Not an assassin, not a sniper — just a loser with a rifle



Charlie Kirk’s assassination was an atrocity — for his family, his friends, his supporters, and America. I haven’t been this shaken by the death of someone I didn’t personally know in a long time.

As an ex-U.S. Army Special Operations sniper, I’ve seen a lot of speculation online, and I want to cut through some of the noise. Even following the arrest Friday morning of 22-year-old Tyler Robinson for the crime, people are throwing around claims that this was “state-sponsored” or a “hired hit man paid by a political group.” We don’t know that, nor do we have any evidence pointing to that. In fact, we had ample evidence pointing to somebody just like Robinson: a leftist college dropout.

Charlie Kirk wasn’t taken down by a sniper, or a covert team, or a shadowy state actor. He was killed by a bitter amateur with a rifle and a desperate need to matter.

I won’t call this shooter an “assassin.” That word carries a mystique. It gives a pathetic loser like this validation. He doesn’t deserve the title. He wasn’t an assassin. He wasn’t a sniper. He wasn’t a pro. He was simply an amateur shooter who decided to take a life better than his own and become a killer.

The shot

The facts are simple. The distance was under 200 yards. He used a bolt-action .30-06 Mauser with a scope of at least 8x power. That’s a very easy shot — so easy that I could teach a child to make it in under an hour, and I am not exaggerating at all.

You don’t need military training, hunting experience, or any special skill. The .30-06 is a powerful round, and if you watched the sad, horrific video of Charlie being hit, you saw how devastating it is.

The round appeared to strike Charlie in the neck. Maybe it hit his chest and exited near the neck, but what it didn’t do was hit his head. A professional would have gone for the head. If this killer wanted maximum shock value — which he clearly did — a head shot would have given him that. Either he missed low or he aimed for the chest because he didn’t have the skill level for a headshot.

Either way: amateur hour.

The gun and the tactics

The rifle says it all. A Mauser .30-06 bolt-action is the tool of a casual hunter, not a professional killer. Even on a budget, a serious shooter would have picked better gear. To call that weapon “professional” is laughable. It’s like rolling up to an F1 race in a Honda Accord.

Even more ridiculous than his gear choice were his tactics or lack thereof. He positioned himself on a rooftop in black, wearing a tactical vest. That’s straight from the “Call of Duty in Mom’s basement” playbook. A professional wouldn’t be spotted on camera by kids on the ground asking, “Should someone be up there?”

A pro would have been invisible. Or, if seen, instantly forgettable. He would have used proper urban hiding techniques (I won’t detail them here). He wouldn’t have stood out in black tactical gear. He would have looked like a student or like someone with a legitimate reason to be where he was.

And then there’s the footage — clear, high-quality video of him at the school and hopping fences in a neighborhood. The FBI and local police had his face, which meant, in due course, they had him. This wasn’t a state-sponsored operator or “hit man.” It was an angry lone amateur.

Who he is

When I wrote this column Thursday night, I speculated that the shooter would turn out to be a lonely, angry kid desperate to be somebody. A nobody who wanted attention, validation, fame. He thought killing someone hated by one side of the political spectrum would make him loved by the other. This was about belonging. About being noticed.

And that’s where the media and social media come in. They amplify these monsters. They hand them the spotlight. And for a young man like this, that’s gasoline on the fire.

Sound familiar? Donald Trump barely survived an attempt when another college kid fired at him. Add Luigi Mangione, and that makes three young men in recent memory trying to kill or successfully killing public figures. We’re watching a disturbing trend.

Political assassination — or something new?

Yes, Kirk was killed for his political beliefs. But he wasn’t a politician. He held no office. That’s why this atrocity might mark something new: the first assassination of an influencer.

Think about that. Kirk wasn’t targeted for power, or for policy, but for his ability to influence. If that’s where we are now — where speech alone makes you a target — we’ve stepped into very dangerous territory.

The slippery slope of ‘hateful rhetoric’

Almost immediately, politicians and pundits said, “This is what happens when you use rhetoric like his.” Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) went as far as accusing Kirk of posting “hateful rhetoric,” as if that justifies what happened. That logic is as dangerous as the act itself.

If hateful rhetoric makes someone fair game, then by her own standard, someone could make the same judgment about Omar’s words. Would she see her own assassination as justified? Of course not. And that’s the slippery slope: When violence is framed as acceptable because someone decides speech is hateful.

That’s exactly why the First Amendment exists — to protect all speech, even the speech you hate. Because once a group can ban “hateful” speech, they can ban anything they dislike. That’s how dictatorships start. And it’s not a coincidence that the loudest calls to ban “hateful speech” come from people who want more control.

RELATED: Antifa, gay furries, and bomb codes? What the engravings on the Kirk assassination bullets may mean

Photo by MELISSA MAJCHRZAK/AFP via Getty Images

Bottom line: Charlie Kirk wasn’t assassinated by a professional. He wasn’t taken down by a sniper, or a covert team, or a shadowy state actor. He was killed by a bitter amateur with a rifle and a desperate need to matter.

That makes his death no less horrifying — but it should change the way we understand it. Because this wasn’t just about politics. This was about influence, attention, and validation. And it signals a very dark turn in where we are headed.

After His Murder, New York Times Assassinates Charlie Kirk’s Character

After Charlie Kirk was murdered, allegedly by a shooter who accused him of 'spreading hate,' the NYT falsely accused Kirk of making antisemitic statements.

Antifa, gay furries, and bomb codes? What the engravings on the Kirk assassination bullets may mean



Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk was assassinated on Wednesday in front a massive crowd at Utah Valley University. Officials provided confirmation on Friday that the evidence suggests that the suspected assassin, Tyler Robinson of Washington County, is another radical leftist.

Utah Governor Spencer Cox (R) indicated at a press conference on Friday that Robinson's roommate showed investigators messages on Discord allegedly sent by the suspected assassin, providing insights into the shooting and Robinson's apparent ideological capture.

'Hey fascist! Catch!'

In addition to apparently discussing the need to retrieve a rifle from a drop point, the messages allegedly referred to Robinson's engraving of ammunition.

Cox confirmed that investigators found an inscription on a spent fire casing that read, "Notices bulges, OwO what’s this?" — a reference to an online meme that has been used to mock gay furries — as well as the following inscriptions on unfired shell casings:

  • "Hey fascist! Catch! ↑ → ↓ ↓ ↓" — the arrows are an apparent reference to a move in the video game Helldivers 2 that sets the stage for the deployment of a large bomb;
  • "Oh bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao, ciao," lyrics from an Italian folk song that has been embraced by anti-fascist movements and various leftist causes and features in the violent Spanish TV show "Money Heist." Willem van Spronsen, the Antifa terrorist who firebombed a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in July 2019, apparently referred to the song in his final statement; and
  • "If you read this, you are gay, LMAO."

When pressed about the meaning of the engravings, Cox noted that the "Hey fascist! Catch!" inscription "speaks for itself."

A family member of Robinson told investigators that the suspected assassin had become more political in recent years, said Cox.

Utah State University confirmed that Robinson attended USU for one semester in 2021 before dropping out.

RELATED: Why Charlie Kirk’s assassination will change us in ways this generation has never seen

Photo by Kadri Suat Celik/Anadolu via Getty Images

During a recent dinner, Robinson allegedly said in conversation with another family member that Kirk was coming to UVU. "The family member also stated Kirk was full of hate and spreading hate," Cox said.

In the moments immediately before Kirk was struck in the neck by a single shot fired from a distance of roughly 200 yards, he was asked by an audience member, "Do you know how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years?"

"Too many," said Kirk.

There was, for instance, the March 2023 Covenant School massacre in Nashville, where a trans-identifying woman murdered three 9-year-old children — Evelyn Dieckhaus, William Kinney, and Hallie Scruggs — and three adults — teacher Cynthia Peak, custodian Mike Hill, and head of school Katherine Koonce.

'Is this the end of a dark chapter in our history or the beginning of a darker chapter in our history?'

In April 2024, a male-identifying woman planned to shoot up an elementary school and a high school in Maryland but was thankfully stopped in time by police, then later convicted.

The attendee then asked, "Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years?"

Kirk responded, "Counting or not counting gang violence?" and then was knocked back by the assassin's shot.

Robinson, who has been booked into the Utah County Jail, is not the first radical captive to leftist thinking allegedly to draw blood in recent weeks.

The trans-identifying man who shot up a Catholic church full of children last month in Minneapolis displayed statements on his weapons that include, "Where is your God?"; "Kill Donald Trump"; and "I'm the woker, baby ... Why so queerious?"

The trans-identifying radical who allegedly gunned down a father in a Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, park on Aug. 28 is another leftist who allegedly stated, "The protection of Palestine requires the eradication of western based genocidal white supremacy," condemned "f**khead crackers"; and said of Israelis, "We should kill them all, save Palestine and be jus [sic] be done with it."

Governor Cox compared the violent trend to the campaign of violence waged on American soil in the second half of the 20th century

"Is this the end of a dark chapter in our history or the beginning of a darker chapter in our history?" said the governor. "If you look at true political assassinations in this country of someone of this stature, this feels a lot like the late '60s."

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, leftist terrorists routinely committed political murders and bombings. For instance, the Weather Underground — an offshoot of Students for a Democratic Society — executed scores of bombings, including the Jan. 29, 1975, attack on the headquarters of the U.S. State Department.

"We will be brave," President Donald Trump told reporters on Thursday. "We have radical left lunatics out there, and we just have to beat the hell out of them."

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‘Do not go gentle into that good night’: Remembering Charlie Kirk



I’ve only felt this weight once before. It was 2001, just as my radio show was about to begin. The World Trade Center fell, and I was called to speak immediately. I spent the day and night by my bedside, praying for words that could meet the moment.

Yesterday, I found myself in the same position. September 11, 2025. The assassination of Charlie Kirk. A friend. A warrior for truth.

Out of this tragedy, the tyrant dies, but the martyr’s influence begins.

Moments like this make words feel inadequate. Yet sometimes, words from another time speak directly to our own. In 1947, Dylan Thomas, watching his father slip toward death, penned lines that now resonate far beyond his own grief:

Do not go gentle into that good night. / Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Thomas was pleading for his father to resist the impending darkness of death. But those words have become a mandate for all of us: Do not surrender. Do not bow to shadows. Even when the battle feels unwinnable.

Charlie Kirk lived that mandate. He knew the cost of speaking unpopular truths. He knew the fury of those who sought to silence him. And yet he pressed on. In his life, he embodied a defiance rooted not in anger, but in principle.

Picking up his torch

Washington, Jefferson, Adams — our history was started by men who raged against an empire, knowing the gallows might await. Lincoln raged against slavery. Martin Luther King Jr. raged against segregation. Every generation faces a call to resist surrender.

It is our turn. Charlie’s violent death feels like a knockout punch. Yet if his life meant anything, it means this: Silence in the face of darkness is not an option.

He did not go gently. He spoke. He challenged. He stood. And now, the mantle falls to us. To me. To you. To every American.

We cannot drift into the shadows. We cannot sit quietly while freedom fades. This is our moment to rage — not with hatred, not with vengeance, but with courage. Rage against lies, against apathy, against the despair that tells us to do nothing. Because there is always something you can do.

Even small acts — defiance, faith, kindness — are light in the darkness. Reaching out to those who mourn. Speaking truth in a world drowning in deceit. These are the flames that hold back the night. Charlie carried that torch. He laid it down yesterday. It is ours to pick up.

The light may dim, but it always does before dawn. Commit today: I will not sleep as freedom fades. I will not retreat as darkness encroaches. I will not be silent as evil forces claim dominion. I have no king but Christ. And I know whom I serve, as did Charlie.

Two turning points, decades apart

On Wednesday, the world changed again. Two tragedies, separated by decades, bound by the same question: Who are we? Is this worth saving? What kind of people will we choose to be?

Imagine a world where more of us choose to be peacemakers. Not passive, not silent, but builders of bridges where others erect walls. Respect and listening transform even the bitterest of foes. Charlie Kirk embodied this principle.

He did not strike the weak; he challenged the powerful. He reached across divides of politics, culture, and faith. He changed hearts. He sparked healing. And healing is what our nation needs.

At the center of all this is one truth: Every person is a child of God, deserving of dignity. Change will not happen in Washington or on social media. It begins at home, where loneliness and isolation threaten our souls. Family is the antidote. Imperfect, yes — but still the strongest source of stability and meaning.

RELATED: Trump to award Charlie Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom: 'A giant of his generation'

Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images

Forgiveness, fidelity, faithfulness, and honor are not dusty words. They are the foundation of civilization. Strong families produce strong citizens. And today, Charlie’s family mourns. They must become our family too. We must stand as guardians of his legacy, shining examples of the courage he lived by.

A time for courage

I knew Charlie. I know how he would want us to respond: Multiply his courage. Out of this tragedy, the tyrant dies, but the martyr’s influence begins. Out of darkness, great and glorious things will sprout — but we must be worthy of them.

Charlie Kirk lived defiantly. He stood in truth. He changed the world. And now, his torch is in our hands. Rage, not in violence, but in unwavering pursuit of truth and goodness. Rage against the dying of the light.

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'Unacceptable': MSNBC Analyst Michael Dowd Fired After Blaming Charlie Kirk for His Own Murder

MSNBC has fired political analyst Matthew Dowd after he made what the network's president called "inappropriate, insensitive and unacceptable" comments as news broke that an assassin shot and killed prominent conservative activist and Donald Trump ally Charlie Kirk.

The post 'Unacceptable': MSNBC Analyst Michael Dowd Fired After Blaming Charlie Kirk for His Own Murder appeared first on .

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Charlie Kirk Wasn’t Just Assassinated, He Was Martyred

Charlie Kirk wasn't ultimately killed for his second-order political beliefs but for his first-order belief in Jesus, out of which his other beliefs flowed.

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'We have a right to violence'

Iryna Zarutska’s name should shame the woke



The brutal murder of Iryna Zarutska on a Charlotte train shocked the city and the nation. Yet, the reaction from Mayor Vi Lyles revealed something deeper — and more troubling — about the worldview now shaping our institutions.

Instead of calling it what it was — a violent crime committed by “a mentally deranged lunatic” and “well-known career criminal,” as President Trump described the suspect — Lyles chose to label it a “tragic event.” The tragedy, she suggested, was not the victim’s death so much as society’s failure to provide resources for the killer.

We cannot blame 'the system.' We cannot blame God. Facing consequences for our actions is not oppression — it is humanizing.

That rhetorical move matters. It echoes the same radical philosophy that has taken over higher education and increasingly influences our politics. In this worldview, criminals are not moral agents. They are victims of circumstance.

The death of free will

As a humanities professor, I have heard this refrain for decades. Subjects meant to explore the human condition and the pursuit of wisdom have been hijacked by an ideology that insists “marginalized” individuals cannot be held responsible for their actions.

The logical problem should be obvious. If the “oppressed” are not responsible for their actions, then they lack free will. That is a dehumanizing philosophy. It strips away moral agency and reduces people to products of “the system.”

Yet, radical professors advance this philosophy because it props up political causes that would collapse under scrutiny. Their favorite tool is the fallacy of appealing to pity: “Don’t hold me accountable, I had a hard life.” But if failure is always the system’s fault, then so is success. The DEI professor will tell you that bad outcomes come from oppression — and good outcomes come from privilege. Individual responsibility vanishes.

Crime 'happens' to the criminal

In this view, crime happens to the criminal. The system, not the sinner, makes the choice. The remedy? Education and therapy. Punishment for evil is rejected outright.

Take two examples.

First, Chicago’s Mayor Brandon Johnson (D). Listen to him describe gun violence and you’d think guns sprout legs and walk into the city from other states. Who are the human beings pulling the triggers? That question is avoided, because the system supposedly forced them into crime.

Second, watch the recent Jubilee video featuring Patrick Bet-David. Anti-capitalist students invoked the plight of the single mother. To hear them tell it, single motherhood simply “happens.” No choices, no responsibility. Just victims of capitalism who have no choice but to work four jobs. The notion that having unprotected sex outside marriage is a choice is brushed aside.

This isn’t compassion, let alone justice. It’s a simple refusal to acknowledge reality.

Complaints against God

Charlotte’s racial equity policies rest on this same rejection of free will. And beneath that rejection lies something even deeper: complaints against God Himself.

Christianity teaches that God created men and women with real differences and that He governs the circumstances into which we are born. Radical critics call this unfair. Why can’t Bet-David be a single mother? Why should people be born rich or poor? Why does God still hold us accountable?

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Maxiphoto via iStock/Getty Images

The apostle Paul anticipated this very objection in Romans 9:19: “Then why does God still find fault? For who resists His will?” The ultimate complaint is against divine providence.

But denying free will is absurd. Many born into hard circumstances have learned to be wise and seek God. Many born into privilege have chosen evil. Our choices define us.

The humanizing truth

We cannot blame “the system.” We cannot blame God. Facing consequences for our actions is not oppression — it is humanizing. It reminds us that we have the dignity of free will and the responsibility to choose between good and evil.

And here is the one solution the radical professor will never offer: There is forgiveness for our sin, freely given in Christ. That is the antidote to a culture that excuses evil and denies accountability.