A Tyler Robinson theory

Yes, he was left and/or right-wing.

Since the murder of Charlie Kirk, speculation has raged about whether the assassin was a product of the left or right. I think that the answer may be yes to both.

We now have quite a few data points about Tyler Robinson’s past. The story that is emerging is a complex one that won’t satisfy the narrative of either side.

Photo credit: Emily Morter/Unsplash

Among the first background information that came out about Robinson were social media posts that seemed to indicate a right-wing connection. There were pictures of the suspect wearing Halloween costumes related to Donald Trump and Pepe, a cartoon frog co-opted by right-wing memers. Robinson’s grandmother even said she thought he was a Republican, even though he was not registered with a party.

“My son, his dad, is a Republican for Trump,” Debbie Robinson told the Daily Mail. “Most of my family members are Republican. I don't know any single one who’s a Democrat. I'm just so confused.”

But then came other revelations. Other family members said that Robinson had recently become more political and moved to the left. Indications surfaced that he was in a romantic relationship with his landlord, Lance Twiggs, who is allegedly transgender.

I think those two facts are related.

A lot of the insight into Tyler and Lance’s relationship comes from text messages exchanged between the two after the shooting. There is speculation that the messages are not genuine. I tend to think they are. The only real question in my mind about them is that they don’t seem to be written by a typical millennial. That makes them weird, but not necessarily fake. Tyler was reportedly intelligent and bookish. That may explain the literate grammar of messages.

My theory is that Tyler grew up in a Republican family in a Republican town and was nominally Republican. At some point, he met Lance and fell in love. I think that becoming infatuated with a transgender was what radicalized him. After meeting Lance, he came to strenuously disagree with the characterization of transgender people presented by many on the right.

Tyler allegedly wrote that he killed Kirk because, “I had enough of his hatred. Some hate can't be negotiated out."

Note two things here. First, you don’t have be a leftist to be sympathetic to transgender people. A Pew poll from earlier this year shows a fair amount of support for gays and transgenders even among Republicans. I’ve noticed that a lot of Republicans who support gay rights seem to do so because they have gay family members. FormerOhio Senator Rob Portman’s conversion on same-sex marriage is an example. That pattern parallels Tyler’s shift after meeting Lance.

Support for gays and transgender tends to be associated with leftist politics, but it’s not a direct correlation. It isn’t clear if Robinson was an activist on other issues, but his sexual politics would likely have been enough to flag him as a leftist in a conservative Utah town.

Second, Twiggs seems completely unaware of Tyler’s murderous plans. The texts undercut theories that of a broader conspiracy. In fact, rather than the narrative of transgender violence, the evidence seems to show the violence was strictly on the part of Tyler. Lance seemed surprised at Tyler’s revelation and was reportedly cooperating with authorities. Robinson is apparently not transgender, and it isn’t clear if he considers himself gay. I really don’t want to google an explanation of the status of the pair. Suffice it to say, the relationship status is complicated, but Robinson seems to have acted without Twiggs’ knowledge.

Further, the messages and the other evidence also seem to reflect amateurishness and a lack of planning. There was no escape plan or forethought given to disposing of or hiding the rifle. For that matter, the murder weapon was easily tied to the shooter. The attack was premeditated, but that doesn’t mean it was well planned or the result of a conspiracy.

If there is evidence of a broad conspiracy or assistance from leftist groups, law enforcement and prosecutors have so far not presented it. Some online claims about his political activism, such as the claim that he spoke at Democratic Socialist rally, have been demonstrated to be false. (Both sides have distorted facts and advanced false narratives. A photo of Robinson in a blank tee shirt was doctored by both sides to make it appear he supported the other side’s candidate.)

It may be difficult to believe that Kirk’s killer was a love struck kid rather than “The Left,” but that is where the evidence leads. That seems to be typical of many American assassinations. Very often, it is a lone wolf (if not a lone nut) that changes the course of history and politics. The assassination of Abraham Lincoln was an exception but other notable killings such as JFK, RFK, and William McKinley were all killed by radicals acting on their own. (Yeah, I know about the JFK conspiracy theories, but more than 50 years later, there is still no firm proof of an accomplice.)

It may come as news to some, but political views are not an immutable characteristic. They can change, and it seems that Tyler Robinson’s political outlook did change.

He’s not the only one. I’ve watched the Republican Party’s views change from a pro-freedom, limited government party to an authoritarian personality cult. That may be a more significant shift than Robinson’s transition to a radical domestic terrorist.

That brings me to my next point. Murder is wrong, but so is using a murder as a pretext to crack down political opponents and civil liberties. It’s ironic that the death of Kirk, an advocate of free speech, is being used to curtail the speech rights of Trump’s political opponents.

Free speech is under assault from both the Tyler Robinsons of the country who would shout down or kill those with who they disagree as well as the Donald Trumps who use their government authority to censor speech. These are just different strategies to achieve the same ends.

As more information comes out, the picture of Tyler Robinson may change, but I think that he is likely to go down in history as a confused and contradictory figure who acted rashly but alone. I hope that he does not become a modern-day Herschel Grynszpan, whose act of criminal violence only serves to unleash more hatred and brutality.

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