Since the arrest last week of Tyler Robinson in connection with the assassination of Charlie Kirk, there has been a great deal of speculation and assertions about what Robinson’s political motive was.
Many on the right, including the Trump Administration, have ascribed left-wing motives to Robinson, even sometimes spinning wider tales of conspiracy and implying that left-wing groups, or even a “trans terror cell,” were acting in league with the accused shooter. Some on the left, meanwhile, have speculated that Robinson may have been associated with the “groyper” movement, a far-right constituency that has a history of feuding with Kirk and attacking him from the right.
It’s been noted, however, that no social media posts have emerged, attributed to Robinson, that have attributed any particular ideology to him.
New Tyler Robinson posts leaked to me tell a very different story than you’ve heard before:https://t.co/kI8EhweRwO
— Ken Klippenstein (@kenklippenstein) September 16, 2025
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Now, a newly released trove of messages involving Robinson paints a picture of neither, but rather of someone who indicates no discernible political ideology and rarely mentions political issues or figures.
“generally apolitical… never really talked politics…”@kenklippenstein talks to a friend of the killer and gets a different picture from the one the government & media are portraying. https://t.co/AHWsvII5TG pic.twitter.com/RKqeqk1sIV
— The Tennessee Holler (@TheTNHoller) September 16, 2025
Journalist Ken Klippenstein obtained and published a trove of Discord messages that Robinson exchanged with his friends. The messages show Robinson confessing to the crime, but no indication that any of the other people on the chats had any involvement with the shooting. Another member of the chat provided Klippenstein, a Substack writer who formerly worked for The Intercept, with the messages.
The messages also demonstrate that Robinson’s close friends weren’t under the impression that he had any particular strong political views.
“I think the main thing that’s caused so much confusion is that he was always generally apolitical for the most part,” the friend told Klippenstein. “That’s the big thing, he just never really talked politics which is why it’s so frustrating.”
In addition, Klippenstein reported, that the “friend group who he interacted with on Discord, far from some kind of militia camp or Antifa bunker it’s been portrayed as, represented a range of different political views but mostly talked video games.”
Robinson, in the years of the Discord server, had mentioned Donald Trump and Joe Biden one time each, both in relatively neutral terms.
Photo courtesy of the Political Tribune media library.
