled their son. After telling him to come to their house so they could talk, they eventually persuaded Robinson to turn himself in.
His mother, meanwhile, told authorities that Robinson recently “started to lean more to the left,” and had become “more pro-gay and trans-rights oriented,” noting that her son had started dating a transgender roommate.
Several of the friends who regularly spent time at Robinson’s apartment told the Washington Post that by early spring, they started to see less of him and his transgender partner.
In recent months, their communication with Robinson had been reduced to online interactions that had grown sporadic, they added.
“It would be occasionally a little talk, playing a game online,” one friend said. “And then he killed Charlie Kirk.”
Alana Mastrangelo is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Facebook and X at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
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